Where to Sell Your Wire Jewelry

by Dale Armstrong

Hi folks, it's Dale. Over the past several months I have received a lot of questions, asking where to sell wire jewelry. My general answer is Anywhere you can! Some suggestions are:

Off your body! Yes you read correctly, many people write to tell me that they sell their pieces while wearing them, anywhere; to the grocery store, doctor's office, church, sporting event, mall shopping, etc. Some have even said that they wear a piece and have a price tag hanging off of it! Think about it for a moment, it may seem silly to have a price tag, but it would definitely draw some attention and inspire conversations, "Um, excuse me, do you know that you forgot to remove the tag from your necklace?" To which you reply, "Actually I make and sell unique jewelry pieces. Do you like this one?" And then automatically hand them a business card. I'm sure you can see the many conversation possibilities that could lead into:

Private Showings; "Yes, I even give my jewelry away for free." If the person is interested, take their name, phone number and good times to call (in the tiny notebook you should always carry) and then follow-up with a 'courtesy call', explaining how nice it was to meet them and what your private show program is.

Your Open House, name it based on whatever the season is or choose a fun theme (more below on themes). "As a matter of fact I am having an open house to show my work on ___ at ___. Would you like to come and maybe bring a friend or two? It's going to be a lot of fun and I have nice door prizes". Again, take their information and be sure to follow up! From your own Open House, you can obtain many Private Showings!

Theme Ideas:

Pool Party; get a small wading pool and serve fruity drinks with paper parasols, a few dips and chips, and everyone is invited to sit around the pool with their feet in, while you do your presentation.

Balloon Party; blow up lots of balloons into which you have inserted small rolled up papers, some with discounts and some with free gifts written on them. When a guest arrives, they get to pick and pop a balloon. If they decide to purchase more than one item, they get a balloon pop for each purchase (discounts cannot be combined).

Hat Party; ask everyone to wear their most unusual or unique hat, let everyone vote and give a prize for the best. Have a hat with discount coupons folded up inside, when a guest makes a purchase they get to reach in and pull out their discount.

Old Jewelry Party; each guest brings an old piece of jewelry, tells it's story, all vote, a prize is given and you take your presentation in the direction of creating tomorrow's heirlooms today.

I am sure these suggestions have you thinking now, your home showing or open house can be an event where folks get together for a break from their regular world, complete with fun as well as information, and you have the opportunity to sell your work, as well as to see what the folks in your area like.

You don't even have to invite strangers to your home, rather you could check with a local church or school and offer them a small fee or the proceeds from a silent auction or raffle, for the use of their facilities for 4 hours.

Now let's talk about Private Showings. Again, there are many opportunities such as: asking the receptionist (who likes the earrings you are wearing to an appointment) if she would like to earn a Free pair (in her favorite color) by hosting a Private Showing in the office conference room after work or during lunch time. You could ask your hairdresser or nail person to do the same, inviting their clientele to a Special Private Showing. What about the local dress or bridal boutique? Often they may agree to host an afternoon Trunk Show, (usually done for a percentage of the proceeds) or even invite you to participate in their next fashion, prom or bridal show (what a great opportunity!) How about asking a local teacher if they would like to host a Private Sale or Show, either in the teacher's conference room or the classroom after hours?

What about a Fund Raiser? Instead of paying a promoter for a booth (where you hit rewind and play every 5 minutes, hoping for a sale) why not sell to people who want to buy what you have to support a cause, and gain a lot of new customers. School bands, clubs and sports groups are always looking for a way to make money for supplies, and rather than attending a pancake breakfast, a lot of people would rather purchase a moderately priced piece of jewelry, where a percentage of every purchase goes to the organization.

By exploring options besides craft shows, you can connect with brand new customers. No matter which way you choose to sell your work, be sure to collect everyone's name and address, for a door prize drawing (for future post card invitations to your own Holiday Open House as it's time to begin this year's event now). Believe it or not, there are LOTS of people out there who have never seen or heard of wire jewelry!

Stay Twisted!

Dale/Cgr

Materials

The Definitive Guide to Selling Handcrafted Jewelry

definitive_guide

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $177.95
Gold Club Price: $133.46

Add to Bag

Add All Items to Cart

Tools

No tools listed

Category: Selling
Technique(s): Selling

Reviews

Dale Armstrong

A die-hard rockhound, lapidary, and wire jewelry designer, instructor and author, Dale credits her mom for spurring the main interest that led to Dale's chosen career. Her mother was an avid rockhound and many, weekend family adventures involved traipsing through the White Mountains of New Hampshire in search of abandoned pegmatite mines. This is where Dale’s fascination with, and education of rocks and minerals began, some 40 years ago.

With more than 40 years of experience, Dale uses absolutely no solder or glue in her traditional wire jewelry designs, and teaches how at jewelry making events in North America, Russia, Ukraine and Switzerland. Her award winning work is sold in galleries and has appeared in many printed publications.

Author of numerous magazine and Internet articles and the bestselling book, “Wirework: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping”, Dale has made several series of instructional DVDs for WireJewelry.com.

hen she is not teaching or writing, Dale creates new designs in SE Tennessee where she enjoys her family, furry friends, gardens and tons of rocks.