|
| 27 Sep 2005 12:48:23 am |
 Good Things and the Squeaky Wheel |
|
|
I don't really believe that "good things come to those who wait" is a true statement. I believe that the squeaky wheel gets the grease (full of cliches today, aren't I?). Here's an example:
Over a year ago, a store owner in Raleigh, NC, contacted me about possibly teaching there. I wrote back that I was interested, I downloaded the instructor paperwork and mailed it in, e-mailed pictures of samples, and so on. I waited to hear back and nothing happened. I got busy with other things, and before I realized it, two months or so had passed. I e-mailed the store and they said they'd just finished their newest class schedule, but they'd discuss adding me to their next schedule (this store schedules classes several months in advance) and get back to me. So I waited...and again, before I knew it, I'd been busy and quite a bit of time had passed. So I called them. They said that somehow I'd been overlooked at the last discussion, but they'd get back to me. Are you seeing a pattern here yet?
At this point, some of you must be wondering why I didn't just let it go. Well...I enjoy this store. Shopping there is always a pleasant experience. I like the employees, the clientele, and Raleigh in general. And I like to teach. So I really wanted to pursue this.
I did end up getting back to them once more - and in their defense, as I don't want to sound like I'm picking on them, they are always *very* busy with customers, which of course is their main priority. Every time I've been there, they are swamped! And they have just recently opened another store in the area, so they've been stretched a bit thin with that. Opening a new location is a HUGE undertaking, and I totally understand why it took us a while to all get on the same page.
The end result is that I taught two classes there this past weekend, which were just as fun and exciting as I thought they'd be. It was well worth the effort to keep in contact and negotiate all of this. I met with the employees face to face, and we all got along great. My students were eager to learn and interested in taking more classes, so hopefully I will be returning in the future to share more techniques.
If I'd just sat around waiting for something to happen after the first point of contact, I might well have *never* gotten to the point of teaching there. And if *you* sit around waiting for stores to get back to you, or for your customers to order from your web site, you may also be missing opportunities. Don't think they aren't interested just because they haven't gotten back to you in what you consider a reasonable timeframe. Stores and customers are just as busy as we are, and sometimes things slip through the cracks. Or perhaps the timing of your initial approach isn't right for them, but that doesn't mean it can't work out in the future.
There is, of course, a line between pursuing something you want and wasting your time and energy on a situation that probably won't reap the rewards you'd like. We all have to recognize the difference. But don't wait for things to happen to you. Pursue what you want with all your heart and know that good things come...to those who take an active part in making them happen. *s* |
|
| |
Category : General
| Posted By : Jill |  Comments[0] |  Trackbacks [1891] |
|
|
| 20 Sep 2005 12:47:39 am |
| One for the Customers... |
|
|
I often write with other entrepreneurs in mind; hoping to share knowledge, and spare them the sort of growing pains I?ve experienced, by sharing my experiences. But tonight?s blog is for my customers. After all, it?s because of *you* that I am in business at all, and that I continue to be in business. Without you, Blue Piranha would have no reason to be.
I just finished a show in Roswell, Georgia. And while it was a long, hot (hotter than expected!) weekend, it was also a very gratifying one. I spoke to many, many customers this weekend, and you all were so wonderfully supportive. You appreciated my work artistically, you valued it for being handmade instead of mass-produced, you commented on my color choices, design skills, eye for proportion. Many of you paid me the ultimate compliment of parting with your hard-earned dollars in exchange for some of my work. And everyone was very kind. You spoke of how the love of my craft shows through in the finished work. How it?s exciting to you to see my new designs. How you looked for me at the Roswell Spring show, which I was not able to attend this year. You fed my confidence and encouraged me all weekend!
Writing out your compliments in this blog sounds like I?m patting myself on the back, but I?m not - I am hoping that those of you who might happen across this entry will read it and know how much I value you all. Your feedback gives me new ideas, spurs me to go in different directions with my work, encourages me on those days when I sit at the table and start working on the umpteenth prototype ? that will *still* end up in the scrap jar, because the design just isn?t ?right? yet. Your kind words calm the chattering monkeys in my head that tell me what I do isn?t good enough, isn?t artistic enough?and so on. I appreciate each and every last bit of feedback you provide.
The greatest joy in my life is my ever-supportive husband, whom many of you have met at shows. He believes fully in my business and abilities, and I could not be where I am today without his help and support. My second greatest joy is creating jewelry. It has sustained my creative side for more than ten years, and I am so fortunate to be able to do what I love, and to share it with you. My fondest wish is that you enjoy wearing the jewelry as much as I enjoy creating it. It?s so nice to know that for many of you, that definitely seems to be the case. *s*
Thank you! |
|
| |
Category : General
| Posted By : Jill | Comments[0] | Trackbacks [7438] |
|
|
| 15 Sep 2005 12:46:56 am |
| Be Yourself |
|
|
I know, it's a trite subject, being yourself. But this is what comes to me at 1 a.m. when I'm making inventory for a show...
What follows is an excerpt from a post I made in the Art Jewelry forum http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art/community/forum/:
You'll also notice that Dana Kellin has a *very* recognizable style - as does Yurman with the twisty stuff, Mann, etc. This helps to build brand recognition and appeals to certain markets. Many of us would do well to develop a recognizable style ourselves. Just like a Gucci bag (with the double-G's) or a designer dress is instantly recognizable (maybe not to most of us, but to other people who are wearing designer clothes), David Yurman jewelry is instantly recognizable, people know it costs A LOT, and so it conveys status. Like a big house or driving a Lexus. Most of our jewelry doesn't convey status - by way of a recognizable name and the means to afford it - to this type of customer. That can make a big difference.
The forum has many members who are very new to jewelry making, and of course their style is all over the place. As it should be - when first starting out in any medium, one's inclination is to try everything! So many choices, so many new things to make...but eventually, and *especially*, if one decides to earn one's living at their chosen medium, then having a distinct, recognizable style is priceless. It doesn't have be an "over the top" or "super-expensive" style, either. But it should be a style that people can associate with the designer - a style that is recognizable as your own.
It's commonly said that there's nothing new under the sun; everything has been done already...in fashion, jewelry, Art...but things keep getting reinvented, and even though an artisan might work in the Etruscan style, or the Art Deco style, they're trying to make a living now, not a hundred years ago, and *their* Etruscan style, while maybe derivative, becomes known as theirs - they own it, they promote it, they stay true to it, and the public begins to recognize it. And, if the designer is very lucky, they will make a good living from it.
I still haven't quite developed *my* own style, but I'm getting closer to it. In fact, I hope to have several styles (or at least a few) that become recognizable as distinctly Blue Piranha. I have been struggling for months to design in collections, instead of just a mishmash of "wire work" designs, and the collections are kicking my butt - by that I mean that they're harder to make than I thought. I think I have finally been able to start coaxing out a couple of collections, but still have to figure out the stones for them, which must be readily available, consistently cut sized, and in good enough supply for me to purchase more as needed. My goal is to move from mostly retailing to mostly wholesaling, and I want to do production work, which means I have to be able to consistenly have access to the necessary stones. That part I'll deal with later, but first I have to develop the designs themselves - the framework, so to speak.
How do you develop your own "look"? The best way is to be true...you know where I'm going with this, don't you...to yourself. A very wise artist gave me this advice, and I have carried it around with me ever since, thinking about how I want my jewelry to reflect who I am as a person and a designer, as well as appealing to my target market. Erika, who gave me this advice, is a natural girl, very down-to-earth and straightforward, with a sense of calm about her that I've never seen in another person. I suspect she could easily live "off the grid" and totally enjoy herself. Her jewelry is solid, bold yet delicate, earthy; some of it has a weathered, very nature-ish look...it's an absolute reflection of the artist who designs it.
If you analyze your life (or what you want it to be), and who you are - or who you want to be - then your designs should reflect that. It's rare that a tall, large-framed woman makes tiny, delicate things, and vice versa. It would be unusual for a minimalist to make glitzy, frou-frou designs (though there are always exceptions). My friend Jeannie, of J Jewelry, is small and delicately built, and that's the type of jewelry she makes. My friend Beth, of BT Designs, loves her trips to the beach, collects Folk Art, and likes earthy stuff. Her jewelry...you guessed it, is bold and organic-looking.
And me? I am a city girl at heart, though I love the outdoors, I love fashion and dressing up and wearing pretty things. I like clean lines and am a fiend about proportion, and am trying (though the clutter often defeats me) to live a minimalist lifestyle (shoes excluded, LOL). I will always choose classic things over trends, in my wardrobe, my home, and my jewelry. So the jewelry I design fits that aesthetic - or at least, I hope it's starting to. As I said, I'm not quite there yet.
Another reason to design true to who you are is that if you are selling your designs, it's a lot easier to sell what you really believe in. If you are not interested in trends, then don't design to them. If you can't *rave* about turquoise - or whatever stone is "hot" - then don't use turquoise just because it's "in". If glass really moves you, design with glass. If you love sourcing vintage items and incorporating them into your work, then by all means, do it. Design from your heart, and you (and your customers) will be happy. Our customers are not just buying our work; they're each buying the bits of ourselves we put into our designs. And you will enjoy knowing that they love owning / using / wearing the work as much as you love creating it for them. |
|
| |
Category : General
| Posted By : Jill | Comments[0] | Trackbacks [2416] |
|
|
| 05 Sep 2005 12:45:52 am |
| Hurricane Katrina Survivors... |
|
|
There?s really nothing for me to say about Hurricane Katrina that hasn?t already been said. Our hearts are aching for all those who are suffering and scrambling to survive in her wake. I have friends in New Orleans from whom I haven?t yet heard, and I can only pray that they are all right. I know of others who are enrolling their children in schools in the states to which they fled, applying for food stamps, calling their creditors in hope of some temporary relief, searching for new studios in which to work, trying to pick up the pieces and resume some semblance of a normal life.
The only thing I can do is encourage each of you to give as much as you can to help the survivors. We are donating through my husband?s employer, TNS, who is matching donations, and we are donating a piece of jewelry to the Etsy.com / Craft Revolution disaster relief efforts. For more information about this, here?s the link:
http://craftrevolution.com/craftersunited.htm
Please, do what you can. And keep the survivors in your minds and hearts. They will continue to need our help in the coming months as the Gulf Coast slowly rebuilds itself. |
|
| |
Category : General
| Posted By : Jill | Comments[0] | Trackbacks [2577] |
|
| |
| 1 |
|
|
