If You Build, They Will Come....But You Must Start

So, it's been a while since I have blogged on anything regarding my jewelry and the work to get my name out there. Like most jewelry artisians, we don't initially start off with the neccessary confidence that our work will sell or that it's good enough. We simply do it for the sheer joy and relaxation of crafting. However, eventually, your work will get noticed and you may have to decide, what your next step will be. For me, it was to make my work an actual brand. And the process to build has begun, but...it isn't always easy but very rewarding.

The holiday season 2011 brought about a new turn for me. I held my first full scale jewelry trunk show setup at our second annual Mistletoe Market at the Arts Clayton Gallery in Jonesboro, Ga. My first show (wishing I had pictures to compare to and show you what I mean), was cool but, the women around me had such lovely setups and their work was brought to life buy the arrangements. There setup were inviting and professional and many stopped by just to check it out. All I had were a few necklace busts and some flat jewelry stands. I mainly just laid my work out on a 6ft khaki colored table and went from there. I didn't have any fabric nor stands nor did I create an atmosphere that was inviting. I just wanted to show my work. I did make some sales that day back in 2010 and I had the most sales, even though it was a rainy day in December. However, after looking at the set up of this Columbian lady named Piya, I decided I seriously needed to step my game up a bit and to look outside of the box of the current materials I was using, Piya of Piya Pique designs had a very contemporary but clean set up featuring all of her natural handwork with Tagua, bombona, carved gourd  and acai berry beads. Her set up made me buy a pair of earrings from her, which I don't mind as I love supporting the handmade movement and my fellow jewelry artisians. Her set up consisted of a simple but highly textured and colorful mat that complemented her jewelry. The polished wood and brick of the art gallery highlighted her pieces even more. So inspiring, I was smitten by all the color in her work and how heavy the pieces looked but yet, there were so light. I may have sold more but she most certainly made the most money because although, she had few pieces strategically laid out, the cost was a pretty penny but they were very unique and the set up helped to communicate the overall look of her work and she matched it! When the show was done, she just rolled up her mat and she was out the door, in less than 10 minutes. She was eco-friendly and time savvy. So, on my agenda came the following: indentify the look of my work and narrow it down, create a setup that matches the tone of my work, and my style should reflect the look of my work. In other words, I need to connect and build if I want my brand to preceed me.

Now, December 2011 rolls around and even though I did not get all that I planned for the vision of this jewelry show, I think I did pretty well with the combination I came up with. So....I gave my first set up a try. I wanted to go for color and allowed myself and my lovely fiance' to remain neutral in all black so as to let the jewelry speak. For this Mistletoe Market Trunk Show, I think I did well considering it was a wonderful sun shiny day and the colors just reflected wonderfully. I tried my best to capture the colors in the photos but I am by no means a professional photographer. I am just trying to make sure that I get pictures of these things from now on which  I didn't do before. The full set up didn't not cost so much. The fabric came from JoAnn's for an amazing $2.99 per yard with a coupon I had already. I spent around $24 total since I got 3 yards of each color for the most part and 4 yards for the main color. The chargers were just a dollar from Michael's and the necklace busts were regular items that I already had. I got an excellent deal on the trays from ebay. I found the "premier jewellry" carrying cases that came with the trays for around $25.00. I was able to snag two which gives a professional appearance for my work and made it easier to transport. The setup paid off. The main piece, my "Lady Gong" necklace pictured at the top with the huge hammered golden brass pendant was chosen by the art gallery's director, Linda Summerlin (THANK YOU!!!!!), to be added to the art gallery's shop for sale. The same necklace is currently up for raffle for the Arte DeGras gala being held this Friday to raise funds for children's initatives to further education for the arts, which they are trying their best to remove from schools nowadays. I am more than happy to have offered it.

They say that while you are hosting a jewelry setup at festival etc., you shouldn't sit down, well....we couldn't. We worked all day as people were drawn to the colors and energy we emited. I am a true believer that color is powerful and so is your energy which is why I am so in love with the art of Tibetan Jewelry. The show began at 10am and ended at 4pm. I took quite some time to setting up (about 1 hour) and I was still shuffling around with the arrangements. I have made my notes from this show and will be working on a more time efficient route (suggestions are VERY welcomed). I will be looking into wooden busts as they have more of a warm and artistic appeal. I am doing my best to plan my first stand-alone jewelry show this year, hopefully next month but....if I build it, it will happen but I have to start, somewhere. The other artists there at the show were all wonderful and helped with the beautiful atmosphere. We all did. I eneded up getting two crochet dolls from a vendor at this Mistletoe Market that I had to have and some ornament earrings from another vendor. I was very content!

Well, here are some pictures of the set-up. I think I did okay but can definitely do better. I will post again since this is truly a work in progress and I am enjoying watching my baby grow. She surprises me everyday.





www.DiviniteJewellry.com