Pugaboo Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Hi all! Just wanted to share my newest design line of jewelry. I'm really excited about this addition to me repetroi. I also posted a couple photos in my gallery and will try to add more as I can. These are high end pieces using silver plated wire, semi precious stones, and crystals as well as glass and metal beads. That said the most important part are the focal beads! I made them myself (of course!). I had to learn a whole new technique for getting the holes into these beads as they run differently than my usual beads and pendants. The largest are a little over an inch wide and the hole runs from side to side rather than front to back. That is a long hole to get clear of glaze let me tell you! There are 3 different sized leaf beads that I made in this piece the smallest only about 1/2 of an inch and the largest dangle bead on the necklace over an inch. I hope you like them and hope a little hope for me since I used them in our art centers yearly competition. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeU Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Gorgeous...and I especially love that they are not perfectly symmetrical yet still have a nuance of mirrored placement.Really charming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Comments in the gallery. I will post some of it again. These pieces are "designer" in quality and are exceptional in details. My caution to you is to not "undersell" them. The door to "brand" your work is wide open. They should be marketed as designer, custom, high end pieces: and your prices should reflect that. I would also consider limiting the supply: which creates demand, which in turn increases price. Nerd Edit: I would be looking at jewelry stores for marketing these pieces: not the typical venues including shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darran Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 That's brilliant, love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugaboo Posted September 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Lee - thank you! The asymmetrical yet balanced part was the hardest to get right for me. I tend to make things too perfect (read BORING) if you get what I mean. Nerd - thank you! Great minds and all that, I had already decided I wasn't going to take them to festivals they need a better venue than that. I am planning on offering them online and will be taking them around to some galleries and jewelry shops to see if I can get any interest. I did some searching online to help with a starting price and am pricing the set for $120 to start, and that is wholesale pricing. We shall see, it's a always a challenge to find the sweet spot. I am also trying to decide if I will only offer them as sets or if I am going to make and sell individual pieces. Each one is pretty much one of a kind there is no way to duplicate them due to the creation process. Darren - thank you T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyK Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Beautiful and inspirational work, Terry! I ran a gallery for a year about 10 years ago and would have loved to have your work to promote. Good luck with the new venture and definitely stick with the high end offerings! JohnnyK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 YES! YES!! YES!!! ECHO EVERYTHING EVERYONE SAID! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preeta Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 wow they are amazing terry. very timely design too. $120 is still a steal. look at all the intricate work just in the earring itself. WOW!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SydneyGee Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 $120 is far too low. I would start at a minimum of $220, and you can always drop if you feel they are not selling. That took a lot of time and detail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugaboo Posted September 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Inside secret is it's amazingly easy to do, it takes a little time but I have included $10 an hour labor for myself in the wholesale price. I buy all the beads and wire wholesale and literally by the pound or by the multi 100 foot rolls, the ceramic beads take a miniscule amount of clay and glaze. Most of the time used in creating the beads is in the hole cleaning but I have been getting a better system for that set up and have already cut that time by half. Wholesaling at $120 means a retail price of $240, and that's a starting point for these sets going by the prices I have seen for pieces online. I will get better at making them and faster as well and adjust the price as I find the market bearing rate. Thank you all for your wonderful input! I already have 2 shops asking for several sets each to see if they will sell in their locations. I've been a busy girl and made over 300 of the beads in various shades of blue ( I LIKE blue), as well as lilac, the Falling brightly. I did some plain white beads which I will be testing a set with little a pugs printed on the focal beads to see how they do. I have a few more ideas I am percolating around in my head that I will test out as time allows. I have 3 shows this month, 2 next and one in November as I also gear up for holiday sales. January is always a good month for experimentation, though there is the February show to get ready for... LOL You all get all of this, as potters you never really stop just figure out ways to do more in the same time period. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Pug: You are the artist, so the final call on pricing is yours. Not sure how far you are from Atlanta; but that is where the big money is in your area. A trendy boutique, swanky jewelry store, or urban designer store. I think your wholesale needs to be in the 160-180 range: just sayin! Nerd ... hoping for your biggest and best success.... sick em kid!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Complex stuf. Have you tried sticking a tooth pick in either endof the beed before dipping in Glaze. Match stick if tooth pick to slender. I guess you would have.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugaboo Posted September 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 A tiny update on this topic... We had the award for results of the yearly competition this evening and I won 2nd and 3rd place in jewelry, the Vine Set and the Turquiose Set! Yay! I was surprised but happily so. No awards for the silkscreened plate sets but those are harder to understand if you don't realize pottery can be silkscreened and that is okay I love the process and results I get with it and am hoping people will as well. Now the real test.... Seeing if people will actually hand over the money for them. I admit I am terrible at marketing and wish I could just create everything and hand it over to someone else to market and sell it. My marketing strategy is try different things and see what sticks, if it fails move on and try some thing else. Not a great strategy but it's all I know how to do. It's a happy night here in Pugaboo and I even celebrated with PIZZA! T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhPotter Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 Congratulations on a job well done!! Bask in the glow of success for awhile - it is OK. The warmth will carry over past the not so successful times. The 2 that placed are my favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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