So I’ve had a strange week that will soon be nothing more than a distant memory but for now I feel it’s something worth discussing.
As a self taught Metalsmith that makes organic jewelry, the one thing that I like about my jewelry, as well as the jewelry of other small Metalsmiths like myself is that our jewelry has character. I like the fact that my jewelry is not perfect like what you find in stores because those are cast and processed through assembly lines and have zero character and soul. That’s why I love what I do and as my line progresses I plan on making my pieces even more organic and free form exaggerating all the subtle flaws and beauty that resides in hand fabricated metal.
I had a very nasty encounter with a customer this week that took my rings to a professional jeweler that of course ripped my jewelry apart. She was thrilled and gushing at how beautiful the set was when she initially received her order but the tables turned very quickly. During the month of May, I got inundated with orders on a particular ring set because it was at a very good price point. I was very happy to get the orders in but soon got very overwhelmed because of the sheer number that came in. I miss-sized a set for this particular customer and they fit but were a bit snug and she got really nasty very quickly. I offered the customer the option to send the rings back for a re-size and that I would take care of it. If I make a mistake I always refund shipping costs to get it back to my studio as well as shipping it back to them for free. Instead of taking my offer to re size them she in turn decided to try to shake me down for half the price of the set.
So something that I could have handled very quickly to make her happy turned into a crap fest about the quality of my jewelry, etc. that she initially loved days ago. After intensely negative and demeaning emails from this woman, I decided that enough was enough. She wasn’t going to be happy no matter what I said or did for her so instead of taking anymore abuse I told her to return the wedding set for a full refund. She doesn’t want a refund, just the discount. What?! So my jewelry was good enough to wear at a discount but not bad enough to send back to me for a full refund. This customer is still emailing me telling me that I need to offer the partial refund and that if I’m a good business owner that’s what I would do. No. being a good business owner is about being smart and knowing when a bad customer is just a bad customer. Yes, there are bad customers and No, the customer is not always right.
Am I going to change the way that I make my jewelry? Yes, my pieces will be even more organic because I prefer a clientele that wants handmade and not someone merely buying handmade because it’s cheaper than if they went to a retail store. The thing is, the 3 rings that I sold in this set was way less than this customer could find in a retail shop and I truly feel as if she wanted a cast type perfect ring at a bargain price and what she got was what was in the picture. A handmade product.
It’s a good lesson for me because It’s made me come to the realization that I want my pieces to be more organic to filter out buyers looking for perfection. That’s what retail mall jewelry shops are for. They have plenty of factory cast sweat shop pieces at high markups to suit every taste. I just don’t want the type of people that like shopping in those sweatshop catered retail stores to come to my site looking for a bargain and expecting mass produced quality because it’s not going to happen. I’m not a factory. So in light of this eye opening situation certain ring styles and sets are going to be disappearing from my shop so that I can rework the bands a little to give them even more character because truly that’s what I’m about. I want character in my pieces. I want for people to see the work that I put into taking raw materials and assembling them into jewelry that they could love for years.
I’m glad I stood my ground because in the end it will work out. She can buy her jewelry elsewhere and I’ll have materials in which to scrap and recreate into something else. Works for me.
Words to live by people… If you ever have a doubt over whether you should purchase something mass produced from sweatshops or something full of handmade goodness from an artisan, read the pledge. I flat out refuse to personally wear jewelry that is mass produced. Why wear something that everyone and their Grandmother can get their hands on? With Christmas around the corner, it’s time to support Independent artists and move away from factory made goods.
Run, don’t walk and make your pledge to buy handmade this Holiday season. You won’t be disappointed.
Ok, I’ll step off my soapbox now..
Jennifer Lynne, the fashion maven behind
Porcelynne Lingerie and the writer of this fabulous
book contacted me last week. I have to say, this book is exactly what you need to get started and to learn the ins and outs of start up in regards to your own Fashion label.
Her book is very easy to follow and covers all the basics. Jennifer goes into topics such as: Developing your line, Production, Marketing, Building a business plan, etc with various detailed subtopics that cover everything that you require. Subjects are covered that can help make your dream a reality as well as keeping that dream running for years to come.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to get the low down on what is needed to make that jump. Jennifer’s experience from the beginning of her journey to where she is now, as a successful business woman, will help you become what you’ve always wanted to be.
Be sure to purchase this book available through Amazon.com at the link below.
Fashion Unraveled: How to Start, Run and Manage an Independent Fashion Label
So Etsy and Mintd, as well as some other well known Indie sites that do not sell on these group sites, were hit by what I would call a “serial spammer”. This person signed up on these selling sites, with no intentions of selling anything but spam, just to gain access to Indie artists. She sent out hundreds of form letters asking for products for “review”. I went to this site after receiving it in my inbox at Mintd and I was not impressed in the least, nor were the many people in the forums that received this girls spam. She had been up less than a month, had no traffic to warrant an Indie artist sending her anything because her traffic wouldn’t give them anything in return, and had a disclaimer that your items would not be returned.
I knew it was garbage the second I saw her rinky site, but a few Indie artists were actually considering it because they’re new to the advertising game.
Please do not fall prey to people like this. They set up sites for a short period of time with the intention of trying to get free product from hard working people. People that can’t just afford to send “samples” for some lady to keep while you’re hoping for traffic that will never come because their stats don’t add up.
There are countless sites that do product reviews that “do not ask” for your products because they don’t need to. If your pictures can sell product to customers then that should be good enough. Don’t pay for advertising or send free merchandise to a blog just because they ask. Do arm yourself with the knowledge and make it a point every time to “check their stats”. Any site can boast that they have readers and traffic, the proof is in their stats and google rating.
This is a good resource to bookmark when you are looking for advertising options:
http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php
If in doubt, ask the owner of the blog to supply stats or their rating so you can make your decision based on their traffic and whether or not they have any. Blogs pop up every single day, it’s the ones that ask for money for advertising and products with nothing to back it up, that you need to question. ( A google ranking of 4 and above is the average)
There are a lot of great blogs out there that have great rates for advertising and have traffic to support that fact. Here are some great Indie operated sites to advertise with:
Modish
Mixed Plate
Creature Comforts
Blooming Lily
Fonetik
Miss Malaprop
Indie Shopping
Just to name a few….
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