Synopsis
This book was written to help newcomers and veterans of the costume jewelry trade sell their jewelry. I will show you how to find the perfect rep, how to choose a winning showroom and how to sell online with and without a website. You will also find invaluable information on landing your own boutique accounts and what you absolutely must know before doing consignment. This book is meant to be a reference guide to help you turn your passion for creating jewelry into a profitable business. The information in this book is based on over 18 years of experience in the costume jewelry industry. I will expose you to potential problems of working with major department stores and offer you viable solutions. Our resource pages are filled with tons of industry contact information that you will refer to time and time again. We ve even included sample forms. If money is needed to get your business off the ground we ll explore avenues you probably haven t thought of to secure funds. We will help you avoid costly mistakes by taking you through the entire process of making and selling your jewelry. It is my hope that this book will help guide and drive your passion into whatever success you want your jewelry business to become. There is absolutely everything you need to know before you make, sell or consign your jewelry to anyone. A source of expert guidance to help you enter today s hot and growing jewelry business. You Made it...Now Sell it, covers both the opportunities and the risks to be found by making and selling your unique creations. This reference source is filled with practical, informative and easy to understand insider information. It is guaranteed to become your only reference source. Detailed information includes: 1. Everything you need to know before you sell your jewelry. 2. How to make sure you price your jewelry to make a profit and stay competitive. 3. How to wholesale your jewelry. 4. How to create the perfect business plan. 5. How to find financing for your business venture. 6. Selling online with and without a website. 7. Should you make production or one of a kind jewelry? 8. How to find the perfect rep to sell your jewelry. 9. How to make sure your jewelry is ready to compete. 10. What you absolutely have to do before you consign your jewelry. Our website was built to coincide with this book so you can access tons of resource information along with blank business forms you need to grow your business.
About the Author
One question I m always asked, is how did I get into beads and designing jewelry? It started with a vintage necklace that had been my mothers. Knowing absolutely nothing about how to put a broken necklace back together, I went to the library and found a book on jewelry making. A few days later I had a beautiful necklace and a pair of earrings. That s all it took to know that I had finally found my true passion. I poured my heart and soul into my jewelry. The compliments I got boosted my self esteem and gave me confidence that I didn t know I had. Eventually I started selling a few of my creations to friends and relatives. It wasn t long before I decided to see if I could make money with my designs. Even in the beginning, I knew that transferring what I loved into money would not be easy. Using vintage beads and Swarovksi crystals as primary components, one piece at a time, I labored over my first line that I tore apart and reassembled at least a dozen times before I had a style that I loved. It wasn t easy keeping myself motivated without any outside positive reinforcement. Believing in yourself and your dream is hardest in the beginning stages of converting your passion into a business. This is when you have to breath it, imagine it, feel it and desire it almost every waking moment. At those low inspiration points when my beads and what I was making with them weren t talking to me, I would draw on my dream and it always got me through. In the end my line consisted of 40 necklaces and earrings. I knew early on that I wanted to manufacture a wholesale production line. I wanted my jewelry in Nordstrom s, which was one of my favorite stores but had no idea how I would do it. In my quest to market my jewelry, I was told about a professional jewelry show at the Los Angeles Convention Center that I signed up for. It was at that show that I not only picked up several high-end boutique accounts but I met and hired my first rep. She simply adorned my jewelry and gave me pointers on pricing and perfecting my line; I will always be indebted to her for helping me find my way. A year later, my rep became ill and retired from representing designers, but I was up and running by then. She d gotten my jewelry into some of Los Angeles top boutiques, including many in Beverly Hills and Hollywood so finding a new rep with my track record was fairly easy. As destiny would have it, I signed on with one of the most sought after reps in Los Angeles. They got my jewelry to numerous celebrities and television shows including several soap opera television shows and Starsearch, which was a talent search show. Before long I was featured in major magazines and my dream of seeing my items in Nordstrom s, Saks, Horchow catalog, Neiman s, Cache and many upscale boutiques was realized. Eventually I grew my business into a half- million-dollar business a year. The huge learning curve I mastered was filled with numerous scrapes, bumps and falls but I not only survived...I thrived. My staff grew to over 20 employees and the vision I d had for my business became a reality. It is my hope that this book and my experience can help guide you into a successful jewelry career or whatever your desires are with your jewelry.
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