Picture This!

Picture This -- that's the name of the gift shop/art gallery in Eagle River that has been carrying my jewelry for about two years now.  I recently called to see if they needed more stock --

note to self: next year, call before Mother's Day

-- the always unexpected, but always welcome response was YES!

I brought my awkward load of stuff fine jewelry into the store on Tuesday morning.  I carry it in this bag that I purchased from this etsy shop.  My cases fit so nicely!

 

Michelle, the store manager had already warned me that the purchase would probably be limited.  To make a long story short, she had a hard time deciding which earrings not to purchase, that she ended up making quite a large purchase:  68 pairs of earrings and 11 necklaces.  

While that did not wipe me out, it did put a serious dent in my earring inventory.  On the way home, while I stewed about selling so much at wholesale, I tried to focus on the positives:

-- I did not have to use 79 gift boxes

-- I did not have to use 79 pieces of tissue paper 

-- I did not have to use 79 business cards

-- I did not have to pack & ship 79 pieces of jewelry

Wholesale?  Hell yes!  The only other time I get to sell in such large quantities is at a show, when I still need to use the boxes, tissue paper, business cards, merchandise bags, etc.  Plus, I have to be pleasant and all smiley-faced for hours on end.  This wholesale meeting took about 1/2 hour.  I can be pleasant and friendly for that short time period with ease!

As a side note, I gave a pair of earrings to Michelle as a gift.  Have to keep her happy, don't I??

About those 2 wholesale orders last week ...

I may have mentioned that I had 2 wholesale orders last week.  The funny part is that both stores are located on 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage -- just 1 block away from each other.  How do I feel about that?  About having 2 stores so close to one another carrying my merchandise?  I feel fine about it.  Wanna know why?  I'll tell you anyway.

One store (Grizzly's Gifts) is kitschy and geared primarily towards the tourist traffic.  What do they order from me, you ask?  They are only interested in my ivory and sterling silver jewelry and order from my wholesale catalog.  This photo is a sampling of what I offer there:

The fossilized mammoth ivory is elegant and neutral and sells well in these types of stores.  Grizzly's has a selection of ivory jewelry from artists all over the state.  I'm glad to be represented there.  And they pay in a timely manner -- always a big plus!

The second store is Cabin Fever.  I've known the owner, Jana, for many years.  She's a terrific supporter of local artists.  She buys only my one-of-a-kind pieces, much like what you find in my etsy shop.  It really moves in her shop because she displays it well and is a master marketer.  Oh, and she pays in a timely manner as well.  Gotta love that.

These 2 retail stores are different and they sell completely different product lines of mine.  Most customers wouldn't even realize that those 2 product lines are produced by the same artist.  And that's fine with me.  I admit that I'm not in this business to "make a statement" with my art.  I'm here because I need to make a living and I truly enjoy what I do.  But I'm no purist.  Most of the time, business objectives trump artistic freedom. 

That's just the way it is ... for me.  Please tell me how you feel about this.

New Wholesale Accounts ... Redux

Yes, it is unusual to get any wholesale orders 2 weeks before Christmas, but that's exactly what happened to Orion Designs! Both of these orders took me by surprise and I must admit that I was NOT too anxious about filling large orders at this time of year. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Grizzly's Gifts in downtown Anchorage caters mostly to summer tourists, so I am at a loss to explain their fairly large order of ivory and silver jewelry from my original Orion Designs website. They chose some necklaces and matching earrings. Hopefully this will lead to some follow-on business when the actual tourist season begins.

This photo is from my website, but my print catalog has a much more extensive selection of ivory jewelry. The ivory is all ancient and fossilized mammoth ivory that I purchase from a very reputable dealer. No animals were destroyed to obtain this ivory.



The other order was from Bell's Nursery and Gifts in south Anchorage. It is a beautiful place, especially in the summer. Their gift shop is extensive and full of kitchen gear, china, crystal, home decor and some jewelry. Apparently they do a great amount of business during the holiday season with a large selection of Christmas trees, wreaths and poinsettias. The day I was there, the gift shop was buzzing with activity. The buyer made some selections from my existing inventory, which was embarrassingly low. I certainly wasn't expecting the call from Bell's when it came, otherwise I would have built some new inventory.

When I asked how she found me, she said she had purchased a pair of my earrings in a gallery in Anchorage and she loved them. All of my earring cards have my contact information on the back. Good thing, huh?

These two orders made me just that much happier this season!

New Wholesale Account

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the manager of Meg Allen Salon in Anchorage with a wholesale inquiry. She had seen my work on etsy and wanted to carry some of my jewelry. Rebecca and I met and she liked the items I brought. Voila, a new account was born. They also have a nice blog.

The salon was warm and inviting. The front "room" had some lovely comfy chairs and sofas. The tables were adorned with fresh chocolates and there were handcrafted items available for purchase attractively displayed throughout.

If you find yourself in South Anchorage, stop in and have a look around.

A Word About Wholesale

As an artisan who makes her living with her craft, I long ago decided to include the selling of my work at wholesale as part of my business plan.

In order to offer my jewelry at wholesale I have to ensure that it is priced in such a way as to still be profitable for me. For some of my products, the decision to wholesale was easy. All of my earrings that are priced (retail) anywhere between $15 and $32 are available for wholesale. My higher priced earrings are not. My interchangeable earrings are not. For those 2 product lines, I would rather sell them myself at what I consider reasonable prices, than to raise them for the sole purpose of being able to sell them wholesale.

If you are considering wholesale and have any questions about the details of my pricing formulas, please contact me.

Now a few words about one of my wholesale accounts. There are not many independently owned clothing stores in Anchorage, but there are a few very nice ones. Portfolio and Classic Woman are two stores owned by the same woman and they are back-to-back in a busy area of midtown. I early 2006, I made an appointment with the owner to show her some of my jewelry. I brought in 22 necklaces and 24 pairs of earrings for her to see. She purchased all of them on the spot. For the remainder of that year, I was kept busy with lots of orders for her stores. That year, she purchased over 150 necklaces and countless pairs of earrings. We've been doing business ever since ... at a continuing high volume.

I make a point of visiting the stores frequently to get a feel for the colors that are popular and plan my next order accordingly. Jo (the owner) and her staff have a knack for displaying my jewelry with the perfect outfit. Many customers purchase the entire outfit, accessories included. Jo can sell my jewelry in color combinations that I could never sell at a craft show -- I don't have the outfit to display it with! It may seem obvious, but it's really marketing genius on Jo's part.

I was delivering an order yesterday and took this photo. It was a beautifully sunny day, so there's lots of glare and reflection in the photo, but take a look at her "tag line" under the store name. I love it.


If you can't read it, here's what it says: "an artful collection of fresh clothing for fun people"