Jewellery
Both my mother and my girlfriend tell me that a girl can never have too much Jewellery. A quick scan of either of their collections would give a very clear indication that quality is not the primary consideration. Not that either of them is lacking nice (read expensive) pieces but the majority would be classified as costume jewellery in that it is designed to be co-ordinated with various outfits and may or may not contain precious stones, gold, silver etc.
It is both the range, and demand that make Jewellery an attractive product line. You get to sell things that your customers will love regardless of the price range that you operate in.
You will need to decide whether you want to buy or manufacture your products, and what kind of jewellery you want to work with. Jewellers often specialise for example in primarily Silver pieces, or pieces with jade or amber settings. You may prefer to work with wood or plastics or around a specific theme. Be clear about this as it will become part of your brand and thus your company identity.
Distribution for this product line can initially be very local and should be fun. Be creative about your approach and try to get your products in front of as many people as possible. Our website focuses on businesses that are affordable to start up and as such we will assume that you are not supplying Platinum jewellery or large precious stones.
We suggest the following approaches: -
Website
Party Planning
Fashion boutiques
Magazines/Journalists
Trade shows and craft fairs
Setting up a Shop
Whether you buy your stock up front or provide it to order you will want to be able to display your wares. What better way than from a well designed website carrying professional quality photographs? If your supplier has these already then just ask to copy them, and if not then be prepared to invest in having your entire range photographed at a standard that will impress. The background and lighting are very important to show your pieces off appropriately. You can use the same photographs to show your wares on Ebay and make sure you link back to your website. Have the URL printed on your business cards so that you can direct acquaintances to the site and look into search engine optimisation techniques (SEO) so that you will appear at the top of the rankings for jewellery in your area.
Jewellery is made for party planning events. Start with close friends and family, pass the pieces around and let people try them on. Keep your price list separate so that everyone feels relaxed about handling them and has time to fall in love. Jewellery is very much an emotional purchase and if your customers are scared off before they have been seduced you will miss out on sales. You can read more on our ˇ§finding customersˇ¨ pages about how to run these events. If you know of friends or family who have birthdays or anniversaries coming up then donˇ¦t be afraid to pick up the phone to their partners and offer to help them pick something out.
Many independent fashion boutiques will be very happy to carry jewellery that complements their range. Make sure that you pass on enough of the mark-up to make it worth their while, and be prepared to change your range regularly. Try to talk with the owner about how you could help them display and market your pieces. Leave your business cards with the display so that customers can find you if they want to see the rest of your range.
Advertising is a high priced option for this type of product, unless you are planning in setting up the next Tiffany's. If you have contacts in the fashion industry this will be easier, but your goal should be to get your pieces used in fashion shoots, or worn at industry events in order to gain some publicity. Many fashion magazines will list all the suppliers including accessories. You may need to give away some samples to get this kind of exposure but I have seen it work effectively even with very large publications. A little research and a well targeted gift and note should help immensely.
Trade shows and craft fairs can be great for certain types of jewellery and especially if you have elected to manufacture your own stock. If you are not sure whether this is for you then attend some events and get a feel for what is on offer. Speak to people who are showing jewellery and find out what you can about the price of stands, how they know when shows are on etc. Of course even when you are not showing you are free to tell people what you do, wear your own stock, hand out business cards etc.
We have already established that Jeweller is an impulse, or emotional purchase. Think about where the jewellery shops are located in your local mall or high street. They tend to have expensive corner locations to attract as many browsers as possible. Extensive window displays show as much stock as possible to entice you in. If you decide to go down this route you will need a lot of stock and be prepared to invest some money, but given the mark ups available it may well be worth it. We would highly recommend trying some of the other strategies above beforehand to ensure that you know what you are doing, and look for premises that are near boutiques and up and coming brands which will attract foot traffic but will be less expensive than a high street store.
If you are talented in design and good with your hands then you may want to go on a course and learn to make your own jewellery. This offers a certain cache and will make your pieces more appealing to family and friends when you start off, but may be limiting later on if you decide that you want to expand. Who will take care of distribution and marketing if you spend all your time manufacturing?
Being completely talent less when it comes to artistic pursuits or anything that requires manual dexterity I would opt to purchase my stock from manufacturers or wholesalers, but this still leaves a huge choice. Remember to stay within your chosen genre and search the web. Some examples of what is available can be found at: -
www.rachelseddon.co.uk
www.pixiejewels.com
www.dianaporter.co.uk
www.fashionjewelleryonline.com
www.beaded-jewellery.com
www.gxonlinestore.org/jewelry.html
www.alibaba.com also has 3800 plus suppliers of Jewellery and www.Google.com has 431,000,000 hits if you just type jewellery, so you will need to narrow your search.
Not everyone has the same taste, donˇ¦t be put off if you do not immediately find buyers, if you like your stock you will find others that do.
Try to keep costs to a minimum when you start out so that you can re-invest in your stock
Don't be afraid to charge what you think your pieces are worth. If you arenˇ¦t sure then look for similar pieces in your local shops and understand what they sell for.