Memorygirls - Make Do and Mend

Tregemred

Memory_Girl wrote: »

best parties are in the kitchen anyways

could you teach people how to make a piece of jewellery. U turf up with your box of bits - do a blue peter and then let them have a go at something small, like earings or mobile dangly thingie.

people will pay a premium to "learn how" and make something for themselves - then make sure you keep everyone on your list for doing parties or commission based sales in the future. with lots of pretties on display you can make additional sales on the day - and sell vouchers for a "jewellery experience" too.

we made our bridesmaid jewellery at a party and it was great wearing it on the day because we had all been together making it. bride also commissioned her tiara from the lady who taught us.

great idea if you like the niche - get yourself around to local bridal shop and pop some bits into their display and leave your flyers.

Any other ideas for clairewop/??

mg

Clarewop,

Do you have a village hall/community centre/school/pub/social club within walking distance? You could run jewelery making sessions from there. My friend teaches quilting in village halls to beginners but also provides a space for experienced quilters to spread out, socialise and share ideas. She organises trips to exhibitions, talks and shopping for supplies and they car share which would help you. She has machines supplied by a retailer which she loans to anyone at the "class". A great way to "try before you buy". She also sells all the basic equipment at the same time and can order anything more unusual. The sessions run from 10-3 and really give you time to make significant progress without the distractions of home She has sessions 5 days a week and could run more. All this has been built up in under two years from nothing.

HTH

TGR

clairewop

julespickles wrote: »

*unlurks* Claire, I just wanted to say that the bracelet I bought from you is beautiful, I wear it all the time I think you set your prices too low though, I would have paid half as much again, so be careful you're not undervaluing your time and creativity!

aww thank you

I use a calculator a fellow crafter gave me, I add the cost of beads etc up, time how long it takes to make the peice, my hourly rate is £6 so thats 10p a minute, then times by 2.1

so say beads for a bracelet costs £2 and it takes 20 minutes to make + £2 x 2.1 = £8.40 I would round it up to 8.50.

macgirl

clairewop wrote: »

I tried making Tiaras lol nearly threw everything out the window need two good arms I think for all the wire work.

I'm not a very cofident person, so even though your ideas are fab, I don't think I could approach shops.

I have taught a church group to make earrings and sold jewellery on the night. But wouldn't have a clue how to market it.

I love the jewellery making bit, just not keen on the selling bit lol

I'm sure Claire your work is far better than you imagine. And I'll bet that far from people thinking your products are not made to a high enough standard, they'll be impressed by your creativity and tenacity.

I would recommend craft fairs. Most members of my family have done them - including myself and several friends. You will get to meet your customers first hand and will learn what people do (and don't like) and your range will evolve as you adapt according to the feedback you get.

Putting yourself out there will be nerve-racking, if not terrifying at first - but what's the worst that can happen? You sell nothing. But you'll do that sitting at home

Go on - book one and see how it goes. You might just surprise yourself and that will start building your confidence. The abundance of the Universe is for us all - so grab your bit, you're worth it!

macgirl

clairewop wrote: »

aww thank you

I use a calculator a fellow crafter gave me, I add the cost of beads etc up, time how long it takes to make the peice, my hourly rate is £6 so thats 10p a minute, then times by 2.1

so say beads for a bracelet costs £2 and it takes 20 minutes to make + £2 x 2.1 = £8.40 I would round it up to 8.50.

Also, step back and see how much it's worth. One thing might take 5 minutes to make and cost a quid, but might look like £15. Something else might cost £5, but only really look like £6 next to your other items - spread the profit margin across the range so you have a fair looking pricing structure.

You already have at least one satisfied customer, so I'll bet you could get heaps more :A

clairewop

Tregemred wrote: »

Clarewop,

Do you have a village hall/community centre/school/pub/social club within walking distance? You could run jewelery making sessions from there. My friend teaches quilting in village halls to beginners but also provides a space for experienced quilters to spread out, socialise and share ideas. She organises trips to exhibitions, talks and shopping for supplies and they car share which would help you. She has machines supplied by a retailer which she loans to anyone at the "class". A great way to "try before you buy". She also sells all the basic equipment at the same time and can order anything more unusual. The sessions run from 10-3 and really give you time to make significant progress without the distractions of home She has sessions 5 days a week and could run more. All this has been built up in under two years from nothing.

HTH

TGR

wow!! I was thinking the other night about hiring somewhere to do jewellery lessons, I so want to come off my incapacity benefit, and earn my own money, (at the moment i am allowed to earn £20 a week doing the jewellery) but with money so tight at the moment, i'm quite afraid to tell the dss I'm coming off it, even though its only £100 a week its very much needed. What if I cannot earn £100 a week?

Sorry girls I seem to be very negative with all your ideas I don't mean to be and i'm going to take them all aboard and once my house and beads etc are sorted, I will take all the ideas on board and have a damn good go.

macgirl

Good for you Claire, if MG can do it, so can you

clairewop

macgirl wrote: »

I'm sure Claire your work is far better than you imagine. And I'll bet that far from people thinking your products are not made to a high enough standard, they'll be impressed by your creativity and tenacity.

I would recommend craft fairs. Most members of my family have done them - including myself and several friends. You will get to meet your customers first hand and will learn what people do (and don't like) and your range will evolve as you adapt according to the feedback you get.

Putting yourself out there will be nerve-racking, if not terrifying at first - but what's the worst that can happen? You sell nothing. But you'll do that sitting at home

Go on - book one and see how it goes. You might just surprise yourself and that will start building your confidence. The abundance of the Universe is for us all - so grab your bit, you're worth it!

I do do craft fairs but never on my own.

I do the big cheese, and take good money there ( the big cheese usually taqkes enough money to pay for the beads i've bought boxes etc out of my own pocket and then a small profit )

I have a stall at the local farmers market every month, thats hit and miss some months i don't sell anything then other months its ok.

and I was doing craft around the bay with the woodturner that was a bit like the farmers market some weeksw selling some not.

clairewop

Well I'm off to bed now

Thankyou all so much for throwing different ideas my way I will take them all on board, all i need now is for the universe to give me a new printer and a fairy to come and sort all my beads out put them in the right places all away tidy, de clutter my house and refurbish through out, while i'm in bed lol I can dream

MrsMoo2U

clairewop wrote: »

wow!! I was thinking the other night about hiring somewhere to do jewellery lessons, I so want to come off my incapacity benefit, and earn my own money, (at the moment i am allowed to earn £20 a week doing the jewellery) but with money so tight at the moment, i'm quite afraid to tell the dss I'm coming off it, even though its only £100 a week its very much needed. What if I cannot earn £100 a week?

Sorry girls I seem to be very negative with all your ideas I don't mean to be and i'm going to take them all aboard and once my house and beads etc are sorted, I will take all the ideas on board and have a damn good go.

Well done, that is the first step. Get some sheets of paper and write all of the suggestions down, put them into envelopes and name them gift 1, gift 2 etc etc. Then write down your list of priorities, ie, declutter dining room, tile the bathroom and put them into order. As each one is ticked off open one of your gifts and start mindmapping ways to bring it to life. You dont have to do anything with right away but it could be your little gift for finishing a room off. Some things take time.
Can I echo what macgirl says. I have a friend with cerebal palsy and we are always inspired by her creativity, we never look at what she does as below par. I just wish I could be as patient with the details as she is. I am sure that people will not think that your things are below standard at all.

On a practical level, with regards to your Incapacity Benefit, do you have an adviser at JCP? If so ask them to talk to you about any schemes that may be operating that will allow you to do test marketing. This involves being able to set up a business for a set period of time and it will not affect your benefits. There are set guidelines but I worked with lots of people who have benefited from it. Its a while since I was involved but I am sure that this kind of thing still exists. Business Link or your Local Enterprise Council may be able to give you more information.

InterestedParent

clairewop wrote: »

Well I'm off to bed now

Thankyou all so much for throwing different ideas my way I will take them all on board, all i need now is for the universe to give me a new printer and a fairy to come and sort all my beads out put them in the right places all away tidy, de clutter my house and refurbish through out, while i'm in bed lol I can dream

Have you tried asking on Freecycle for a printer? What about children's jewelery parties. Little girls would love it and have something to take home. Parents like any party where someone else takes it out of their hands.