How much have you paid for your tiaras etc?

susiecm3

I am looking for some info from you ladies, my hobby is jewellery making and i am about to complete the end of my course, and my jewellery love has been the wedding jewellery :-)

One thing that shocked me whilst doing some research is the price of some of the tiaras :eek:

What have you looked for when buying your items?

Price? bespoke items? material? designer name?

I want to try and make affordable jewellery but don't want people to think its because i am using lesser quality materials because this would not be the case, but i don't happen to agree to the pricing policy we have been taught at college as it is only my hobby and i would only be doing it because i want to and I cant justify charging for lighting and electric as I don't tend to sit in the dark and cold when I am not making jewellery!!

Any thoughts would be great

seafarers_wife

mine is very basic, just a diamante headband about 4 diamantes wide with diamente flowers evenly spaced on it. i paid just under £60 and was happy with that price.

eta

i didnt care about price, designer name, or anything like that. just that it looked nice on me, if it had been more than £100 i would have looked for another.

sammy_wheeler

i got my tiara, necklace, bracelet (and earing which i am going to sell) for £50- from usa website. i wouldnt pay more than £20 for a tiara

TamVilla80

I bought mine from a local independent jewellery maker and paid £16 for mine, and £14.50 each for my bridesmaids tiaras - although they were 20% in the sale. I think they are much nicer than the £70-£100 ones I saw in the wedding dress shop, bit more bespoke I suppose, and a lot cheaper too!
Good luck!

Amymo

Eek, I paid £75 but the detail matches my dress and so I couldn't say no

codemonkey

£6 from ebay. It's lovely.

Toothfairy4

I think mine was about £40 from the wedding dress shop, it has diamantes/pearls etc. I wasnt bothered about designer names etc, tried it on with my dress and fell in love with it

emsbet

I got mine from Glitzy Secrets, it cost £44.50 and I love it


xx

celyn90

susiecm3 wrote: »

I want to try and make affordable jewellery but don't want people to think its because i am using lesser quality materials because this would not be the case, but i don't happen to agree to the pricing policy we have been taught at college as it is only my hobby and i would only be doing it because i want to and I cant justify charging for lighting and electric as I don't tend to sit in the dark and cold when I am not making jewellery!!

Honest thoughts?

I will pay more, a lot more, for something handmade by an independent artist than something mass produced. I will pay extra if it is bespoke and if I can liase with the artist to create something unique. I will pay extra for innovative design, good materials and things that aren't costume jewellery. I will pay more for uniqueness and more for ethically sourced materials

Even if you think it is a hobby - selling your wares makes you a business, answerable to business regulations, legislation and HMRC. You should - even for small scale craft work - have appropriate public and product liability insurance and declare your income yearly to HMRC. Your costings need to take into account not only your materials, but all overheads. What is left should cover your time, your skill and land you a profit.

My bridal wrap was handmade by a textile artist in Lituhania. I paid more for that than I did for the dress because it is worth more to me than something I picked up in the sale in Debenhams. My necklace was handmade by a silversmith from Folksy - it again, cost more than the dress.

My tiara (well, it's more of a circlet) I made myself, the materials, (sheet silver/silver solder etc) cost about £30. I made my own because I couldn't find anything I liked and left it too late to get a proper silversmith to do it.

What I am trying to say is that whatever price bracket you aim for, you should cover your costs (all of them!) and make a profit at the end of it. I'm not saying that you should just make expensive stuff - certainly not - but whatever you make should give you a profit. People are willing to spend more on wedding stuff and occasionware.

Of course you will normally use lower cost materials for lower cost items; otherwise your item is of less value than the sum of its parts.

If it sells, you've got the balance right, if it doesn't you need to change tack. But as far as I can see you must charge appropriately simply as if you don't value your work, noone else will.

susiecm3

Thank you everyone for the replies, its given me some ideas on prices

Thank you Celyn90 I would love to work with the client and create more bespoke pieces like you have said, I am already self employed so fully understand my obligation to hmrc, etc :-)

I am lucky enough to have friends who work abroad Thailand and in India and they are always sending me bits and putting me in touch with smaller distributors as they know i am like a magpie so I know I can source nice beads etc and because they know where they are coming from it makes me feel better as I know they will be ethically sourced :-)

Susan

lisa26_2

I paid £160 for my tiara, bracelet, necklace and earrings, this is the range:

http://www.juneellen.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=53&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=4

I made up for spending so much on mine though.....the bridesmaids tiaras were £3 each from good old primiarni lol!!