After spending some time the past few weeks re-visiting sites of interest to my historic bead work, such as the Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall and a few museums, it has inspired me to expand the types of beads I make and also to look back at the beads I've made. For the past two years I've worked as much on understanding how the beads were created as actually making them, it's been a very worthwhile effort and one I will always be glad that I did. Taking several years to really have a feel for the beads and spending so much time looking at examples both in publications and in museums has given me the sense of how important they were to their original owners. Not only as decoration or statements of importance, status, power but also as expressions of admiration, affection, respect or love for the recipients of the beads.
Each bead I have looked at is unique, every one created by a beadmaker somewhere and somewhen in the past. Some of the beadmakers were skilled, some of them were very average and some of them, quite frankly, were terrible but every one of them made beads which were treasured by the owner. It is such an enjoyable experience to look at these ancient beads and then have the pleasure of re-creating them again as they most likely appeared when they were new.
Another aspect that I have been enjoying lately is the expansion from the general to the specific, making beads from particular finds rather than general beads of various types. I have ranged across the centuries from early Iron Age beads on through the late Viking-era beads and occasionally stepped past that in date too. There is a world of beads out there as yet untapped and un-made by me, this year is the one that is the start of that expansion into specific finds. As I make them, I think of the connection with the past, the person who owned that particular bead and the person who will own my version of it. Will it be found in a thousand years?
I hope so.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Form first, technique first
Brad Pearson says it so well.
http://pearsonglass.blogspot.com/
Before taking those huge, silver-glass-laden, dichroic steps, make sure the bead you're applying all that glitz to is a good bead.
http://pearsonglass.blogspot.com/
Before taking those huge, silver-glass-laden, dichroic steps, make sure the bead you're applying all that glitz to is a good bead.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Culture clash or simple ethics
In the past month or so we have been trying to track down the people responsible for stealing images of handmade beads from our website, marking them up with prices and sending them out in emails along with a number of other bead images, purporting to sell the beads for the prices on the images, sometimes for amounts around $25/kilo!
While trying to track down the people responsible we've found something that is not just sad but disgusting. No one in India seems to care. One person who had answered an email from us about the issue said essentially that it is 'normal practice' for the company in question to steal images. and that other companies routinely download other images and then pass them off as theirs for sale. The old chestnut of watermarking images was brought up, but why? Every image of a one-of-a-kind bead set would be slashed with messages, so the people who want to buy the sets from us would struggle to see the actual sets. Should we punish our customers because of thieves elsewhere?
We were told that there is nothing we can do. We can approach the British Embassy in India but we doubt that they're going to bother a large Indian company at the behest of an individual artist. A bit of the David and Goliath about it, yes? Imagine the Embassy giving a quick call to the company:
Embassy: Hello, yes, I'm contacting you about some images you stole from a website in the UK. Yes, we're not happy with it.
Them: Shove off. Tell them if they don't stop complaining we'll ruin them.
Succinct, and to the point. Bless them!
Watermarking. Why? Might as well take a photo, put a big blot on it and say 'Here you go, there are beads under there somewhere but we're afraid some thief in India or Russia or wherever is going to nick these images and pass my work off as their own so could you please base your purchases on the little edges of the beads you can see around the watermarks? Thanks ever so much.' Might as well start putting copyright notices across everything to stop the unethical. There goes the art world.....
No. Thieves are thieves. We're not going to blot our landscape for them. If they steal, it's their problem, if we find out about it we'll tell everyone but we refuse to ruin the work we present to the world because they can't be honourable, ethical or frankly just nice.
Oh, yes. Is it a culture clash? No. People are either honest or not. There's no license to steal in Russia or India, ethics don't change based on location. Thieves are thieves no matter where they stand. We refuse to believe that location creates OR excuses such actions. That would be an insult to the people who live honestly.
While trying to track down the people responsible we've found something that is not just sad but disgusting. No one in India seems to care. One person who had answered an email from us about the issue said essentially that it is 'normal practice' for the company in question to steal images. and that other companies routinely download other images and then pass them off as theirs for sale. The old chestnut of watermarking images was brought up, but why? Every image of a one-of-a-kind bead set would be slashed with messages, so the people who want to buy the sets from us would struggle to see the actual sets. Should we punish our customers because of thieves elsewhere?
We were told that there is nothing we can do. We can approach the British Embassy in India but we doubt that they're going to bother a large Indian company at the behest of an individual artist. A bit of the David and Goliath about it, yes? Imagine the Embassy giving a quick call to the company:
Embassy: Hello, yes, I'm contacting you about some images you stole from a website in the UK. Yes, we're not happy with it.
Them: Shove off. Tell them if they don't stop complaining we'll ruin them.
Succinct, and to the point. Bless them!
Watermarking. Why? Might as well take a photo, put a big blot on it and say 'Here you go, there are beads under there somewhere but we're afraid some thief in India or Russia or wherever is going to nick these images and pass my work off as their own so could you please base your purchases on the little edges of the beads you can see around the watermarks? Thanks ever so much.' Might as well start putting copyright notices across everything to stop the unethical. There goes the art world.....
No. Thieves are thieves. We're not going to blot our landscape for them. If they steal, it's their problem, if we find out about it we'll tell everyone but we refuse to ruin the work we present to the world because they can't be honourable, ethical or frankly just nice.
Oh, yes. Is it a culture clash? No. People are either honest or not. There's no license to steal in Russia or India, ethics don't change based on location. Thieves are thieves no matter where they stand. We refuse to believe that location creates OR excuses such actions. That would be an insult to the people who live honestly.
Friday, July 17, 2009
How many?
How many artists does it take to make a show? How many traders does it take to make a bead fair?
As the year progresses, we've been doing a lot of thinking (ouch!) and looking at the aspects of being reliant on bead fairs for part of our sales each year. The main thing we've noticed is the growing number of fairs and also the growing number of beadmakers at the fairs.
Great? Maybe. Um... not really?
It's funny how the same people who use lampwork in their jewellery and try to sell at various venues may find that the limit on jewellery artists in a fair is a problem that they aren't happy about, yet may not feel that the same should apply to shows where supplies are sold, such as bead fairs. The more the merrier for them, a bigger selection and all that.
Is that how it really works? Not in the UK, for a few reasons. One is that there are far fewer beadmakers in the UK than in the US, which lessens the pool of artists who trade and competition is lower for places at fairs because organisers are not being selective about artists. If there were proportionately the same number of beadmakers in the UK as the US, there would be several thousand people vying for places at fairs, rather than several dozen.
Beadmakers are a special section of any fair, they aren't there selling bought-in items where pricing is pretty much set by the pressures of the market forces in action, because ten traders selling crystal bicones or Czech glass beads or semi-precious stones are paying approximately the same wholesale prices and the quality and styles are fairly well the same across the board. So, the shopper can spend time comparing strands of carnelian 8mm beads, find the best price which probably varies within a pound a strand for them, they're made to a certain size, standard and don't want variation or technique applied to make them individual or unique. A show with a certain number of sellers will find that the competition is stiff but at least it's fairly even based on the items being sold.
Not the same for beadmakers.
Lampwork beads are individually created, and the level of skill, the technical quality of the beads and the ability of the artist to produce beads of any value at all varies widely, sometimes even wildly. There is little to compare between an artist who takes time to create unique and original works and offers them with an assurance of several of the most basic things and a beadmaker who sells beads that should be considered 'practice' beads.
Good holes, cleaned, annealed.
You'd think those were a given but it's not always true. People sell unannealed beads or claim that certain shapes mean that there is no way to NOT have sharp edges or any of a large number of other things that make us go 'huh?' a lot. And yet, because they're huddled under the overly large canopy of the 'handmade lampwork' category, there is a feeling from the general buyer that all beads are created equal.
The plain fact is that some beads are more equal than others, and they are not made with the expectation of being sold simply to buy more glass to make more beads. It's not the chicken/egg here, because there is another factor, and that's pricing.
Some artists actually work at the whole beadmaking thing hard enough to try and make it a business that will and occasionally does support the artist. When they sell at bead fairs where people are selling at hobbyist prices it does one of two things. It undervalues or devalues the entire 'handmade by artists' concept of beadmaking and it undercuts people whose work should receive significantly higher prices but cannot because they are competing with people who price their handmade beads at the same level as cheap imported lampwork.
Not everyone who makes beads is concerned about the market. Nor are they concerned about other artists, or frankly anything other than just funding their hobby. And because the bead fairs are allowing more and more hobbyist beadmakers to book, beadmakers who expect to sell beads for 'art' prices are finding that they spend a lot of their time explaining why their bead sets are five to ten times the cost of someone else's when they're both selling 'handmade lampwork beads'. Yes, everyone has to start somewhere, but people who get out there to sell should spend some time taking a look at their market and also their fellow beadmakers and learn to price their work like an artist and not like a hobbyist.
We've reached this point and have spent a lot of time looking at the bead fairs for this year and 2010. In addition to the spate of new shows being planned for next year, we've decided to be a bit drastic about it and are cutting out all shows where we feel that the balance of beadmakers to other traders is not even. A show with 40 traders with 12 of them being beadmakers means a disproportionate balance of traders, and that is unfair to the traders. No craft fair would allow a 25% balance of jewellery makers, in fact it's now very difficult to get into a top-quality craft fair if you do make jewellery. Why it should be different for beadmakers in bead fairs is beyond us, and we're doing the only thing we can, which is voting with our feet.
So, if you go to a bead fair and we're not there, take a head count of the beadmakers and give it some thought because quantity doesn't always guarantee anything at all but lots of tables booked for the show organisers. We have brought this subject up with several organisers, who have taken note of the points we presented; some organisers already make it a practice to keep a balance of types of traders anyway and didn't need to have this simple concept pointed out. The end result is that some shows will have an overload of beadmakers and some will balance the blend of traders. Just like craft fairs who vet their traders and keep a balance, which benefits the traders, the buyers and the organisers.
As the year progresses, we've been doing a lot of thinking (ouch!) and looking at the aspects of being reliant on bead fairs for part of our sales each year. The main thing we've noticed is the growing number of fairs and also the growing number of beadmakers at the fairs.
Great? Maybe. Um... not really?
It's funny how the same people who use lampwork in their jewellery and try to sell at various venues may find that the limit on jewellery artists in a fair is a problem that they aren't happy about, yet may not feel that the same should apply to shows where supplies are sold, such as bead fairs. The more the merrier for them, a bigger selection and all that.
Is that how it really works? Not in the UK, for a few reasons. One is that there are far fewer beadmakers in the UK than in the US, which lessens the pool of artists who trade and competition is lower for places at fairs because organisers are not being selective about artists. If there were proportionately the same number of beadmakers in the UK as the US, there would be several thousand people vying for places at fairs, rather than several dozen.
Beadmakers are a special section of any fair, they aren't there selling bought-in items where pricing is pretty much set by the pressures of the market forces in action, because ten traders selling crystal bicones or Czech glass beads or semi-precious stones are paying approximately the same wholesale prices and the quality and styles are fairly well the same across the board. So, the shopper can spend time comparing strands of carnelian 8mm beads, find the best price which probably varies within a pound a strand for them, they're made to a certain size, standard and don't want variation or technique applied to make them individual or unique. A show with a certain number of sellers will find that the competition is stiff but at least it's fairly even based on the items being sold.
Not the same for beadmakers.
Lampwork beads are individually created, and the level of skill, the technical quality of the beads and the ability of the artist to produce beads of any value at all varies widely, sometimes even wildly. There is little to compare between an artist who takes time to create unique and original works and offers them with an assurance of several of the most basic things and a beadmaker who sells beads that should be considered 'practice' beads.
Good holes, cleaned, annealed.
You'd think those were a given but it's not always true. People sell unannealed beads or claim that certain shapes mean that there is no way to NOT have sharp edges or any of a large number of other things that make us go 'huh?' a lot. And yet, because they're huddled under the overly large canopy of the 'handmade lampwork' category, there is a feeling from the general buyer that all beads are created equal.
The plain fact is that some beads are more equal than others, and they are not made with the expectation of being sold simply to buy more glass to make more beads. It's not the chicken/egg here, because there is another factor, and that's pricing.
Some artists actually work at the whole beadmaking thing hard enough to try and make it a business that will and occasionally does support the artist. When they sell at bead fairs where people are selling at hobbyist prices it does one of two things. It undervalues or devalues the entire 'handmade by artists' concept of beadmaking and it undercuts people whose work should receive significantly higher prices but cannot because they are competing with people who price their handmade beads at the same level as cheap imported lampwork.
Not everyone who makes beads is concerned about the market. Nor are they concerned about other artists, or frankly anything other than just funding their hobby. And because the bead fairs are allowing more and more hobbyist beadmakers to book, beadmakers who expect to sell beads for 'art' prices are finding that they spend a lot of their time explaining why their bead sets are five to ten times the cost of someone else's when they're both selling 'handmade lampwork beads'. Yes, everyone has to start somewhere, but people who get out there to sell should spend some time taking a look at their market and also their fellow beadmakers and learn to price their work like an artist and not like a hobbyist.
We've reached this point and have spent a lot of time looking at the bead fairs for this year and 2010. In addition to the spate of new shows being planned for next year, we've decided to be a bit drastic about it and are cutting out all shows where we feel that the balance of beadmakers to other traders is not even. A show with 40 traders with 12 of them being beadmakers means a disproportionate balance of traders, and that is unfair to the traders. No craft fair would allow a 25% balance of jewellery makers, in fact it's now very difficult to get into a top-quality craft fair if you do make jewellery. Why it should be different for beadmakers in bead fairs is beyond us, and we're doing the only thing we can, which is voting with our feet.
So, if you go to a bead fair and we're not there, take a head count of the beadmakers and give it some thought because quantity doesn't always guarantee anything at all but lots of tables booked for the show organisers. We have brought this subject up with several organisers, who have taken note of the points we presented; some organisers already make it a practice to keep a balance of types of traders anyway and didn't need to have this simple concept pointed out. The end result is that some shows will have an overload of beadmakers and some will balance the blend of traders. Just like craft fairs who vet their traders and keep a balance, which benefits the traders, the buyers and the organisers.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Cloaking devices and visibility online
It's an eternal issue, how do I get myself seen online? It may be a vanity thing, you have a blog and want people to read your words of deep thoughts and high goals. You may simply want to have people see a story of your life, your work, your family or your predilection for wearing odd clothing or driving unusual vehicles.
There's the blog, like this. It's an easy way, if you're good with words. You can post photos, some blogs are almost like a small marketplace, you can drive for sales from it or you can simply post those handy Paypal 'buy this, you'll love it' sort of button things on it and voila, money for stuff!
There are websites, there are online sales venues, there are auctions and forums and social networking sites and tweeting and ... when do you have time to actually MAKE anything, much less photograph it, list it, describe it, name it, give it some loving cuddles before sending it out into the big bad world?
Well, there's a way to create a systematic approach. It's not perfect and it only works if you work at it. Is it your job? Then treat it that way. If you had a boss and a time clock to punch, you'd regulate how things go. Make a list of things to do, then work them into a useable schedule.
Mondays: an hour of Facebook, chatting about wanting desperately to get on the torch, upload photos and natter. An hour of reading bead forums for hints on how to make beads, a half-hour to have a drink (tea, coffee, Hawaiian Fruit Punch are possibilities) and plot how to take over the glassy world with your stunning new techniques. Two hours of torching then, if you manage to tear yourself away from the computer. If that's proving the stopping block, where you can't progress along your schedule and Tuesday seems like a month away, get a timer for your computer, that turns the internet off after half an hour.
Tuesday: have we reached that point yet? Twitter first, check for sales on Etsy, ArtFire, Crafts'r'us etc ad infinitum. Write up descriptions for the beads you did actually make, anneal and clean, and photograph after the computer shut down via the timer you installed yesterday. Check your Paypal account for enough money for more glass and frit. Check your Facebook... and there goes the internet. Get on the torch!
Wednesday: beads cleaned, photographed and ready to go before you even thought to twitter, facebook, surf, blog or get on the forum! Go on, get that timer, make a list of the things to do weekly and DO them.
Thursday: even less time online, with a frantic eye on the timer, you're amazed at how much you got done in such a short........
There's the blog, like this. It's an easy way, if you're good with words. You can post photos, some blogs are almost like a small marketplace, you can drive for sales from it or you can simply post those handy Paypal 'buy this, you'll love it' sort of button things on it and voila, money for stuff!
There are websites, there are online sales venues, there are auctions and forums and social networking sites and tweeting and ... when do you have time to actually MAKE anything, much less photograph it, list it, describe it, name it, give it some loving cuddles before sending it out into the big bad world?
Well, there's a way to create a systematic approach. It's not perfect and it only works if you work at it. Is it your job? Then treat it that way. If you had a boss and a time clock to punch, you'd regulate how things go. Make a list of things to do, then work them into a useable schedule.
Mondays: an hour of Facebook, chatting about wanting desperately to get on the torch, upload photos and natter. An hour of reading bead forums for hints on how to make beads, a half-hour to have a drink (tea, coffee, Hawaiian Fruit Punch are possibilities) and plot how to take over the glassy world with your stunning new techniques. Two hours of torching then, if you manage to tear yourself away from the computer. If that's proving the stopping block, where you can't progress along your schedule and Tuesday seems like a month away, get a timer for your computer, that turns the internet off after half an hour.
Tuesday: have we reached that point yet? Twitter first, check for sales on Etsy, ArtFire, Crafts'r'us etc ad infinitum. Write up descriptions for the beads you did actually make, anneal and clean, and photograph after the computer shut down via the timer you installed yesterday. Check your Paypal account for enough money for more glass and frit. Check your Facebook... and there goes the internet. Get on the torch!
Wednesday: beads cleaned, photographed and ready to go before you even thought to twitter, facebook, surf, blog or get on the forum! Go on, get that timer, make a list of the things to do weekly and DO them.
Thursday: even less time online, with a frantic eye on the timer, you're amazed at how much you got done in such a short........
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Teaching beadmaking and what to know about selecting a teacher
It's a growth industry here in the UK now, and with the rise in people who now own torches and have decided that after three weeks melting glass they're ready to teach, there is a need for some thought on the subject. Making beads is a very relaxing way to spend time, it has several great results. You chill out at the torch, you have something to show for your time and you can possibly sell your work.
But, once you show someone else your beads they say 'WOW' and the next thing you know they're over at yours and there's glass melting going on. It's great fun and happens across the world, people sharing their skills.
Hmmm... so what? What does this have to do with teaching and the rest? It's that next step that counts. The thought is this. I can make beads, my friends love them, we've melted glass together and now I think I should make some money off all this because I want to support my hobby.
Is this really the way to go about it? Years ago, when Mike was first making beads, after more than a year of making and selling beads, he decided it was time to take on the next step of teaching beadmaking. This was with not just time at the torch, an average of 5-8 hours a day, almost every day, but also with 30 years of being an art teacher behind him. You would have thought that he was planning to give lessons on the fine art of (fill in your own heinous concept). Despite the fact that he had spent quite a lot of time working on the plan for his lessons, and based his approach on the ISGB lesson recommendations, there were a few folk who thought that it was a Very Bad Idea, to the point that someone somewhere took it on themselves to write a personal LETTER to Mike, this individual castigating Mike in no uncertain terms for his temerity in taking the step of teaching beadmaking to the masses. No, really, it happened. With luck you'll never get a letter implying you're being mercenary and only teaching for the money without the skill required.
So, what does this have to do with teaching?
Everything, really. Someone, somewhere will decide if you're not suitable to teach. Usually it's a student or a prospective student. They will want to know if you're worth the money they're going to pay for the pleasure of learning how to make beads. And if you are, that's great.
How do they know?
The ISGB has a great guide to teaching beadmaking. They have spent a long time and a lot of thought on the topic, working to help people by preparing guidelines for both teacher and student.
It is important to cover so many aspects of beadmaking, not just 'here's a torch, light it and don't burn yourselves' and yet this happens. Before you take the step of teaching someone in your home, studio or elsewhere it is vital that you prepare yourself as much as the students. And, this is a very important and... can you make a bead? Not just melt glass, but make a bead. A consistent bead, properly constructed. Do you know what to look for in a bead? Is your technique sound? Do you understand the important basics, not just the fancy aspects of the latest popular glass colour but the sound principles behind beadmaking? If not, then perhaps you need a bit more time at the torch before you teach others?
Read the guidelines. If you're a student, ask your prospective teacher the questions they suggest. If you plan to teach, then ask yourself if you can say yes to the criteria as set out by the ISGB.
The link to the guidelines: http://www.isgb.org/education/standards.shtml
They're the best guide you could possibly ask for.
But, once you show someone else your beads they say 'WOW' and the next thing you know they're over at yours and there's glass melting going on. It's great fun and happens across the world, people sharing their skills.
Hmmm... so what? What does this have to do with teaching and the rest? It's that next step that counts. The thought is this. I can make beads, my friends love them, we've melted glass together and now I think I should make some money off all this because I want to support my hobby.
Is this really the way to go about it? Years ago, when Mike was first making beads, after more than a year of making and selling beads, he decided it was time to take on the next step of teaching beadmaking. This was with not just time at the torch, an average of 5-8 hours a day, almost every day, but also with 30 years of being an art teacher behind him. You would have thought that he was planning to give lessons on the fine art of (fill in your own heinous concept). Despite the fact that he had spent quite a lot of time working on the plan for his lessons, and based his approach on the ISGB lesson recommendations, there were a few folk who thought that it was a Very Bad Idea, to the point that someone somewhere took it on themselves to write a personal LETTER to Mike, this individual castigating Mike in no uncertain terms for his temerity in taking the step of teaching beadmaking to the masses. No, really, it happened. With luck you'll never get a letter implying you're being mercenary and only teaching for the money without the skill required.
So, what does this have to do with teaching?
Everything, really. Someone, somewhere will decide if you're not suitable to teach. Usually it's a student or a prospective student. They will want to know if you're worth the money they're going to pay for the pleasure of learning how to make beads. And if you are, that's great.
How do they know?
The ISGB has a great guide to teaching beadmaking. They have spent a long time and a lot of thought on the topic, working to help people by preparing guidelines for both teacher and student.
It is important to cover so many aspects of beadmaking, not just 'here's a torch, light it and don't burn yourselves' and yet this happens. Before you take the step of teaching someone in your home, studio or elsewhere it is vital that you prepare yourself as much as the students. And, this is a very important and... can you make a bead? Not just melt glass, but make a bead. A consistent bead, properly constructed. Do you know what to look for in a bead? Is your technique sound? Do you understand the important basics, not just the fancy aspects of the latest popular glass colour but the sound principles behind beadmaking? If not, then perhaps you need a bit more time at the torch before you teach others?
Read the guidelines. If you're a student, ask your prospective teacher the questions they suggest. If you plan to teach, then ask yourself if you can say yes to the criteria as set out by the ISGB.
The link to the guidelines: http://www.isgb.org/education/standards.shtml
They're the best guide you could possibly ask for.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Honey or vinegar
It's easy to say thank you, yet so few people do. It's easy to admit fault, yet sometimes people get into squabbles over something that is just Not Important.
Customer service, it's the lifeblood of a company. It costs nothing to be nice, it pays huge rewards in both the cosmic, karmic dividends of internal happiness but it also makes someone else feel valued. You made the effort to do something for them therefore you show them they're worth doing something for. You listen and do not immediately deny responsibility. You listen and understand what is being said and accept that it has value. You do something about a situation where your customer is not happy, and work to help turn a negative into something that is a positive result for both you and your customer.
What can we do to make you happy? What can we do to make you a customer that wants to come back? I'm sorry, I was wrong, how can I make it right?
Aren't these the things that keep a business going?
Catch more with honey than vinegar, as someone used to say.
Customer service, it's the lifeblood of a company. It costs nothing to be nice, it pays huge rewards in both the cosmic, karmic dividends of internal happiness but it also makes someone else feel valued. You made the effort to do something for them therefore you show them they're worth doing something for. You listen and do not immediately deny responsibility. You listen and understand what is being said and accept that it has value. You do something about a situation where your customer is not happy, and work to help turn a negative into something that is a positive result for both you and your customer.
What can we do to make you happy? What can we do to make you a customer that wants to come back? I'm sorry, I was wrong, how can I make it right?
Aren't these the things that keep a business going?
Catch more with honey than vinegar, as someone used to say.
Monday, June 15, 2009
A life less well-travelled
It's been a week or two of reflection and pondering. New auctions on eBay, the ressurection of JustBeads as an auction venue, more beads being listed in the US venues of Etsy and Artfire. Plenty going on and something has to give, something has to be the sacrifice to the gods of space and time.
Bead fairs. Yes, they're part of the great glassy web that is our daily existence, but they are not always the best part. It's not the people, we love that, it's not the travel (not as loveable as the people, truly) and it's not the set-up/pack-away and drive home that are the problem. It's that there are so many now and the make-up of the traders has changed.
Looking at the schedule from three or four years ago and there were significantly fewer fairs. Is that good? Is that bad? Opinions vary. Customers love the convenience of a fair that is local to them, of course. It makes a bit of one-stop shopping easy, they can see a great variety of items all at once instead of spending ages online or travelling to distant shops.
Is it good for the traders? Not always. More fairs means less revenue per fair as people generally only have so much money to spend in a year. If customers have a bead budget of several hundred pounds over the year and now don't have to save up for the one 'big' show, then they may visit several smaller shows which are new and closer and more accessible etc and so on. But the traders still have to show up for the same expenses per show and three times the shows, so for the amount of sales of one show several years ago, they are now faced with treble the costs for three shows and only the same amount of sales from the buyers. Not exactly good for them, then, when it's not a hobby but a living they're trying to make.
And, in the case of beadmakers, there are more all the time. The growth of lampworking in the UK has been very steady over the past few years. Newcomers are encouraged by friends to start selling virtually from day one, enthusiastic comments in forums and from family and friends about new beadmakers and their work creates on many occasions a very unrealistic impression of what their beads are worth and if they should really even be selling their work. Plenty of these new beadmakers have almost no overhead, they don't have studio costs or large fuel bills for hundreds of miles travelled over a year.
Many choose to only do shows local to them, which is nice. Many of them also look at any money made at a show as simply a way to buy more glass, the chicken and the egg principle operating there. More glass, more beads, more glass, more beads. And nowhere in the middle is there the necessity to pay for various other things. It makes life simple for the occasional show, pop along to the venue ten minutes from home, set up, have a natter with friends, sell a bit and spend it on glass and head home again for a cuppa and a meal.
We've had a look at shows over the past year and have taken a decision based on several factors, and one of them is the preponderance at some fairs of beadmakers. This skews the amounts of traders, in some cases with several beadmakers sharing a table it ends up with the number of 'lampwork pounds' through the door being divided rather drastically between 12-15 beadmakers rather than five or six. In a craft fair or other arts or crafts show, the organisers limit the number of any particular kind of trader or artist, yet this is not happening in bead fairs. Yes, there are the arguments about market forces and people buying what they want, but to be honest there are other factors too. New beadmakers sell cheaply. They price to buy more glass to make more beads to buy more glass, most of them are hobbyist beadmakers who simply want to keep their hobby as a self-financing one. Nothing wrong with this, but are they suitable for bead fairs where the majority of the businesses are people who work full-time and derive their income from their businesses?
When we first started being involved in lampwork, we had the great good fortune to have the assistance and guidance of a number of beadmakers and bead people who use lampwork in their designs or simply love lampwork, many of them in the US and many of them very successful people. Uniformly, they were generous with advice but sparing with effusive praise for Mike's first beads that were nice but not earth-shaking. It was a long process, and one that taught us a lot, before we felt Mike's made beads were ready to sell. They had proper dimpled ends, they were well-made, they were symmetrical and even and made to as high a standard as he was able. And when the friends who helped us said they were ready for sale, we felt that it was true. They didn't praise everything, and they certainly had the courage to criticize things they felt weren't just right. And that's something that is not common in forums/discussion groups/whatever.
People are afraid to say anything that isn't a positive, even if it's a 'false positive' in that it's simply cheering someone on when what they really need is a bit of common-sense commentary. No one is able to simply say 'no, they're not that good and here's why...' because no one wants to be hounded or slammed or labelled as 'nasty', 'envious', 'bitter', 'insecure' but those are all potential reactions. And the same with trading at bead fairs.
It's not insecurity that prompts us to cut back next year on our list of shows to attend, it's practicalities like footfall, balance of traders and venues. We base our decisions on various things, including sales, but not exclusively. So, you'll see us at shows, but not as frequently. Our sales online are easier to achieve, we can stay home and get work done without travelling, we can have a life on weekends and best of all we can put our feet up and sell without having to leave the house. It's hard work but it's worth it and it doesn't start out the day with a minimum £250 deficit of costs just to do a show for a day.
So, next year we'll be about but the schedule will be a sleeker, more svelte one with more gaps between shows. We're already looking forward to experiencing weekends at home!
Bead fairs. Yes, they're part of the great glassy web that is our daily existence, but they are not always the best part. It's not the people, we love that, it's not the travel (not as loveable as the people, truly) and it's not the set-up/pack-away and drive home that are the problem. It's that there are so many now and the make-up of the traders has changed.
Looking at the schedule from three or four years ago and there were significantly fewer fairs. Is that good? Is that bad? Opinions vary. Customers love the convenience of a fair that is local to them, of course. It makes a bit of one-stop shopping easy, they can see a great variety of items all at once instead of spending ages online or travelling to distant shops.
Is it good for the traders? Not always. More fairs means less revenue per fair as people generally only have so much money to spend in a year. If customers have a bead budget of several hundred pounds over the year and now don't have to save up for the one 'big' show, then they may visit several smaller shows which are new and closer and more accessible etc and so on. But the traders still have to show up for the same expenses per show and three times the shows, so for the amount of sales of one show several years ago, they are now faced with treble the costs for three shows and only the same amount of sales from the buyers. Not exactly good for them, then, when it's not a hobby but a living they're trying to make.
And, in the case of beadmakers, there are more all the time. The growth of lampworking in the UK has been very steady over the past few years. Newcomers are encouraged by friends to start selling virtually from day one, enthusiastic comments in forums and from family and friends about new beadmakers and their work creates on many occasions a very unrealistic impression of what their beads are worth and if they should really even be selling their work. Plenty of these new beadmakers have almost no overhead, they don't have studio costs or large fuel bills for hundreds of miles travelled over a year.
Many choose to only do shows local to them, which is nice. Many of them also look at any money made at a show as simply a way to buy more glass, the chicken and the egg principle operating there. More glass, more beads, more glass, more beads. And nowhere in the middle is there the necessity to pay for various other things. It makes life simple for the occasional show, pop along to the venue ten minutes from home, set up, have a natter with friends, sell a bit and spend it on glass and head home again for a cuppa and a meal.
We've had a look at shows over the past year and have taken a decision based on several factors, and one of them is the preponderance at some fairs of beadmakers. This skews the amounts of traders, in some cases with several beadmakers sharing a table it ends up with the number of 'lampwork pounds' through the door being divided rather drastically between 12-15 beadmakers rather than five or six. In a craft fair or other arts or crafts show, the organisers limit the number of any particular kind of trader or artist, yet this is not happening in bead fairs. Yes, there are the arguments about market forces and people buying what they want, but to be honest there are other factors too. New beadmakers sell cheaply. They price to buy more glass to make more beads to buy more glass, most of them are hobbyist beadmakers who simply want to keep their hobby as a self-financing one. Nothing wrong with this, but are they suitable for bead fairs where the majority of the businesses are people who work full-time and derive their income from their businesses?
When we first started being involved in lampwork, we had the great good fortune to have the assistance and guidance of a number of beadmakers and bead people who use lampwork in their designs or simply love lampwork, many of them in the US and many of them very successful people. Uniformly, they were generous with advice but sparing with effusive praise for Mike's first beads that were nice but not earth-shaking. It was a long process, and one that taught us a lot, before we felt Mike's made beads were ready to sell. They had proper dimpled ends, they were well-made, they were symmetrical and even and made to as high a standard as he was able. And when the friends who helped us said they were ready for sale, we felt that it was true. They didn't praise everything, and they certainly had the courage to criticize things they felt weren't just right. And that's something that is not common in forums/discussion groups/whatever.
People are afraid to say anything that isn't a positive, even if it's a 'false positive' in that it's simply cheering someone on when what they really need is a bit of common-sense commentary. No one is able to simply say 'no, they're not that good and here's why...' because no one wants to be hounded or slammed or labelled as 'nasty', 'envious', 'bitter', 'insecure' but those are all potential reactions. And the same with trading at bead fairs.
It's not insecurity that prompts us to cut back next year on our list of shows to attend, it's practicalities like footfall, balance of traders and venues. We base our decisions on various things, including sales, but not exclusively. So, you'll see us at shows, but not as frequently. Our sales online are easier to achieve, we can stay home and get work done without travelling, we can have a life on weekends and best of all we can put our feet up and sell without having to leave the house. It's hard work but it's worth it and it doesn't start out the day with a minimum £250 deficit of costs just to do a show for a day.
So, next year we'll be about but the schedule will be a sleeker, more svelte one with more gaps between shows. We're already looking forward to experiencing weekends at home!
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Don't blame the tools
I love glass. I love everything about it, the way it stays transparent when it's cool, the way light moves through it, the way it takes shape... well, to be honest there's not a lot about glass I don't like.
And yet, I watch people trying new glass all the time, desperate to get 'colours' or 'make it pop' or 'sing' or whatever. The new silver glass colours are fantastic in the right hands and yes they do sing and pop and colour up and do everything but wash the dishes and sweep the floor.
And yet...
What's wrong with simplicity? And walking before you run? And getting a grasp of mechanics and techniques. I see more beauty in one single bead made with attention to detail, with a sense of pride in technique and composition than in all the wonky silvered glass blobs out there.
Pure and simple are good. Basic work lays the foundation for progress. You don't get great beads if you don't have a good bead to start with.
Yadda yadda yadda.
For pure perfection of shape and simple application of a basic technique such as frit, take a look at the new beads by Dawn Scannell/Art Insomnia. Simple wound disks of black or raku glass but there's nothing simple about the quality of the construction, wound carefully and with attention to the construction of the layers of glass and then simple application of raku glass frit. And then WHAM! It's magic, that's it. The magic of knowing your materials.
Lots of people put frit on beads but not everyone bothers to understand the structure and reactions of the two kinds of glass.
Before flying, like Dawn, perhaps it's best to spend some time walking and learning how to craft a bead or what you end up with is the glass version of 'all fur coat and no knickers'.
And yet, I watch people trying new glass all the time, desperate to get 'colours' or 'make it pop' or 'sing' or whatever. The new silver glass colours are fantastic in the right hands and yes they do sing and pop and colour up and do everything but wash the dishes and sweep the floor.
And yet...
What's wrong with simplicity? And walking before you run? And getting a grasp of mechanics and techniques. I see more beauty in one single bead made with attention to detail, with a sense of pride in technique and composition than in all the wonky silvered glass blobs out there.
Pure and simple are good. Basic work lays the foundation for progress. You don't get great beads if you don't have a good bead to start with.
Yadda yadda yadda.
For pure perfection of shape and simple application of a basic technique such as frit, take a look at the new beads by Dawn Scannell/Art Insomnia. Simple wound disks of black or raku glass but there's nothing simple about the quality of the construction, wound carefully and with attention to the construction of the layers of glass and then simple application of raku glass frit. And then WHAM! It's magic, that's it. The magic of knowing your materials.
Lots of people put frit on beads but not everyone bothers to understand the structure and reactions of the two kinds of glass.
Before flying, like Dawn, perhaps it's best to spend some time walking and learning how to craft a bead or what you end up with is the glass version of 'all fur coat and no knickers'.
Monday, June 08, 2009
The Beast raises its ugly head
Pricing!
Don't run away, it's not that big a thing, really. Ok, maybe it is. But it's something every artist faces.
How many times have you heard or seen a discussion about prices for art? 'Oooh, that takes some nerve to charge THAT for a bit of paper, string and paint', or the traditional greeting of *pursed lips* ... *disdainful but angry glare* ... 'HOW MUCH? But it's just a bead!'
Yes, we've all been there, or most of us, no doubt. It's horrible to cope with, it's soul-destroying to have people put their grubby fingers and opinions on your work without understanding that it's a real person standing there, not a mannequin or a robot. Sometimes it would nice to perhaps be a Cylon, because of the interesting 'delete' ability but that's just a daydream, so shall we move on? Right.
Pricing. Is it putting a value on some glass or is it putting a value on the buyer? Do you price for yourself or for for the market? What the heck to I mean by putting 'a value on the buyer'? It's pretty simple really. There are several types of buyer that will filter past you at the show you're doing. Craft fair, bead fair, market or whatever.
There are the browsers and grazers who are moving along, getting a bit of entertainment and eye-candy, perhaps a chat with someone who is standing there waiting for a sale. They can travel individually or in small packs, depending on the day, the phase of the moon or how many of them can fit in a charabanc. The odds are that they will rarely purchase but will frequently admire or gasp at the prices and bolt. Browsers are often open to a bit of information about why your beads are the price they are and often will give you something of value, if not money. They will nod in understanding and store the information for another day.
Then there are the skimmers. They travel quickly and usually solo, they know what they are looking for but not necessarily what they're looking at and may not want to be educated about your art. Price is everything to them. They're often the worst type of people to cope with as they have a set idea of what is 'valuable' to them. If you don't fit into their world-view it's very unlikely that they'll fit into yours. However, if the two views coincide, they can be very good, loyal customers and will sometimes surprise you with the things they buy. If they talk to you, it's to the point, and can be very knowledgeable about your work in particular and beads in general.
And finally there's the intense shopper. They pick up every bead. They come back several times. They circle before landing. They may never say a word to you, lulling you into a false sense of 'oh, just browsing but not buying' before presenting you with a handful of sets or beads, with a handful of money to follow but not much in the way of talk. They knew beforehand what they wanted, there's probably a list somewhere and you were on it. Other people may never get a look, but you've been 'chosen' and it's a good thing until they 'un-choose' you and move on to another artist.
So, how do you price for them all? Simple. You don't. You price for the kind of customer that you prefer, that you feel fits your work best and you want to own your work. Does that exclude some buyers? Of course it does. Some won't buy if the beads are 'too dear', some will not buy if they're too low in price, which may seem odd but is what I mean by pricing by putting a value on the buyer. You price for your market, you give them a sense of value by saying 'yes, my beads are not for everyone but they're for YOU because you value yourself enough to spend that kind of money on them'.
On occasion I've even said to people who were rude enough to point out that Mike's beads were 'too expensive' that I was sorry they didn't feel they deserved to spend that kind of money on themselves. Because, in many ways, that's what it is. Beads are an indulgence for many people, not a vital part of daily life. Watch people at shows, watch how they shop. Notice how they act after they buy something. Yes, it's an important thing to know. You sell happiness, as well as beads. And that does have a value. Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy beads. And we all know that beads make you happy.
So, then. Value yourself and value your customers. Stop pricing your work like it's something from a sweatshop. It's not, it's from your heart and mind.
Don't run away, it's not that big a thing, really. Ok, maybe it is. But it's something every artist faces.
How many times have you heard or seen a discussion about prices for art? 'Oooh, that takes some nerve to charge THAT for a bit of paper, string and paint', or the traditional greeting of *pursed lips* ... *disdainful but angry glare* ... 'HOW MUCH? But it's just a bead!'
Yes, we've all been there, or most of us, no doubt. It's horrible to cope with, it's soul-destroying to have people put their grubby fingers and opinions on your work without understanding that it's a real person standing there, not a mannequin or a robot. Sometimes it would nice to perhaps be a Cylon, because of the interesting 'delete' ability but that's just a daydream, so shall we move on? Right.
Pricing. Is it putting a value on some glass or is it putting a value on the buyer? Do you price for yourself or for for the market? What the heck to I mean by putting 'a value on the buyer'? It's pretty simple really. There are several types of buyer that will filter past you at the show you're doing. Craft fair, bead fair, market or whatever.
There are the browsers and grazers who are moving along, getting a bit of entertainment and eye-candy, perhaps a chat with someone who is standing there waiting for a sale. They can travel individually or in small packs, depending on the day, the phase of the moon or how many of them can fit in a charabanc. The odds are that they will rarely purchase but will frequently admire or gasp at the prices and bolt. Browsers are often open to a bit of information about why your beads are the price they are and often will give you something of value, if not money. They will nod in understanding and store the information for another day.
Then there are the skimmers. They travel quickly and usually solo, they know what they are looking for but not necessarily what they're looking at and may not want to be educated about your art. Price is everything to them. They're often the worst type of people to cope with as they have a set idea of what is 'valuable' to them. If you don't fit into their world-view it's very unlikely that they'll fit into yours. However, if the two views coincide, they can be very good, loyal customers and will sometimes surprise you with the things they buy. If they talk to you, it's to the point, and can be very knowledgeable about your work in particular and beads in general.
And finally there's the intense shopper. They pick up every bead. They come back several times. They circle before landing. They may never say a word to you, lulling you into a false sense of 'oh, just browsing but not buying' before presenting you with a handful of sets or beads, with a handful of money to follow but not much in the way of talk. They knew beforehand what they wanted, there's probably a list somewhere and you were on it. Other people may never get a look, but you've been 'chosen' and it's a good thing until they 'un-choose' you and move on to another artist.
So, how do you price for them all? Simple. You don't. You price for the kind of customer that you prefer, that you feel fits your work best and you want to own your work. Does that exclude some buyers? Of course it does. Some won't buy if the beads are 'too dear', some will not buy if they're too low in price, which may seem odd but is what I mean by pricing by putting a value on the buyer. You price for your market, you give them a sense of value by saying 'yes, my beads are not for everyone but they're for YOU because you value yourself enough to spend that kind of money on them'.
On occasion I've even said to people who were rude enough to point out that Mike's beads were 'too expensive' that I was sorry they didn't feel they deserved to spend that kind of money on themselves. Because, in many ways, that's what it is. Beads are an indulgence for many people, not a vital part of daily life. Watch people at shows, watch how they shop. Notice how they act after they buy something. Yes, it's an important thing to know. You sell happiness, as well as beads. And that does have a value. Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy beads. And we all know that beads make you happy.
So, then. Value yourself and value your customers. Stop pricing your work like it's something from a sweatshop. It's not, it's from your heart and mind.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Too much choice?
It's not an uncommon thing to hear at the bead fairs. 'Oooh, you have too much choice' meaning that there are a significant number of beads on display.
Is this good? Is it bad?
We spend a lot of time working on displays for the beads, hoping to find the right balance of presentation and display. We started out with a simple rack of beads, and some laid out on the table and not one single set of lights! Disaster. Lights are SO important when selling glass or anything sparkly. If you don't believe it, take a look at those masters of presentation, the Swarovski crystal people. Halogens everywhere, sparkly and bright. So, as we developed our displays, lighting was an essential part of the plan. And IKEA was our friend, in so many ways. We now own at least three variations on a theme of lighting from them, starting with the clip-on halogens, adding in desk-lights in one incarnation and then moving on to some really nifty folding halogens that tuck away inside our new displays.
But, what is lighting without a coherent layout? We've tried them all. Cards with the beads mounted on them, beads hanging, beads coiled in festive array, beads swagged, beads draped.... and have any of them made a difference?
Honestly, we don't know. When we're faced with comments like the opening one, it's hard to say. Is it because we DO have too much choice? Should we play the 'upmarket jewellery' approach and only put out three sets with tags discreetly turned over? Should we imply that Mike only makes one set a week and they should be overjoyed to be allowed to see the rare outpouring of his artistic genius?
Or, should we sling everything in a heap, put a sign out that says 'heaps o beads, go on then, you know you want to, cheap at twice the price'?
Answers on a postcard. Next time, it's pricing. You know, the Perennial Question.
Is this good? Is it bad?
We spend a lot of time working on displays for the beads, hoping to find the right balance of presentation and display. We started out with a simple rack of beads, and some laid out on the table and not one single set of lights! Disaster. Lights are SO important when selling glass or anything sparkly. If you don't believe it, take a look at those masters of presentation, the Swarovski crystal people. Halogens everywhere, sparkly and bright. So, as we developed our displays, lighting was an essential part of the plan. And IKEA was our friend, in so many ways. We now own at least three variations on a theme of lighting from them, starting with the clip-on halogens, adding in desk-lights in one incarnation and then moving on to some really nifty folding halogens that tuck away inside our new displays.
But, what is lighting without a coherent layout? We've tried them all. Cards with the beads mounted on them, beads hanging, beads coiled in festive array, beads swagged, beads draped.... and have any of them made a difference?
Honestly, we don't know. When we're faced with comments like the opening one, it's hard to say. Is it because we DO have too much choice? Should we play the 'upmarket jewellery' approach and only put out three sets with tags discreetly turned over? Should we imply that Mike only makes one set a week and they should be overjoyed to be allowed to see the rare outpouring of his artistic genius?
Or, should we sling everything in a heap, put a sign out that says 'heaps o beads, go on then, you know you want to, cheap at twice the price'?
Answers on a postcard. Next time, it's pricing. You know, the Perennial Question.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Bead fairs are your friend
3am, and it's dark. No matter what time of year, it's dark. Darker than dark, really, and dragging ourselves out to the car to travel to Yet Another Bead Fair. 3am means a four-hour drive to the fair, and another four hours home afterwards, depending on the traffic, the pit stops, finding some place for breakfast (McD's a fave of the son, as he loves the pancakes) and feeling sure that the sat-nav is not lying about where the venue is.
The car is full of stock, displays, bags of snacks, a pillow and blanket for the yawning child and two Nintendo DS games for the longer stretches of boring motorway in the dark, where we will do battle with the forces of LEGO evil. Indiana Jones today? Batman? It's difficult to say until we get on the road.
Weeks of preparation are behind, now it's two hours of setting up, and six to seven hours of meeting people at the fair (any fair, they all run fairly much the same). Selling beads is only a very small part of it, sometimes it's the easiest, most straightforward part, too. People mostly know what they want and ninety out of a hundred people come with reasonable expectations, intelligent conversation and a sense of humour. It's great to talk to people about Mike's work and hear their appreciative comments about the beads. It's always a highlight of the day. And there are always encounters that will end up as something to tell our friends who are convinced that all we do is sit around, drink tea and rake in money. Sometimes we simply survive the day on our senses of humour, if the fair is slow and sales slower.
We spend part of the day thinking about what is happening during the fair: are the beads right for the venue, is the display working, do we need more lights or less things out on the table, should we change the layout... it never ends. So much time goes into things that customers never see. New materials for displays, new equipment in the studio, new glass colours, new bead techniques and a pile of discarded practice beads for every style that finally makes it to the sale table. We think about sales, will we just meet our costs or will we be so rushed off our feet we don't have time to think till we're ready to break the stand down for heading home. Sometimes it seems to be in the laps of the gods, all the hard work nothing as compared to the vagaries of location, inclination and economy.
Seven hours can fly past, or they can drag like a Very Slow Dragging Thing. We can smile or we can use the 'clenched teeth grimace' that looks like a smile but isn't. It all depends on so much. How many people are there, do they know what they're looking at, do they want beads or do they just want entertainment. On occasion, it's impossible to tell.
Then it's time to pack. We have a system now, it's almost a ballet, one person does the packing of boxes, one does the break-down of the displays, and it's now down to an art. Half an hour if we're lucky and we're in the car, ready to find someplace to re-fuel ourselves and brace for the long drive home, which can be anything from a couple of hours to a mind-numbing 8-hour crawl along the motor way.
Fingers crossed that the Nintendo batteries hold out!
The car is full of stock, displays, bags of snacks, a pillow and blanket for the yawning child and two Nintendo DS games for the longer stretches of boring motorway in the dark, where we will do battle with the forces of LEGO evil. Indiana Jones today? Batman? It's difficult to say until we get on the road.
Weeks of preparation are behind, now it's two hours of setting up, and six to seven hours of meeting people at the fair (any fair, they all run fairly much the same). Selling beads is only a very small part of it, sometimes it's the easiest, most straightforward part, too. People mostly know what they want and ninety out of a hundred people come with reasonable expectations, intelligent conversation and a sense of humour. It's great to talk to people about Mike's work and hear their appreciative comments about the beads. It's always a highlight of the day. And there are always encounters that will end up as something to tell our friends who are convinced that all we do is sit around, drink tea and rake in money. Sometimes we simply survive the day on our senses of humour, if the fair is slow and sales slower.
We spend part of the day thinking about what is happening during the fair: are the beads right for the venue, is the display working, do we need more lights or less things out on the table, should we change the layout... it never ends. So much time goes into things that customers never see. New materials for displays, new equipment in the studio, new glass colours, new bead techniques and a pile of discarded practice beads for every style that finally makes it to the sale table. We think about sales, will we just meet our costs or will we be so rushed off our feet we don't have time to think till we're ready to break the stand down for heading home. Sometimes it seems to be in the laps of the gods, all the hard work nothing as compared to the vagaries of location, inclination and economy.
Seven hours can fly past, or they can drag like a Very Slow Dragging Thing. We can smile or we can use the 'clenched teeth grimace' that looks like a smile but isn't. It all depends on so much. How many people are there, do they know what they're looking at, do they want beads or do they just want entertainment. On occasion, it's impossible to tell.
Then it's time to pack. We have a system now, it's almost a ballet, one person does the packing of boxes, one does the break-down of the displays, and it's now down to an art. Half an hour if we're lucky and we're in the car, ready to find someplace to re-fuel ourselves and brace for the long drive home, which can be anything from a couple of hours to a mind-numbing 8-hour crawl along the motor way.
Fingers crossed that the Nintendo batteries hold out!
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Selling internationally
Sometimes it can be a problem pricing work for sale. When it's for sale locally, there are factors to consider such as the price people are willing to pay, how much do they appreciate handmade items, the economy locally, etc. There seems to be a willingness to equate handmade with 'cheap' for some reason. A price tag on a mass-produced handbag can be jaw-droppingly high, considering that the materials could have cost pence, the labour paid pence and the profits astronomical. The fact that such things sell readily and regularly is due to the social pressures that fall under that horrible phrase 'aspirational'. A name-brand handbag is aspirational, designer 'gear' is aspirational, but something that is unique and original does not appeal to the people who buy to give a veneer of social success. Only people who are confident in their own status and self are willing to buy something that doesn't have an automatic value in the eyes of others.
What does this mean? Locally, it means trying to find the right markets, the right customers, the right mentality that says 'original is good'.
Add in the factor of trying to sell across not just national boundaries but also across various currencies and it can become a nightmare. It's not as bad if you sell in a currency that is on the lower side of an exchange rate, you can price your work properly and achieve the prices you feel are appropriate for your efforts but if you are selling from the upper slope of the exchange rate suddenly it becomes a problem. A set of beads worth £35 to someone in the UK may be worth the same in unit value, but $35 isn't anywhere close in value to someone whose income is marked in pounds rather than dollars.
So, what's a beadmaker to do? Well, we take a pragmatic view of things. If we sell in a dollar market, we have to price in comparable units, so when we list things on Etsy or ArtFire or eBay.com, we consider the unit price as our guideline. What does this mean? A bargain for UK buyers who get a virtual discount depending on the exchange rate, and a reasonable price for people who pay in dollars.
It's the only way to swim the seas of the international currency ocean. Sometimes you give a little but you get a lot. What we get is great customers and a chance to extend the range where the beads are seen. Can't beat that.
What does this mean? Locally, it means trying to find the right markets, the right customers, the right mentality that says 'original is good'.
Add in the factor of trying to sell across not just national boundaries but also across various currencies and it can become a nightmare. It's not as bad if you sell in a currency that is on the lower side of an exchange rate, you can price your work properly and achieve the prices you feel are appropriate for your efforts but if you are selling from the upper slope of the exchange rate suddenly it becomes a problem. A set of beads worth £35 to someone in the UK may be worth the same in unit value, but $35 isn't anywhere close in value to someone whose income is marked in pounds rather than dollars.
So, what's a beadmaker to do? Well, we take a pragmatic view of things. If we sell in a dollar market, we have to price in comparable units, so when we list things on Etsy or ArtFire or eBay.com, we consider the unit price as our guideline. What does this mean? A bargain for UK buyers who get a virtual discount depending on the exchange rate, and a reasonable price for people who pay in dollars.
It's the only way to swim the seas of the international currency ocean. Sometimes you give a little but you get a lot. What we get is great customers and a chance to extend the range where the beads are seen. Can't beat that.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Blogging again
Can't keep up with so many different places to update things so I'll just use this, ok?
The Tillerman Beads online shop, ten new sets going up today.
Etsy, new beads today.
eBay, new auctions this afternoon!
Yes, I know, it's a short post but so much information in such a small space, eh?
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The ethics of artistry
It's not often that it happens, but it seems that the very talented Kandice Seeber comes in for more than her fair share of problems with copyright theft of her images of her very lovely beads. This time it has gone a step beyond. Read about it on her blog at http://coloraddictionblog.blogspot.com/
It's a shame that places like Etsy, which are for the handcrafted works of original artists can end up with people using images without permission and profiting from them. Kandice has shown a significant amount of restraint and class in handling what is a very real problem.
It's a shame that places like Etsy, which are for the handcrafted works of original artists can end up with people using images without permission and profiting from them. Kandice has shown a significant amount of restraint and class in handling what is a very real problem.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Flame-off 2008 DVD
It's come to my attention that the issue over the DVD for the 2008 Flame-off has been raised as to why there has been no DVD released.
I want to state that I was very proud to have been invited to do a beadmaking demonstration at the first Flame-off at Towcester and I had absolutely NO problem at all with allowing the filmed demonstration to be used on the DVD.
Just so everyone is clear on this.
-Mike
I want to state that I was very proud to have been invited to do a beadmaking demonstration at the first Flame-off at Towcester and I had absolutely NO problem at all with allowing the filmed demonstration to be used on the DVD.
Just so everyone is clear on this.
-Mike
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Artfire Sale with the Glass and Jewelry Collective Guild
Join us for our first time ever event, beginning on February 27th and continuing through March 13th. The two-week event includes members of the Glass and Jewelry Collective Guild featured regularly on Artfire. This sale promotion, however, offers a variety of sale items from participating members and sale prices ranging from free shipping and up to 10% - 25% off some items in the members stores.
The Glass and Jewelry Collective was created to bring our diverse community of glass and jewelry artists, living and practicing all over the world, closer in hope of creating a place and forum to communicate and exchange more easily and on a continual basis. Professional, intermediate, and novice are all welcome to participate. Our focus at the Artfire Guild is on helping promote and sell our work as a group in recognition of the myriad of individual aspects each artist contributes in the field.
Participating members include:
David Louis and Hannah Rosner. Good River Gallery. http://GoodRiverGallery.artfire.com
Blue Flame Art. http://BlueFlameArt.artfire.com
Raisin Mountain. http://GinaJeans.artfire.com
TinYen Designs. http://TinYen.artfire.com
N Valentine Studio http://NValentine.artfire.com
Tillerman Beads http://tillerman_beads.artfire.com
Diane Norman. http://lunacatjewels.artfire.com
Diane's Dangles. http://dianesdangles.artfire.com
WyrmWyrks. http://wyrmwyrks.artfire.com
Peraza Studios http://Peraza_Studios.artfire.com
DogmawGlass http://www.dogmawglass.artfire.com will also offer discounts when you check out from her stores and mention of the sale (GJCG Sale) in the comments section conveniently provided on the Artfire check out page. You will receive the discount in the form of a refund after you check out.
To find other participating members, please check items tagged with GJCG (Glass and Jewelry Collective Guild).
We hope you will enjoy our work and visit with us soon.
The Glass and Jewelry Collective was created to bring our diverse community of glass and jewelry artists, living and practicing all over the world, closer in hope of creating a place and forum to communicate and exchange more easily and on a continual basis. Professional, intermediate, and novice are all welcome to participate. Our focus at the Artfire Guild is on helping promote and sell our work as a group in recognition of the myriad of individual aspects each artist contributes in the field.
Participating members include:
David Louis and Hannah Rosner. Good River Gallery. http://GoodRiverGallery.artfire.com
Blue Flame Art. http://BlueFlameArt.artfire.com
Raisin Mountain. http://GinaJeans.artfire.com
TinYen Designs. http://TinYen.artfire.com
N Valentine Studio http://NValentine.artfire.com
Tillerman Beads http://tillerman_beads.artfire.com
Diane Norman. http://lunacatjewels.artfire.com
Diane's Dangles. http://dianesdangles.artfire.com
WyrmWyrks. http://wyrmwyrks.artfire.com
Peraza Studios http://Peraza_Studios.artfire.com
DogmawGlass http://www.dogmawglass.artfire.com will also offer discounts when you check out from her stores and mention of the sale (GJCG Sale) in the comments section conveniently provided on the Artfire check out page. You will receive the discount in the form of a refund after you check out.
To find other participating members, please check items tagged with GJCG (Glass and Jewelry Collective Guild).
We hope you will enjoy our work and visit with us soon.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sunday, Sunday...
It's a challenge getting back into a routine after so much time off during the holiday, either from the horrible virii that have been taking hold everywhere or simply the cold and the holiday down-time. Still, it's now all hands to the torch, or at least Mike's. He's been inspired lately and it's starting to appear in the new beads he's been making, I think. He's also working on some new historic types of beads which will make their appearance in York this weekend. All in all, exciting times in glass ahead. We've looked at the upcoming schedule and it's going to be a busy few months. Two days in York, three days in Coventry, one day in Perth, three days again in the Coventry area and two days in Cheltenham and two days in Brighton. And then a weekend off after six weekends on the run.
That sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it's what we do, and we do like to eat.
After that is the Second Flame-off at the Towcester Racecourse. Mike's been included in the Lampworker's Village for the two days of the Flame-off itself and we'll be at the bead fair on the Sunday, so lots of fun and work all at the same time.
It's hard work but I don't think Mike would trade it for any other job in the world. He loves every morning, knowing that he will be getting up again to go in and melt glass. It just doesn't get much better, really.
That sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it's what we do, and we do like to eat.
After that is the Second Flame-off at the Towcester Racecourse. Mike's been included in the Lampworker's Village for the two days of the Flame-off itself and we'll be at the bead fair on the Sunday, so lots of fun and work all at the same time.
It's hard work but I don't think Mike would trade it for any other job in the world. He loves every morning, knowing that he will be getting up again to go in and melt glass. It just doesn't get much better, really.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
's up? Oooh, look, a blog post!
It's been a long two weeks of hard work by Mike, striking a balance between contemporary beads and historic ones. There will be a good selection of both at the York Gem'n'Bead fair at the Racecourse next weekend. We've trimmed back on the online venues we will be selling in, dropping the UK-based Folksy site, and building up stock in the Etsy and ArtFire shops, along with here in the main online shop.
With the exchange rate being so variable and unfavourable to buying in stock from outside the UK, we have decided for the moment to not re-stock the bead pens and beadable items. At the moment, for us to re-stock bead pens would mean a 30% price increase and we simply don't feel it's a good thing to have that sort of price hike. The same applies to silver jewellery such as the beadable braclets. We have seen the value of the pound drop while watching silver prices climb. Again, this means that for the moment we will not be re-stocking anything that will require a price increase. Please note that the Bali silver, sterling silver and copper beads for sale in the shop are still at the prices they were before the current financial situation. We have not raised prices on any items, nor will we. Our prices always reflect the costs at the time we stocked them, we never raise prices on existing stock. This means that some of the silver is actually quite a bargain at the moment, so make sure to take the time to compare our prices with anyone else, we're sure you'll see what we mean.
New beads are in both the Etsy, ArtFire and Tillerman Beads online shop, make sure to check out the bead sets. All of the stock will be with us at the bead fair in York, as usual. See you there!
With the exchange rate being so variable and unfavourable to buying in stock from outside the UK, we have decided for the moment to not re-stock the bead pens and beadable items. At the moment, for us to re-stock bead pens would mean a 30% price increase and we simply don't feel it's a good thing to have that sort of price hike. The same applies to silver jewellery such as the beadable braclets. We have seen the value of the pound drop while watching silver prices climb. Again, this means that for the moment we will not be re-stocking anything that will require a price increase. Please note that the Bali silver, sterling silver and copper beads for sale in the shop are still at the prices they were before the current financial situation. We have not raised prices on any items, nor will we. Our prices always reflect the costs at the time we stocked them, we never raise prices on existing stock. This means that some of the silver is actually quite a bargain at the moment, so make sure to take the time to compare our prices with anyone else, we're sure you'll see what we mean.
New beads are in both the Etsy, ArtFire and Tillerman Beads online shop, make sure to check out the bead sets. All of the stock will be with us at the bead fair in York, as usual. See you there!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Waving but not drowning
It's definitely been an up-and-down sort of week, but we're getting there slowly. Mike's made more beads and they're in the shop! Some 'Fitz' beads, some bead sets and also some focals. We're not going to the London Bead Fair due to all the problems with the 'flu this winter, Mike's not up to the trip (poor thing!) Good news, though, as it means more time to make beads.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Blue Monday?
Blue Monday? Don't think so. The back of winter has been broken and although February seems to be miles away, it's just around the corner and after that comes spring! Mike's back in the studio again today, although he's not as happy as possible because he's still got a chesty cough and isn't feeling up to par. Still, can't keep a good man down, he's torching away because it's better than going home and having a nice lie-down in a comfy bed. Men! At least it means beads. And more beads, which will be nice for a change.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sometimes....
.... the only way I can tell what day it is lately is to see how much of the Cadbury's advent calendar we've eaten so far. The worst part now is the fact that we're almost out of chocolate, but the good part is that Christmas is just a few pieces of chocolate away. It's also almost the shortest day of the year! How do we cope with that? By having another giveaway. So, if you read the blog, then you know that on the 21st we'll be sending out a random email to one of our customers/newsletter subscribers/students (see? plenty of ways to be eligible for this one!) with the happy news that they've won something special. With luck it will help brighten someone's day, even if it is the shortest day of the year.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Brrrr..........
Still cold, but with luck Mike will get to make more beads. We've decided to do something slightly different and give the lucky winner of the drawing their choice of colours for the set of 5 beads instead, as we realized that some people prefer a particular colour combination or don't like bumpy beads, or they do like bumpy beads. We want the winner to really love their beads so the best thing is to give them a choice of colour and surface. Can't say fairer than that.....
Don't forget, the drawing is on Tuesday, the 16th. We've decided to extend it by a day just because.
Don't forget, the drawing is on Tuesday, the 16th. We've decided to extend it by a day just because.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
2009! How did that happen?
It's been so good to have some time off, we've all had the lurgy in one form or another over the holidays but today seems to be the first day where we've felt well enough to simply get on with things. Mike's down in the studio, playing with glass and we're trying to get the momentum going again to get things listed. It's still a few weeks till our first bead fair of the year, it's nice to know we're not having to rush like very mad things to get ready.
It's a good feeling.
It's a good feeling.
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