Pulling my hair out!!!

[andrealh1975]

I'm working on my next show scheduled for November. I've been getting lots of good vendors to sign up. But, it's crazy that there are SO many people who do jewelry. Although I'm not allowing any duplicates in regard to the company the vendor is representing, I am allowing there to be a few jewelry people to participate. They all do different kinds of jewelry, one does sterling silver, another does beaded, another does glass. My show has 70 spaces and I think 7 jewelry people is MORE than enough!!

Well, there's a vendor who sells jewelry and scarves. I told her she's more than welcome to come w/ the scarves, but I'm at capacity for jewelry vendors. Now she's sending me all these e-mails, one about how her jewelry is so unique (that's what everyone says), another w/ pics of the jewelry, another asking if I want references. She's driving me batty.

With this show and my last, I've had such craziness w/ jewelry folks. In my area, it seems like EVERYONE makes jewelry and a lot of them are really cut throat.

Are you all seeing an abundance of jewelry makers at your shows?

[sudsnwicks]

Yes. I think it is because jewelry is relatively easy to make. No testing needed unlike candles. Ingredients should be easy to order because they're light and you don't have to pay a ton in shipping unlike wax. If you're selling through mail order or online, packing would be easy too as you don't have to worry about glass jars breaking or candles melting.

[violetmoondrops]

Sorry she's driving you insane! You try to be nice about it - but you may have to "get rough" in order to make her realize. I'd email her back and tell her that you find her jewelry to be very lovely, but having another jewelry maker there would cut business for everyone (including HER!). Too much of a good thing turns everyone off!

I'd also make the comment that you have given your word to the other contributors that make jewelry that no others would be permitted. If you went back on your word you would lose their trust, and everyone involved would have a bad day at the show.

Let us know how it goes!

- Meg

[Scented]

Goodness we were at a show a couple of weeks ago (Mon was there too lol) and the place was swamped jewelry. Stick to your guns woman! The crowd at the show we were at thinned out immensely from all the jewelry stands.

[Guest EMercier]

The show I did in April had about 30 or so vendors. I would say that 60% were Jewlery. Then another 20% was wood making and pottery, and 15% was photograpy and then I fell under the "other" category. Honestly to me the jewlery, pottery and photography all looked the same. As long as you stick to two candle people you should be fine!

Editited to add - Tell her to take a hike! BUT nicely. Tell her you'll keep her in mind for future shows, but you are at your max with this show. If she keeps harassing you, tell her you will call the cops.

[magsglass]

Yes. I think it is because jewelry is relatively easy to make. No testing needed unlike candles. Ingredients should be easy to order because they're light and you don't have to pay a ton in shipping unlike wax. If you're selling through mail order or online, packing would be easy too as you don't have to worry about glass jars breaking or candles melting.

I guess that would depend on what kind of jewelry you're talking about. I buy 40 lbs. of glass rod and tubing at a time, so shipping isn't cheap. Plus some of that glass is >$50.00/lb. Silver prices have tripled in the last couple of years, whether raw sheet & wire or Bali beads. And gold & platinum prices--don't get me started!

Making sure glass beads are kiln annealed properly so they don't break requires testing and tweaking -- each size of piece, or variety of glass needs a different annealing schedule. Also you have to compatibility test whenever you're putting different colors of glass into one piece or it can crack all over the place. This kind of testing takes special equipment.

And then there's the expense in equipment, tanked gases, and torches to the tune of many thousands of dollars. Oxygen tank refills are $25...one tank lasts me 8-10 hours of torching, unless I'm doing borosilicate glass, which is 6-8 hours per tankful. Add on to that the costs of classes, supplies, packaging, and the usual overhead & liability insurance all businesses must deal with.

What I'm saying is that glass flameworkers and metalsmiths have a lot more expenses than people realize. There's nothing cheap or easy about making fine art jewelry.

Of course, just as some people blindly stick any old wick into a jar, pour it with wax, and call it a "professionally made" candle, the glass & metal art industry has those folks, too. They have no conception of safety, quality design, proper use of materials, etc. They just crank out crap and throw it on a table and have the nerve to call it "heirloom jewelry".

[sockmonkey]

Unless you are at an "art" or real jewelry show, there are very few people who actually blow their own glass, or forge their own metals to create jewelry. From what I've seen, most of the pieces are just beads and wire available at any craft store.

As for that poor lady who doesn't know when to give up, I would tell her she will need to apply for a show at another time, because as you say, you have enough jewelry vendors. Tell her you appreciate her interest, and that your shows are all well attended because of the policies you have in place, such as this one that is intended to keep things fair and profitable for all the vendors who participate, and that hopefully, she can understand that, with no hard feelings.

Tell her to get on a list if you do everything on a first come-first served basis.

[andrealh1975]

Tell her to get on a list if you do everything on a first come-first served basis.

She's FINALLY given up. I told her if she wanted to sell the jewelry I would put her on the waiting list for the next show and she'd be among the first to find out about it so she can get her money in early (is this a run-on sentence?!? LOL). Anyway, she's agreed to just sell her scarves and that's it. I make sure everyone knows that if they dispaly/sell stuff that they didn't list on the application that is being sold by someone else they'd be asked to remove it from their tables. So we'll see what happens.

Thanks for the input!

[bravo5]

Yeah, I've run into the same thing with the show I'm organizing. I have a "waiting list" too and it's all jewelry vendors. Interesting that I did the same ratio as you for how many to allow- for 40 vendors, I allowed 4 jewelry vendors. I have one woman that is JUST jewelry (I know her and she was first), and the other 3 are 1/2 jewelry and 1/2 "something else".

And YES- I had the same thing- 2 different vendors at 2 different times kept telling me that their jewelry was better than any others out there. And one of them was a direct sales vendor for a company that IMHO sells crappy costume jewelry. And in the application, I specify that I MAY allowing non-handmade craft vendors on an individual basis, as long as I don't already have any handmade crafters in the same category.

p.s. My show is FINALLY next weekend! I'm curious also- what is your application cut-off date for your shows? I left it open until a week before the show (this Saturday), as I didn't know how full we'd be initially, but I didn't think I'd really get any new vendors this close to the date. I'm surprised that I AM still getting new applications!

[andrealh1975]

p.s. My show is FINALLY next weekend! I'm curious also- what is your application cut-off date for your shows? I left it open until a week before the show (this Saturday), as I didn't know how full we'd be initially, but I didn't think I'd really get any new vendors this close to the date. I'm surprised that I AM still getting new applications!

I know you're excited it's so close now...Think about ALL the rest you'll get afterwards!!

My cut off is October 1, but the show is November 19. BUT, people have been able to apply since April 1. And in the 2 months I've had 20 people apply. With my last show I didn't have too many that were applying the week before. I started to slow down about 2-1/2 weeks out. But I did have a LONG waiting list about 40 people, mostly jewelry. Then I had about 4 people who were no call/no show on the day of. Do you have a policy in place for those who are no call/no show the day of the show? Also, you may get some who call the night before to back out, so find out from your waiting list folks who would be available on short notice.

[sudsnwicks]

We have one craft show here that is very popular. It's hard to get in because anyone who has been the previous year can register for the next year for the same booth and they're automatically accepted. This means a newcomer can only get in if someone quits or is a no-show on the day itself. With your extra jewelry people, you could ask them if they're willing to show up on short notice, in case you have a no-show or last minute withdrawal.

[andrealh1975]

We have one craft show here that is very popular. It's hard to get in because anyone who has been the previous year can register for the next year for the same booth and they're automatically accepted. This means a newcomer can only get in if someone quits or is a no-show on the day itself.

I thought about doing that and offering a SMALL discount to vendors who did previous shows. But it doesn't allow for newcomers to participate. So I think for the next show I might offer an early bird discount or something to encourage them to sign up.

[bravo5]

I started an early bird discount for this show- only $5, and the cut-off date was 8 weeks before the show. I had 6 or 7 people sign up on the very last day before it went up, so I am going to keep using it!

[Alajane]

Mag, I agree with sockmonkey that there are very few glass artisans like you at most of the shows who make their own beads. I had the privilege of being next to one such woman at a 3-day show a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed browsing her jewelry and chatting with her during down times. The hand-blown glass jewelry is such a treat to the eye and I loved how she would make beads to your specifications. I have a black cat key ring she made for me to look like my cat and I just love it.

Just wanted to express my admiration for the type of work you do.

Jane

[magsglass]

Thanks, Jane.

Now that I've reread it today, I really didn't mean to sound like such a beyotch in my post. I apologize, sudsnwicks, if it seemed like I was jumping on you.

My response was borne of frustration, I guess, because what you say about there being a lot more jewelrymakers is right. For example, I see a lot of people jumping into flameworking blindly, hoping to "get rich quick" because they think it's cheap and easy to do. They make a few beads with a glass kit they bought at Hobby Lobby, call themselves "pro's" and set up tents at shows. The beads & jewelry are poorly made, without regard or respect for the proper care of the materials. Their stuff is junk, but the buying public doesn't know this until later when the glass breaks or the stringing material fails. These fly-by-nighters give serious craftspeople a bad name, and perpetuate misconceptions about the handmade jewelry industy.

[sudsnwicks]

Don't worry Mag, I knew we were talking about two different types of jewelry makers. The "simple" kind (for want of a better word) is everywhere these days, and it is no wonder Andrea received a flood of applications from these folks.