How to Do

Home Jewelry Parties

© by Albina Rose; all rights reserved

Pink Peruvian opal earrings by Albina Rose

I get a much better return on my investment of time, effort and money.

Getting a large lump sum of sales and money in a few hours at a home party is much more gratifying than my trickle of online sales.

How to start doing jewelry parties? Well, you could ask a friend to host one for you.

I was lucky in that one of my friends actually came up with the idea and offered to have one in her home for my first party.

Crocheted wire bracelet with leafy toggle clasp
by Albina Rose

For my first home show, I worked like a dog for a month to make sure I had a large enough inventory.

We invited about 25 people. Fifteen attended, and all purchased something. I sold $700 worth for my first home show. I was very excited about that and it's just gotten better with each one.

Now that I've done several parties, there is a very specific routine I follow in preparation.

The invite list is first. The hostess gives me her list of names and addresses, and I prepare and mail out the post card invitations. Doing the mailout two and a half weeks before the party date is just about right. The guests are asked to RSVP to the hostess.

Rather than price tagging each item in my inventory, I prepare a "catalog" of my items with a brief description and a picture of each one. I usually fit about 20 per page--5 rows with 4 columns.

Those are printed up on plain paper on my printer and I write a cover sheet telling a little about me and my handcrafted jewelry. I staple the sheets together to make the "catalog".

If I know there are 25 people coming, I'll make about 15 catalogs.

Once I arrive at the hostess' home about an hour before show time, I set up, using jewelry displays I've made myself or purchased.

Make full use of the space and spread out through the available rooms. Have a grouping of jewelry displayed on the dining room table, groupings on the coffee table and end tables. This prevents crowding around one area while everyone is trying to shop.

Make the best use of anything and everything you can. I also leave catalogs in different spots around the rooms.

Earrings in antiqued brass and blue crystals
by Albina Rose

Having a wide price range is key. I offer items from $3 to $75. Having the ability to accept credit card payments also helps increase sales.

Then I set up my "checkout" station away from the "shopping areas" (preferably a different room), like at the kitchen table, and let the guests shop with little shopping bags I've made available. This way, they can freely browse without the feeling that I'm hovering and watching them.

Here's my checklist:

• postcard invitations


• jewelry displays


• the jewelry catalogs I made


• little shopping bags (to shop with)


• sales receipts (with a sticker of your logo and contact info)


• calculator


• cash box with cash to make change


• pens


• business cards


• bags and packaging (to send items home with customers)


• jewelry tools (I bring some of my tools and a limited amount of supplies in case someone needs a size adjustment, so I can do it right then)

Vintage cameo on a crocheted choker
by Albina Rose

My hostesses receive merchandise of their choice worth 10% of the amount of total sales for the evening. So when I tally up the sales I let them go through and choose their reward(s). If I sell $1000, the hostess gets $100 worth of jewelry.

Make sure you keep all of your mailing lists. You never know when you may want to host an "opening" of your own and invite all those people who have already attended your home parties. I run into people all the time who ask when is my next one.

Don't worry about making your jewelry home shows "perfect", especially the first time. If you follow my tips here, you will do just fine. After that, you will tailor your routine with your own ideas to make it "perfect" for you.

And consider having an annual "Holiday Show" in November. That has been my most successful to date.

Good luck and I wish you many successful home jewelry parties!

Author Albina Rose says, "My business is named after my maternal grandmother, Rose Albina. She started it all for me when she taught me to crochet at the age of 9."

She adds, "My mom is a seamstress taught me to make my own clothes at age 11. My dad is a master carpenter and I always wanted to be in his shop helping, whenever he was working on something. Today at age 76, he is finishing his third woodstrip canoe. We were actually able to trace one of his first ancestors. His name was Olivier Quesnel, he was a master armorer who emigrated to Montreal, Quebec from St. Milo, France in the mid-1600s. The love of working with my hands is in my blood."

Handmade mixed media jewelry is Albina Rose's main passion, but she has also taught herself many other crafts and arts. "It seems I can never get enough," she says. Don't miss her Albina Rose blog.

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