Develop Your Own Jewelry Style
© by Dvora Schleffer; all rights reserved
Developing your unique jewelry style is an important part of a successful jewelry venture. When you take your jewelry-making hobby to the next level and turn it into a business, you need to choose between two ways to go: - You can specialize in a specific style / material / technique and create a line of jewelry with a distinctive look.
- You can create a variety of jewelry pieces or collections with a different style / materials / techniques for each.
There are advantages to specializing, including: - You can make a name for yourself as an expert in your field.
- People will identify your distinctive jewelry style, which will make the promotion and marketing easier.
- You are able to explore your material / technique and expand the medium's known boundaries. This will enable you to create complex jewelry masterpieces. You might even improve or invent new techniques in your field.
However, the specializing approach also has several problems and limitations: - Some artists may feel limited by being forced to create always within the boundaries of the same jewelry style / materials / technique.
- This approach also limits your sales to a specific clientele that likes this particular style. Of course it is possible that this clientele is sufficient for your business, but if you wish to grow and reach other audiences, it might be more difficult.
- Long-term survival. If your jewelry style is a big success, competitors creating imitations and variations will soon follow, or trends might change so that your popular style of today looks outdated tomorrow. Specializing in one thing has the risk of putting all the eggs in one basket. You need to be aware of changes and be able to respond to them in time.
On the other hand, the variety approach has its own advantages: - You have the artistic freedom to explore any material and technique that you want.
- You can appeal to a larger clientele offering different collections (for example, a collection for young people and a more classic one for the more mature).
- Being knowledgeable in several techniques/materials can lead to the creation of amazing combination pieces and the invention of unique work methods.
- You are minimizing your risk. If one collection doesn't sell, you can focus on another - or even create a new and different jewelry style that might be more successful, without compromising your reputation.
But the variety approach also has its downfalls: - It's a more high maintenance method. You need to constantly reinvent yourself and create various items / collections.
- It requires more marketing and promotion efforts since the jewelry is not immediately identified with you and your brand name.
- It's more expensive in terms of supplies, since you will probably order smaller quantities of a larger variety of components to keep on hand.
So how do you choose which way to go in developing your own jewelry style? You need to examine your artistic preference. Some artists have a passion for a specific art form and are not interested in expanding to other fields. If this describes you, then specializing is an approach that would work well for you. Other artists need to experiment and try different things all the time. For these artists, the variety approach would work better. Whatever path you choose for developing your unique jewelry style, the most important thing is that you do what is best for you as an artist. At the same time, however, you should be aware of the potential problems your approach so you can handle them well and remain a successful and happy jewelry artist.
Author and jewelry designer Dvora Schleffer creates unique handmade silver jewelry in various techniques and styles. Visit her website, Dvora Schleffer Designs, to see Dvora's own unique jewelry style in her wire crochet, beading, polymer clay and more.Return to top of Develop Your Own Jewelry Style. Return to Making Jewelry Your Customers Want to Buy. Return to Home Jewelry Business Success Tips home page.
|
