More Jewelry in the 20-30 Dollar Range, Please
by Kerry H.
(Raleigh, NC)
I have bought hand-crafted jewelry at craft fairs. I like hand-crafted work because each piece is unique and usually the materials are of better quality.
Also, when you talk with the crafter, you can find out more information and frankly, I would rather buy something I know was made in the US than something made in a third world country by prison or sweatshop labor.
I don't wear a lot of jewelry but I buy it to give to others.
My tip is this: I like buying from a crafter, but I have a tight budget. I think it is a great idea to have high end items for high end people, but those of us in the lower middle class like nice things, too, and we would like some choices. I'm willing to spend $20-$30 on something nice but beyond that, we're getting into my grocery money.
So, when I visit booths with only high end things, I'm out of there really quickly.
Likewise if the items in the booth don't have any prices showing. I don't want to have to ask how much the items cost, because it's awkward to bother the seller to tell me the price only to find out the items cost more than I can afford. I think there are a lot of people like me.
Also, it is really nice to hear or read the story of a piece of jewelry--how the artist got the idea, what the materials are, where they came from, etc. That becomes part of the artifact as well as the buying experience.