As the Fall Arts and Craft show season nears us, I will be sharing a few tips on selling your Friendly Plastic jewelry pieces and artwork...afterall, I know that it is so addicting that you can't just make ONE piece....you are addicted to creating more and more and more, aren't you? Be Honest! It's like trying to take a small bite of chocolate...just can't do it!
So......what do you do with all those pieces of jewelry, earrings, bracelets, and such that you've made to satisfy your addiction? You "could" send them to me! (just kidding...) or give them as gifts to friends and family - which is a good choice (again...hope I'm a friend....send them to me...see the subliminal messages here?? - even I'm addicted to Friendly Plastic.)
But...in this economy, the better option is to offer them for sale. There are many avenues available to you so sell your work such as etsy, ebay, retail stores and arts and craft shows and we will cover those in a future post.
In this article, however, I want to talk briefly about presentation. Presentation says alot about your work and who you are as a person. It's those extra finishing touches that will make "YOU" stand out from all the other vendors looking to get the customers money. It's the finishing touches not only on your piece for sale...but how it's displayed......how it's packaged.
This is where
Mylene Hillam, one of our regular featured artists on the blog comes in to play with her latest blog post. Notice the "packaging" and how her earrings are displayed. She's even taken the time to rubber stamp a very elegant design on the card which displays her earrings. This really gives her work an upscale look and adds value to her piece. It also add's to her reputation as an artist.
Just a little something to give consideration to when begining to sell your artwork. Remember...the more you sell...the more you can satisfy that incredible addiction you have to Friendly Plastic....it's an endless cycle...but it is a good one at that.
Enjoy Mylene's Post:
One of the wonderful things about working with Friendly Plastic is how such simple techniques can transform the foiled strips of Friendly Plastic into really eye catching pieces. Take these earrings for example - their striking appearance belies their simplicity.
Both pairs are examples of marbling but using different tools to create the effect.
The first pair was marbled with a marbling comb and the second pair with a needle tool to create two totally different looks.
You can use either a heat gun (as in the first pair) or the griddle method (used for the second pair) to melt the strips together and then slowly draw the tool of your choice through the surface. I used a cookie cutter to cut out the leaf shaped earrings but the chevron earrings are made by layering black and gold rectangles together which have been allowed to melt into each other before using the needle tool.
To finish off the earrings and to add extra bling I've added some Swarovski crystals because they work so well with Friendly Plastic.
Whether you're making your jewellery pieces for sale or as gifts for family and friends, it's worth giving presentation some thought. These earrings are part of a gift enemble so I've displayed them on black cardboard stamped with gold ink - it really makes them pop. You could then place the whole card in a plastic sleeve. But as these earrings are a special gift I've also decorated a coordinating tin to slip them into which apart from providing a beautiful case to store the earrings in, it also gives the whole gift a very professional look!
Head on over to my personal blog: http://www.lindapetersondesigns.blogspot.com/ I've been sharing additional tips on Making Money with your Art! Pick up some great tips and make lots of money this fall craft show season!
