Heart of Stone Studio Blog

5 Ways To Diversify Your Jewelry Designs

 

Have you ever thought about expanding your jewelry offerings? Collectors and galleries love it when your work has a thread of similarity running through all its pieces. But maybe, just maybe, you might want to expand your jewelry line a bit in order to attract a broader customer base. Also, changing things up a little is a great way to get energized and challenged by your work.

What are some ways you can diversify? Here are some suggestions:

1) Try some new colors, either of stones or of metals.

Sheet, wire, and PMC is now being offered in more than just gold and silver.
Check out PMC for new colors in bronze. Gold is available in rose, peach, and green.

Copper is gaining popularity. Or, you can explore cold-joining new metals--such as niobium and titanium, or even steel, to more traditional metals. Or, consider new ways to add surface color, or even patinate the metals you have on hand.

 

And of course, the Heart of Stone Studio Website has a huge variety of stone colors:

For cabs, start at our Vivid Colors category page. For Drusies, browse both the

coated and uncoated druzy sections to see a variety of colors.

Web Tip:   Typing in a color in the search box on our home page--purple for example--
will instantly call up every stone on our site that has purple in it. 

 

2) Change the scale of your designs

If you're used to working large, try building some petite pieces and see how they do, and vice versa.  You don't have to produce a lot--even four or five pieces might be enough to attract the notice of your customers.

Web Tip:   You can search for specific sizes of stones by going to our search box andtyping in the size class that you want: tiny, small, medium, large, extra-large, Jumbo. (See our Shopper's Guide for the size range in millimeters for each class).

 

3) Design for the other sex.

If you're used to designing for women, you might want to explore adapting your designs and making them more masculine (or heavier in look, color, or size) for men.
Those guys accompanying their wives shopping might start to take an interest in your pieces. Don't forget that watchbands, bolas, bracelets, rings, even money clips or credit card cases might pique the interest of the male browser.

4) Add in a new price point.

If you're used to building jewelry that does okay at a certain price point, you might want to explore going down or up in order to win new customers. Adding a small (melee)  diamond accent is one way to instantly increase the monetary value of your piece, if it fits within your design aesthetic.

Heart of Stone Studio also can help if you want to create a lower-priced line that's still interesting and fun--Look for smaller stones or drilled pendants in our search box, or browse our faux gems to create a  lighthearted line that will charm your buyers.

5) Start small and test your market. You don't have to completely retrofit your entire production all at once. Just narrow your options down to one new idea at a time, and try making a very limited number of pieces. Consider setting them apart by displaying them separately or on a different background, compared to the main body of your work. Introduce them to your customers as a "new direction you're exploring" and be sure to note their reactions and get their feedback.  If they don't catch on right away, don't give up--just try a different venue. Pay attention to who does notice and purchase them--that might be your new target audience. Keeping your production numbers small to start is a good way to experiment without taking big risks.    

 

Whatever you do, it's important that your new additions still contain some "signature aspect" that will make your piece recognizable as uniquely yours. 

 

Have fun and let me know how it goes.

For more ideas on ways to market your work, check out

my book: Making It As A Jewelry Artist.  

Make Your Camera Your PVA!

As a jewelry artist, you have a personal virtual assistant standing by no farther away than your smart phone: Your camera. As you design and build your piece, your camera should always be at hand to help you out and keep a digital record of your work.

Here are some ideas of how your camera can help you:

*When selecting and arranging gemstones for a piece, photograph each of your possible combinations against a neutral background. Then load them to your computer and see how they look. You can use many viewing programs to view images side by side and pick your favorite.

*Not sure which way should be "up" in a stone you're using, or whether you want an accent component added on the side, the top, or at the bottom? Take a picture, then rotate it. Strangely enough, looking at an image on a screen sometimes can be helpful even if you can see the components in person.

*If you know how to use photo editing software, you can photograph a drawing of your future piece,
load it onto your computer, and play with changing colors or adding/subtracting design components. It's always easier to edit your design with the stroke of a computer command, as opposed to building several actual models.

*If you're building a new design, be sure to grab your camera at critical moments to record
how your piece looks at each stage of construction. If you're using a special tool at a certain stage, put that tool right in the picture as a visual reminder of what you used to get that effect.

*Whenever you're experimenting, stop and take pictures, whether or not the results are successful.
And if you like a certain outcome, draw a big star next to it before you snap your camera, so that it will stand out whenever your peruse your photo library.

*Most important, NEVER sell or give away any piece that you haven't already photographed with good, even lighting and an uncluttered background. Those photos might someday be your entry into art galleries or contests. At the very least, they will comprise your professional portfolio and remind you of how much you've accomplished!

Next month....How to take good, quick photos.