I’m taking a deep breath and getting ready to fake my way through a three hour Mother’s Day Fair tomorrow in which I will exude complete confidence in my work, each piece and the prices I’ve decided on. Right now I feel like I could throw up a little. I’m not good at selling. I tried direct sales a few years back, selling this amazing skin care line but when it came down to saying, “Okay, that’s going to be $105.84,” I got a knot in my stomach and would often say something to the effect of, “I’m going to give you an additional % off and throw in these free goodies, so you’re total only comes to $6.39.” And yes, I would eat the rest of it. And yes, I know that’s bad for business. And no, I didn’t last long in direct sales. I’m so thankful to my friends who have been so supportive of me and encouraging. My Mom too – she got to see most of my work while she was here last week. And I have had my first sale – Thanks J!!
But all the pieces are finished and priced and today they’ll be tagged and tomorrow I go lay out my beauties on a table and hope that people understand what it is they are looking at (semi-precious and precious gemstones, freshwater pearls, sterling silver, copper, and 14 kt gold-filled findings, the best beading wire there is), the painstaking hours it took to design and then put together each piece and not be shocked at the prices and walk away muttering about me to their friends. Whatever doesn’t sell tomorrow I’ll be putting up in my Etsy shop and on consignment in my friend’s store and for some reason, the barrier between me and the buyer via the Internet and the concept of consignment completely erases any trepidation I feel. Apparently the moral of the story is: you can talk about me behind my back when I’m a whole other city, state, or click away, just don’t do it in front of me. Maybe I need to see a life coach…
But you asked for pictures and I’m happy to oblige as yesterday I finally got the setting right and they turned out quite nicely thanks also to the sunny weather we were having. Click here to view my Flickr account’s keeping of said items. I haven’t had a chance to tag any of the photos or write descriptions but the jewelry is there. I’ll work on that later. Today I have to go to the bank and get change for tomorrow, I still need to tag each peice, get everything together and packed up, iron my clothes and the tablecloth and think happy, positive thoughts about tomorrow. And pray that the swine flu doesn’t keep people away.
Good luck!
I looked at the photos they are stunning. Have a great day tomorrow.
Tana, your product looks great! Good luck tomorrow. I’ll be thinking of you.
Oh, my gosh, these are stunning. I hope you have a good time at your sale tommorow and you sell tons of these!
I have my eye on one of your pieces, maybe I’ll get a crack at it on ETSY
Tana, wow !!! your items are beautiful — absolutely beautiful. You should be proud of yourself. Good luck tomorrow, but I dont think you need “luck”. I’m not so sure I believe in “luck” — You my dear are blessed with many talents. Run with them… With lots of love and positive thinking for you.
Auntie
Oh, Tana, they’re so pretty! If you have *anything* left after tomorrow, I’ll be stalking your Etsy! Have fun!
So, so pretty. Do NOT sell yourself short. These are beautiful. Good luck tomorrow.
Oh my gosh, your jewelry is beautiful. You got so much completed in sugh a short time, and the attention to detail is great. I love the different types of clasps you used. I know you’ll do great tomorrow.