Jewellery parties

[Bea]

Now that I sell beads, quite a few friends have asked if I would do jewellery parties. And at the craft fair I attended last Saturday, I made some earrings for a lady there and then, and she asked would I do a jewellery party at her house.... Now I need some advice!!! Has anyone ever held such a party? Do I make stuff on the night and I finish whatever is not finished at home and bring it back once it's all done?
Is there any money to make out of all this? I am not an experienced jewellery maker, far from it! Give me some stretch magic and a few beads, great. Give me some wire and I don't know what to do!! And, er, okay I can do earrings but they're easy! I have booked a two-day course (it's free so I don't expect to learn a lot!!) later on in June, so that might help....
Any advice welcome!!!!

[minvera]

hi - this is how I started off nd its a great way to start a business. Heres why:
1. you have a captive audience! People know they're there to buy jewellery so they will.
2. Never leave without getting a date for another one. Makes sense to get two names, as one may cancel
3. Great for market research, ie. whats popular/what isn't; finding out if your prices are considered reasonable; etc. this is invaluable if you take it further and need to do a business plan
4. It's great advertising - have loasds of fliers made up, and hand them out, also remember to put a sticker/card in with the final orders. It gets you're name out there

finally, insofar as how to do it - everyones different, but I simply made up a few pieces and brought them and took orders (made up some order forms on the PC) People dont tend to take the stuff home with them - they order and then you send the order to the hostess within a given time - usually within 7-10 days. I would recommend taking a 50% deposit on the night to cover materials etc, with the balance payable on recipt of the order. Most people pay in full though. Remember to give the hostess a gift/discount. However what i noticed was that if I offered the hostess a discount, it became obvious that the hostess was ordering LOADs of stuff and the others just 1/2 items. Turns out the hostess was putting her guests orders under her name so they would get the discount - so I started then to offer a gift instead.
Hope this helps
Nicola

[Bea]

Nicola
Thank you so much for sharing!!! You're giving me lots of ideas!!
I use beads and haven't gone anywhere near Sterling Silver because of the price, although that's probably what sells!!!!
I'll have to do more pieces though, to broaden the choice... and matching ones too....
had a look at your website, very good! Your jewellery is completely different and very nice!!! No wonder it sells!!
Thanks!
Beatrice

[minvera]

thank you - you're very welcome - remember to let us know how you get on! Best of Luck
nicola

[chillibun]

I've been holding jewellery parties with my jewellery for a couple of years. They can work really well if you get enough people there in the first place.
It's a good idea to offer an incentive to the host so she invites stacks of people. I offer 2 bottles of wine for parties of 10 guests or more as an added bonus. They receive 10% of the total party sales.
It's good to have a nice range of jewellery on the evening for people to choose from. I must admit people like the fact they can take the jewellery home with them but are more than happy to wait for something to be made, it makes it feel more special and unique.
I think it would be a great idea to make some pieces on the night, you could maybe do it as a game with the guests and they get to take what they made for a small price.
Also, try and book another party that night whilst you have the audience. Offer an extra incentive for booking that evening like a beauty gift pack that they receive on the night of their party.
Hope that gives you a few more ideas. Good luck
carlajenningsjewellery.co.uk

[Lilac Moon]

Hi I've done a few parties, I can do better at parties than fairs sometimes. I give the hostess free jewellery to the value of £25 she can have 1 piece or more upto that value, then I do bingo with a difference and a bag charm as the price, and a raffle, usually 2 bottles of wine and a bracelet or watch. price of the tickets depends on how many peeps are at the party, I usually cover cost on that but it adds to the fun.
I take my kit and let peeps pick the beads they want and the design they want and if i dont have time to make it then I offer to post it to them free if they pay upfront. As said before they feel it is really special because they picked the beads themselves.

Anyway good luck, Hope it goes really well for you.

[Louise77]

I did my first jewellery party a couple of weeks ago at a friend of my Mother's home.
I made about £130 on the night and another £120ish worth of orders.
There were about 20 people there.

I did it slightly differently from the other poster - I let people take what they wanted on the night if it was ok (fit etc) and then if someone wanted the same thing or something else say, in a different colour, then I wrote it in the order book.
I didn't take any deposit money at all, because I feel that if for some reason I couldn't get hold of the right components to make whatever they wanted, then it would be a huge hassle getting back in touch with them and refunding them etc, although I do understand why most people would probably take a deposit to cover themselves against loss.

I gave the hostess 2x bottles of wine and jewellery worth about £25.

I didn't actually think about taking any bookings for more parties, I was too buzzed at the time but if I do another one soon I will definately ask the guests if they would be interested.

Just remember to take your price list, as I forgot mine (DOH) but apart from that everything went well although I didn't have enough room for my stuff and just had to put a selection of it out. Next time I might go early and ask for a dining table or something and set up before the guests get there.

Hope it goes well, it is definately a boost when people like what you have made and you get sales and orders for your stuff.
Louise
x
EDITED to add - another reason I didn't take payment for orders was because some stuff that was ordered were thing like necklaces to match bracelets that were there, so I had no idea how much it would be until I had made it and added up the components etc then my profit, so to save hassle I just said that I would get full payment on receipt of the goods. Additionally, the hostess is a good friend of my Mums and I know I can trust her to get the money from the guests for me. If you don't know the hostess or guests that well then it is probably wise to take deposits!
Louise
x

[BCandy]

Hi,
I registered on this site a while ago but lost my password and gave up. I found it and have now been looking through your posts since before lunch. I just wanted to say I've been inspired by your discusison and tips on parties and i'm going to give it a try. I've just ordered some business cards.

Thanks for all your tips.

[chillibun]

You may have to wait 5 years for the information you want but well worth the wait eh?! lol
Good luck with your parties, they're good fun!

[creativefae]

Just to say that having just decided to offer this service and finding this thread through a search, thanks to everyone because all that advice is really helpful.

I'm going to make up some flyers to take to the craft fair!