Selling Jewelry on Etsy and on the Internet!

     I'm finally getting around to writing my first post on this blog! I've been working on 3 other sites as well as making jewelry and getting to know Blogger, so I'm giving myself a pass this time.  From now on, though, its "nose to the grindstone" for me.

.....So Welcome to Funwear on Etsy!  This is where I get to shop Etsy and other artsy websites and discuss what's out there in terms of jewelry that sparks an interest and stands out for its uniqueness and edginess! I also get to dissect shops and websites to determine what's working for people in terms of sales and what's not working for them. Hopefully, I'll learn something along the way and will pass on a little of that knowledge as I go.
       My first love is modern industrial art and furniture as long as it retains its warmth and doesn't go too cold or "George Jetson" on me! Some people have a knack for creating that kind of special jewelry that speaks to me like that and I'm always looking for those artists. I'd like to learn from them: how they create their items, what inspires them, how they market their products, and how they define success. Of course, I'd also like to buy from them, if I find that special piece of jewelry that I can't do without.
     I'll also investigate unique and interesting traditional jewelry artists - I do enjoy traditional art and appreicate the foundation it provided in my upbringing. I invite all of my readers to comment and to suggest sites they find interesting as well!

http://www.polestar.etsy.com/
     The artist featured for my first post is Jennifer Heflebower Cowgill.  She's a young mother of two, who creates jewelry after a long day of mommy duty, and still manages to create some really beautiful and earthy jewelry. She also manages to sell it effectively on Etsy which, I'm learning, is no small feat. She opened her Etsy shop in September of 2008 and since then she has sold 3617 items. That's on her Polestar Etsy shop alone! She has other Etsy shops that specialize in other types of jewelry and may have other venues to sell from too. She is currently offering 320 items for sale, ranging in price from $12.00, to $138.40.
     Having a variety of items with a range of prices is one of her secrets.  For example, she sells a lot of earrings that may have similar weights, sizes, etc., but due to the differences in materials they were made from,  their prices can range from $17.00 to $104.00, with a lot of variety in between.
     She made sure she had an effective banner. If you're like me, you're thinking "as soon as I recoup some of my investment I'll pay someone to make a better banner for me". But really, what comes first, the paying customer or the banner?  Will the banner bring the customer or will the customer bring the banner?  Truthfully, I think I need to break down and invest in the banner, especially if I'm serious about this as a business.
     She determined who her target market would be. If you look at Polestar, you'll notice that her jewelry is elegant and her target market is probably women who can afford to pay a median range of $70.00 for a piece of jewelry. That usually means a working woman with some discretionary income available to spend or a man who buys for his wife (or woman). The more jewelry I make and list on Etsy, the more I realize I need to determine who my target market is for my shop. If I'm making jewelry that appeals mainly to teens and then I make jewelry that appeals mainly to retired adults, I'll need to open separate shops so that I can market to these shops separately. From all of the forum posts I've read by successful Etsy sellers, this separate focused shop style of selling works best on Etsy. I want to stress "successful" Etsy sellers, because I've seen a lot of sellers on the forums chime in and say that they mix their different items and use the sections to solve any problems with separating subject areas for customers without a problem, but when I viewed their sales, they were minimal compared to the sellers who stated that the best way was to create separate shops.
     There's a lot to learn from Jennifer Heflebower Cowgill and I'll be using her as a featured artist and her site as an example to study again in the future. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think and while your at Etsy check out my shop at http://www.funwear.etsy.com/ too!!






























































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