customers

I've been selling my jewelry at craft fairs for a hundred zillion years or so, and thought I had heard every permution of every rude remark out there. WRONG!!

A woman asked if I sold beads. I said Yes, but only a limited supply. Then she pointed to two beads in 2 finished items of jewelry and asked if I sold those. I said, No those are the last I have. So far, not a problem, but THEN she asked if I would take apart both necklaces (hand-made! one-of-a-kind! lots of labor!) so she could buy 2 beads to make her own necklace. That's like asking if you'll unravel your hand-made sweater because someone wants 10" of yarn.

I'm very impressed with myself for not killing her, or even screaming.

Ms. M,
Some people have the nerve. Instead of realizing the quality she had before her, she insulted the artist. She didn't deserve to buy anything of yours. I hope you sent her packing...

Mrs. M.
I do believe you!!! Customers come up with the craziest ideas but I do that this one tops the list. I've been asked similar questions and
couldn't believe it either.
Agree with Jawjaw do hope you sent her packing and congratulations on not killing her.
Maggie

I said, "If you want the beads, you can buy the necklace and take it apart yourself."

I used to make Friendly Plastic jewelry.....and don't laugh, my stuff was really good, completely original and people paid good money for some of my pieces. Okay, so it was plastic...it doesn't matter....can you make an absolutely beautiful antique gold orchid, in perfect form?

Yeah, well okay then....anyway....I did craft fairs and man! people were just plain stupid....they wanted to take pictures, they wanted me to tell them how I did it, they wanted to know my technique, who I got my supplies from .....or (and this was a BIGGGGG ONE) they'd say, out loud, in front of me....."oh yeah, that's that stuff you do in the oven, we can do that at home." And then they'd breeze out, discounting me and my work.

I wanted to grab them by the neck and ask them when the last time was they were able to stay home with their kids, do the laundry and dinner, and work at the kitchen table AND go to a craft fair, have it paid for at the end of the year, AND rake in $1,000 at the end of the day.

Oh yeah and by the way...I fooled them. I NEVER made stuff in the oven. I almost ruined my hands working the stuff in almost boiling water.

Why do people have to put someone else down -- their dreams, their talents, their originality -- in order to make them feel good about themselves ???

Craft fairs bring out the best people in the world -- and the biggest jerks !!!

so the best you can do is not lower yourself to their level -- and enjoy the reason you're there in the first place

maybe you can find a big bright waving hand with bells and whistles that will go off yelling JERK ALERT JERK ALERT -- so all the other crafters can get the heads up

My standard reply, when people ask where I get my materials or how I made something, is to smile broadly and say, "I'd love to teach you!!! My rates are only $50 an hour, which is REALLY a good deal. When would you like an appointment?" For some reason, they usually lose interest at that point.

lionspaaw, I LOVE your suggestion! For those of you who are wondering, 99% of my customers are great (or at least neutral.) It's the 1% JERK ALERT!s that give us crafters all those great stories.

I kind of like your idea Meredith. I didn't even think of that. I think I stood around and fumed and thought about their audacity. At least when I do that I walk away from the booth/store/vendor far enough away to not insult the person.

Ahhh... the joys of sales. I'm getting ready to take my gourds to a couple of craft things in November....and I don't know if I'm anticipating this very well. I have a difficult time pricing things. It's like writing, you have to sell yourself and I've always had a difficult time doing that.

Kate,
Go to other shows or galleries and see if anyone has a similar product, and how they've priced it. Decide if you're going to bargain or have firm prices. If you have firm prices (I do; it's a lot easier for me), don't apologize or back down. Tag your product (or have a sign) so people don't have to ask prices all the time. One of the drawbacks of this business is you rarely can get what you're worth, but don't give it away either. Figure out what you truly need for your time and art. Then decide what you want, if you could get it. The selling price often falls between these two numbers.

Thanks Meredith, that makes perfect sense to me. I've seen gourds, similar to mine go for as much as $800 but that's crazy.....and I've seen some really good ones go for $150, however, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that this area warrants that kind of price, so I'm thinking between $40-$65. I stain them and do pyography, which seems to be the new word for wood burning which is really cool because I LOVED doing that when I was a kid, so now I just sit there in the evenings and doodle...! It's so cool!

Kate

since I don't know exactly where you are, I can't comment on whether your pricing is high or low for your neighborhood. It sounds reasonable to me. $800!!! would never fly down here. The people with that kind of money aren't buying gourds; at least I don't think so.

I picked some little yellow round gourds up in the hills, with some idea about decorating them, but they're kinda small so the possibilities are not as exciting.

Well those $800 jobs were some I saw online...but then I've seen some for $45 that were kind of strange. I'm not much for turning gourds into animals or painting them and turning them into birdhouses. It's just not my thing. Some, actually a lot of people like those kind of things but mmmm...not me.
Anyway, my point, and I do have one, is WHAT little gourds in the hills? Those gourd looking things that you see just growing along the side of the road? Those round viney things I've seen a zillion times and always wondered what they were but never stopped to look at them? Me? The queen of cheap supplies? And I'm in Central California. There's NOTHIN' goin' for $800 here.
Kate

DK,
I'm curious...what exactly do you make/do with the gourds?

I have a painted gourd sitting right behind me...actually two!

A friend hollowed them out and painted them for me a couple years ago.

They could be bird houses but I thought they'd get ruided if I put them outside.

One is a beautiful shade of yellow and the other is painted gold and has pretty flowers painted on it.

A piece of the outdoors brought in!

DK, best wishes with your sales. WHen are you selling them?

Kate, yeah those viney things that grow on the hillsides. FYI all gourds are viney. These look like bright yellow tennis balls right now. They were green striped in the spring. Actually I thought it was squash and was going to cook them (motto: if you don't die or puke, it's probably OK to eat ) but someone else told me they were gourds. They have hard thin shells (skins.)

Thanks Meredith....I'm going out looking for some now....well, not like NOW.....but maybe tomorrow... I'm going to Folsom tomorrow to buy gourds.

You COULD cook them and feed them to your spouse... and see what happens... just a thought.

They're so pithy hard-as-a-rock, even he would notice.

DK,
You never said what you do with the gourds. If you dont paint them, then what? I refer to your older post where you said

I'm not much for turning gourds into animals or painting them and turning them into birdhouses. It's just not my thing. Some, actually a lot of people like those kind of things but mmmm...not me.

Inquiring minds wanna know....

Hi jawjaw~

I DO do some painting but it's sort of more stain-like than anything else. I like the mottled skin of them, it takes stains and watercolor very well and doesn't cover up the natural beauty. I love the shape and form of gourds, they're so natural and flowing. I usually do some pyography, which is just a fancy word for wood burning, and I draw as I go. Sometimes I might make a pencil sketch of my idea but more often than not I just free-form it. So after that I stain them and paint what I'm going to paint. Then I'll add some embellishments. And then maybe wax and rub it to a high sheen. But I'm still sort of new to this, not to drawing but using a gourd as my canvas.

Does that answer?