A Big Truth: You Must Have a Product in Order to Market It

(photos found at Pinterest. Top, scienceandsociety.com uk, middle home.kpn.nl, third, no attribution for the vintage photo was found).

These photos have one big truth in common: Sellers must have a product.

Why sure! Elemental, you say!

Why is it, then, that so many new designers get tripped up on the infinite number of classes offered and books written about social media, entrepreneurship, and marketing? Over and over I see one after another taking limitless classes on the business end of things....but never getting their product quite ready. I think they have somehow become convinced that they've got to have all of that down, first. Gotta have all the ducks in a row.

Okay, I'm not ragging on those courses. To be sure, I have taken a few of them myself, and they have been very helpful! They are helpful even though I have had a product and been a busy seller for well over 25 years. I never fool myself into thinking I can't do it better. I like to hear another opinion.

I had my jewelry design line in the 90's. My look has expanded but my style remains mixed media/assemblage with a strong vintage foundation. Pinterest and books on vintage jewelry are my constant source of new inspiration. Ways of selling have changed distinctly since I had my line, so while my designer identity is still in place, I find I do need help with the new algorhythms of social media.

Interestingly, Wikipedia describes an algorhythm as " is an unambiguous specification of how to solve a class of problems. Algorithms can perform calculation, data processing and automated reasoning tasks". Really? Unambiguous? HA! They seem to be more of an indescribable enigma none of us will ever master. There is something new daily. Yes, I think that's what is stopping any number of us from moving forward. JUST. TOO. MUCH.

And...feeling beaten before we even get started.

Did you notice that I said that my designer identity is already in place? Step back and think, do you know what yours is? Have you considered it? Do you know yet what your product will be, what it will look like, how you will make it?

There would be no need of a cart, no need of a horse, no need of advertising, except for what is IN that cart. You can have all the marketing experience in the world, but if your creative act is not pulled together first, if you have no idea where you are going with your jewelry making, and you have not made any collections or developed an identity through your work....that's what you've got. You've got a horse and a cart, but nothing to sell and no idea really what your wares will look like. You've no clue on how they will present to the public, because you don't have anything concrete to show anyone.

In effect, you've got the cart before the horse. Obviously, that doesn't work.

Maybe you think you have to go to school to be a jewelry designer? Must you have endless courses, seminars, continuing education before you begin? A certificate, something on paper, before you will feel legit enough to be taken seriously?

No. Classes never hurt....but no, no, no. A hundred times no.

It all starts with admiration of a design style, passion, a desire to create. What gets your notice? What colors do you favor? Whose work do you admire? Are you observant? Do you notice light, color, flow?

Start with a journal. Sketch your ideas, write them down. If you have a phone where you can record notes, do that when you see something that strikes you. Record your feelings and take photos of what you see that you love, and save them someplace. Secret Pinterest boards are an awesome place to do that, by the way!

You Tube videos can show you the skill rudiments. Try them, practice them, get them down and build upon them and see where your hands and heart take you. Don't start out thinking that you have to have all the best tools and equipment, either. Start with a decent set of pliers, flush cutters, jump ring turning tool, a hammer, a bench block, easy peasy stuff. Many of the best design lines require little else than that, anyway! You will discover that as you go along. Streamlined and simple makes more money for a designer, and sells more work.

If you want to sell your work to many people, you have to come up with something that they will want to wear. Investigate, look at the fashion magazines, check out the Pantone colors of the year and other color palettes, make your own palettes and see what you think. Think about who your customer will be, and then think about what makes you happy as well....and play to that.

You'll need a dedicated work space of some sort. It can be very small at first, even the dining room table if need be. You'd be surprised how many lines began on a dining room table! But in time you will want a place that is all your own, where you can make a mess and leave it.

So be thinking about that, if you don't have something set up, already.

Make it a place of delight. FUN. Your happy place. A place where you enjoy working. Organize it so that you know where all your basics can be found quickly.

I like this one but there are any number of them out there....do a little shopping and you will find the perfect one for your needs. Sometimes at the beginning, all you need is ONE cart that rolls.

Be patient. It couldn't be truer: Rome was not built in a day. It might take a little time to come up with something that's just right, that is your own, that shows your particular hand as a designer. But when you find yourself pulling it together, you need to think of collections, lines, things built from a common piece, or a similar look.

Below is a photo of an example of how that works, by Allison Murray of Bordeaux and Pearl. As you can see here, all the pieces have a common design style and common elements....things that 'go' together. The look is cohesive. And, if you know Allison's work, it is all done in her voice. It's all Allison-style. She makes big over-the-top things, and she makes simple things, too. But everything she makes is Allison. She is not all over the place, but has centered on techniques that work best for her.

This is what the Build a Line Challenge that I teach every winter, is all about. It is not a marketing course, although it does have marketing elements. By and large it is about helping you get your creative act together to produce your PRODUCT.....

So that you have something to market!

In class we talk about cohesive design, color, what people want, what people buy, identifying your style and then, identifying who the customer for that style might be. We learn to work in collections, or lines. This can begin with the use of even ONE critical part.

This video might help you 'get' the beginning concept for building a line and creating a product:

Maybe you will join us this year for Build a Line. The class is conducted in a private group on Facebook. It takes three months. There are two deadlines to meet and you will create at least one line of five pieces or more for the class. At the deadlines, you simply upload your photos to a Pinterest Board created for them.

The class is not conducted in real time so you can come and go at will, you don't have to be physically present. We allow three months so that everything is easily covered and no one has to race through anything. Students may ask questions and we have many class discussions. The requirements for the class are simple: you have to want to try, you have to meet the two deadlines and show what you have come up with. There is no longer any judging, any best in class. The playing field is completely level, all skill levels and skill sets are invited. The class is about YOU......so what you put into it is what you will take out.

It's about you getting your design act together, moving forward, and producing a viable product. Will you learn everything in three months? NO. But you will certainly know at the end of the class if you want to go forward and be a jewelry designer in a professional sense....or not. It is a time of great discovery for many.

Here is the syllabus from last year: http://bsueboutiques.typepad.com/bsue_boutiques_jewelry_su/2016/11/class-syllabus-build-a-line-master-challenge-class-2017.html

You can have a look at it to get the over-view and basic idea. I will have this year's syllabus in a few weeks and sign ups will start around November 15, 2017. The class will begin roughly around second week of January, after the holidays are over. Cost for new students is 95.00, and for alumni, 75.00. I will accept a few to audit the class, and that cost will be 90.00. I will only accept a very few people as auditors, as wereally need full participants to make a good class.

Think about it....check out the syllabus, and come and join us. If you have taken the class already, continue considering your design product and keeping it fresh, while keeping it cohesive (pulled together).

If you find yourself still struggling or feel you just need the exercise, join us again. We would love to have you! And new ones, please don't be intimidated, some say they are by taking a class like this. No need to be. There is no criticism, no calling out, just encouragement.

I want to see you all fly high as designers!

Meantime, you will find me at www.bsueboutiques.com and also, at You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/bsueboutiques/videos

Come join us on Facebook at the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group for ideas, encouragement, and new creative friends.