Joanne Varney gives her tips and ideas to help maximise your sales this Valentines. She holds a BA (Hons) in Jewellery and Silversmithing and is part of the Cooksongold Team.

Valentine’s Day is upon us and represents one of the few sales opportunities during the early part of the year. With jewellery being an obvious choice, here are a few ideas to help maximise your sales and to guide those uncertain male customers!!

‘Love Tokens’ –  Gift Vouchers are a great option for those who are uncertain of their partners taste, but can sometimes come across as a little lacking in imagination. However, dress a gift token into something a little more interesting e.g. ‘Love Token’, couple this idea with an attractive card and I think you will provide a useful option for many shoppers. After all, many people may know their partners favourite designer, but may not be able to choose one piece. This is the perfect solution.

Sales Incentives – Just because most of us run small scale operations doesn’t mean we can’t make use of some of the sales incentives used by the large companies. For example, try offering a free gift wrapping service. It’s surprising just how many customers (especially men) will take advantage of this, particularly those shopping at the last minute. Offer a free Valentine’s Day card with every sale in the 2 weeks prior to the big day. Again it’s taking the hassle out of shopping for people and saving them a trip to an overcrowded card shop. Yes it means a small outlay but this could be minimised by designing and printing the cards yourself. Finally a 10% discount off of the next purchase is always well received and brings customers back to you helping to build a relationship of trust.

Although Valentine’s Day is traditionally a day for proposing, most customers won’t be looking for rings. In fact many men would avoid buying them on principle in case their partner was to get the wrong idea!! For the most part it is preferable to steer customers in the direction of items which don’t need sizing. Earrings and pendants are fairly safe options, but offer a longer length chain. (You don’t want disgruntled ladies returning pendants because the chain was too short!)

Charms – Charms make a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for both men and women. They don’t need sizing, can be attached to bracelets or necklets and best of all they can reflect any occasion, hobby or interest you can possibly imagine. Hearts are an obvious and popular choice and can be simply made using either wire or sheet.  Add interest with different textures and finishes and hang together in groups of three with perhaps a Swarovski Heart crystal to create a great cost effective gift. They will work out more inexpensive than other branded alternatives and suit more customers’ pockets.

On that subject I would just like to reiterate a point that I’ve made in previous articles. Make sure you have items at a good range of price points, low to high, to suit all budgets.  Ensure your cheaper items are easy to get to so as not to put people off and perhaps most important of all, smile and try to encourage customers to be romantic!

And if for some reason you are not feeling the romance of the occasion, grit your teeth and pretend!!

Happy Valentine’s Day xx

This is a guest project designed by Jane Kharade. Jane designs beautifully coloured pieces with the aid of clay, crystals and silver.

“Create unique accessories for your own wedding or a friend’s special occasion, with easy to use rubber moulds and precious metal clay.”

Mould pretty charms from silver clay to form Jane Kharade’s wedding gift jewellery.

Use a flexible rubber mould and precious metal clay to create these stunning keepsake gifts for a wedding, all of which can be worn after the special day has long gone. The mould features a selection of pretty elements, that can be used to create charms suitable for a number of occasions. Find out how to design a pretty pendant and stunning charm bracelet for the bridesmaids, embellished with glittering Swarovski crystals, plus striking cuff links for the best man.

You will need:

• Bicones, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, 6mm, light peach x 11
• Crystals, round, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, 6mm, Indian pink crystals x 11
• Chain: snake, sterling silver; plain curb, loose, silver
• Jump rings, silver: 5mm, light ; 7mm, heavy
• Head pins, 3 bead end, silver, 50mm
• Clasp, lobster clasp, 13mm
• Clay, precious metal, PMC 3 x 25g
• Cuff links, silver
• Mould, flexible rubber, Occasions
• Badger Balm
• Needle
• Pliers: round-nosed; flat-nosed
• Cutters, wire
• Mat, Teflon
• Blow torch, hand-held
• Soldering block
• Brush, wire
• Files, needle
• Burnisher, metal

 

STEP 1

Lightly coat a teacup, teapot, flower, shoe, bonnet, and dress moulds with a thin layer of Badger Balm, using your finger. This will stop the clay from sticking to the mould and damaging the pattern of the charm as it is being removed. You will need to make up six flowers and one shoe, dress, bonnet, teacup and teapot charm for this project. Form each one individually by pinching a piece of precious metal clay from the block, then wrapping the rest back up to stop it from drying out.

STEP 2

Roll the clay into a ball and press it into your chosen mould, then push a needle into the charm to create a large hole for attaching a jump ring. Bend the mould slightly and carefully release the charm out; if the clay doesn’t have a good impression, simply ball it up and re-mould. Lay the charms on a Teflon mat to dry out overnight; once they feel like plaster, use needle files to remove any rough edges and create a smooth finish.

 

STEP 3

Fire the charms on a soldering block with a blow torch until they glow orange, then maintain this glow for a minimum of two minutes. Alternatively, fire in a PMC kiln on the PMC3 fast programme or 700°C for 10 minutes. Quench in cold water, then brush the charms with a wire brush, front and back, and use a metal burnisher to polish the high points. Thread each charm onto a 5mm jump ring. Hang them from a 18cm curb chain at regular intervals so that the charms are balanced throughout the bracelet.

STEP 4

Thread 10 pink crystals and 10 peach crystals onto head pins. Use round-nosed pliers to form a neat loop. Wrap the end of the head pin around itself three times and trim the excess. Thread one pink and one peach crystal onto 5mm jump rings then hang them between each charm. Attach a lobster clasp to the bracelet with a 5mm jump ring to one end, and a 7mm jump ring to the other.

STEP 5

You have completed the project. This is the finished Special Occasion bracelet. You can get everything you need to design it by clicking here. Have fun making your own!

 

 

 

 

You could also try…

Pendant

Step 1: Lightly coat a teacup and a flower mould with a thin layer of Badger Balm. Pinch a piece of precious metal clay from the block, divide it in two and push each piece into the teacup and flower moulds. Make holes in the charms with a needle for the jump rings, then carefully ease them out of the mould.Leave the charms to dry out overnight, then remove any rough edges with needle files. Fire the charms with a hand-held blow torch, quench and brush with a wire brush, then use a metal burnisher to create a mirror finish on the high points.

Step 2: Add a 5mm jump ring to each of the charms. Thread one pink and one peach crystal onto individual head pins. Using round-nosed pliers, form a neat loop and wrap the end of each head pin around itself three times with the aid of flat-nosed pliers, then trim off the excess. Open up a 7mm jump ring with pliers and thread the two crystals onto the jump ring, add the teacup charm and close tightly, then slip it onto a snake chain. Add the flower next to this.

Cufflinks

Step 1: Coat the top hat mould with a light film of Badger Balm. Pinch a piece of precious metal clay from the block, roll into a ball and push it into the top hat mould. Carefully ease the charm out, lay on a Teflon mat and repeat to make a second charm. Once they have dried out overnight, remove any rough edges with needle files.

Step 2: Fire the charms on a soldering block, quench and brush with a wire brush, then use a metal burnisher to polish to a mirror shine. Mix up epoxy resin according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stick the top hats to cuff link findings and leave the resin to cure overnight.

 

Designer Tip

Take care when filing the charms after they have dried, as they can be fragile in this pre-fired state.