How, when, where did you start selling your jewellery?

[handmadeblanks]

Craft fairs, online, family & friends, other?

What was your experience like when you actually first tried selling your jewellery items? Where did it begin? What advice can you give?

Thanks in advance!

[SICraftDesigns]

I started out because I wanted to make my own wedding ring and had some materials left over so made a few extra to sell. It was slow to start with but eventually I sold a few which allowed me to invest in more materials to make more and come up with new designs.

I started selling through Etsy and personally i feel that this is an excellent place to start. It does have some drawbacks (especially for a smaller shop your listings may get lost in search results) but once you are able to expand your catalog more and more people stumble across your shop things can pick up dramatically. I'm not sure it's all that popular for buyers in the UK and personally I find that most of my sales from there go to the USA although that could also be partly due to the materials I work with being more popular over the pond. Recently I created a website but this has been slow to start (I think because it takes a while for Google to recognize your page in their search results). I'm confident that in time this will improve however if I was starting over tomorrow I would go straight to Etsy purely for the simplicity of getting an online presence.

I'm doing my first show in a couple of months which I am pretty excited about. Hopefully it will generate some more local interest as well.

Out of curiosity, how did you start?

[Dennis]

Yes but they're hardly your ordinary wedding rings. They're as splendid as you could wish for. Dennis.

[enigma]

I started selling to friends on FB then set up my website.
When I set up my Etsy shop it took over 3 months before I got my first sale then gradually picked up.
3 years later I sell well through all 3 venues with a fairly even split each way.
But mine is more of a niche market so I can't say what would work best for you.

I had a peek at the wedding rings too, beautiful !

[ShinyLauren]

I started selling when I used to play roller derby. I did my degree in jewellery and silversmithing, but just kept it as an on/off hobby after college, then when I started skating people kept asking me to make them roller skate charms and it just kind of grew from there! I have an Etsy store (most sales are to the US), my own website and also sell at local fairs.

Your wedding rings are fab!

[LydiaNiz]

After I had small person number two, we both nearly kicked the bucket (different ways), and it made me realise I needed to do something that made me happy. I was not going to work back in telly, and had started a City and Guilds years before in silver jewellery that I had loved (but had to leave as a new job meant I couldn't continue). Long story short, started making things in my kitchen. Within a month I had sold my first makes, rented a studio to work from and registered as self-employed. Most of what I do now are commissions either via online enquiry or in person at m'studio. Not sure I have any useful advice though as I am terrible at any aspect of promotion. Your rings are beautiful!