Marketing and Selling Your Handmade Jewelry

This is a gem of a book. It has a lot of great ideas on how to build up your company and get things moving. Being a graphic designer by training I know all about branding and creating an image. So that was the one of the first things that I did. But most of the other ideas were new to me and very useful. I have a large room in which my workshop is situated, but I hadn't really considered turning a portion of it into a gallery. But it's a great idea and I am now in the process of doing just that. The advice on getting into boutiques is also very good. I would say this little book is well worth the price and I recommend it highly to any aspiring jeweler. I would also say that the advice is probably good for other crafters and artisans.

If you are interested in knowing step by step how to get started in the handmade jewelry business - this has to be the best book out there! It's written by a woman who knows what she is talking about and has logically layed out the much needed details on how to do it. The book is full of information and tips, however it's also concise and easy to read. Viki has generously shared her experience and knowledge and I feel the book contains the necessary answers to questions that anyone interested in getting started will find of ENORMOUS value. I have been to her bead store in Tacoma and attended one of her classes, and I have always been impressed by how professional her business is run - and that was before I read her book! Every small detail from tying your purchase with gold ribbon around the top of the bag, to well trained and friendly sales people - she definitely walks the talk!!

Viki Lareau packs a lot of sound advice into this no-nonsense, easy to read text. Short and concise, the seven chapters walk you through the basics of entering into the business of marketing and selling your jewelry successfully. Lareau presents a realistic view of the business while at the same time offering up creative and inspiring suggestions in the form of full color photos, personal anecdotes, and real-life success stories of fellow jewelry artists. She tells you things you may not have thought of as well as things you know but don't want to admit you need to deal with to be in business for yourself! all in all, I found it very helpful. If you are seriously thinking about going into business for yourself, I'd suggest combining this text with "Business Plan in a Day" to really get started on the right path.

This book, although fairly short, somehow finds a way to cover everything! She covers pricing (not just one specific formula either), packaging, purchasing, creating your own style, different selling venues etc. I highly recommend it!

This is a small book, but it has a large amount of information, presented in an order different than I expected. She focuses on four major areas to consider for marketing and selling, and has a no-nonsense realistic approach. I really liked her point about finding out WHAT sells by experimenting first, that what you think is your best may not be what your buyers think. She discusses researching at shows, finding your niche, and then creating a look to your marketing materials to match. I would have thought that would come after establishing sales, but her reasoning is solid. The fact that she has experience in the business helps a great deal, you aren't just getting "theoretical advice" or general business advice. Keep in mind, there are no jewelry instructions in this book, it's purely looking at the business end (which was good in my opinion). The only thing I thought could have been more in depth is to suggest readers work on creating highest quality products, establishing high standards and not looking like everyone else's projects. That and a bit more proof-reading would have been good (several typos in the last chapters were distracting and very obvious). And I would have liked a bit more information on dealing with returns, and goods damaged by the buyer. All in all I really liked this book and will refer to it often. The illustrations are also really helpful.