After a very long, teary, heart to heart with my business advisor (thatll be the hubby by the way!) last night ive had to review all my prices. For the last 6 months i havent taken a wage for any of the jewellery i make, neither have i charged for postage.
Time is precious and cant be returned and hand crafting jewellery from scratch takes time and lots of it. The design process, then shopping for findings then actually creating the piece is what you dont get charged for if you shop at a high street store and their prices are still expensive.
So from today onwards in ALL my outlets the prices have to be brought up into line with other retailers and finally ill be able to take a wage for all my hard work.
This for me isnt a hobby, its a business i want to see grow and flourish into a brand that people can trust and will return to time and again but to able to do that i have to charge prices that cover every single cost that hand making jewellery from scratch encounters. For you to receive the best service, quality items and unique one off pieces then my prices have to rise.
I did argue, i didnt simply back down and i thought long and hard how business would be effected by the increases but at the end of the day every single item is handmade and designed from scratch for every single customer. i dont mass produce, and i never make more than one of anything unless asked to do so by the customer.
I hope you can all accept that this is for the best interests of myself and my business and in no way means im trying to charge more for less.
I will be able to buy more expensive findings and charms and spend more time on each piece to ensure everyone gets more than what they pay for as you have done in the past.
I hope to see you all again soon
L x
P.S
There is a hash tag comp running over on twitter at the mo. Pop the hash tag #chicuniqueuk into a tweet saying why you think you deserve to win a custom item for you choice to be in with the chance of winning, Comp closes on 1st july at 12pm.
Good Luck!
Also some sale items will be regulary added to the store and a monthly comp with run on facebook and on twitter.
Don't feel bad about it hun, it's so hard to price handmade jewellery and you always end up under pricing it but you really need to make something from it! x
ReplyDeleteSounds like an inevitable decision so don't be too hard on yourself! At the end of the day loving what you do won't but food on the table alone. Money has to come into it at some point :)
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ReplyDeleteLois x