Getting results: Paul Bishop – part 1

Paul Bishop, of Bishop Wire and Bead, wrote to update us on how he has made out working on his jewelry goals for the summer.  Paul had an ambitious line-up, including working on his website, trying out face-to-face vending, using up old stock, trying out a new material, and taking updated pictures, including process shots.  Whew!  Paul makes me tired!

Well, the report was good all the way around, so now I’m feeling even more tired!  Here’s what Paul had to say:

Now that it’s a month later:

I loved selling to people face-to-face. I will definitely do it again.
My idea to use the old, cheap quality stock and out it into it’s own category was a good one. I also took materials I will never use and divided them into packets roughly equal to $1 – $3, and sold a lot of it that way, at the cost that I paid for it. This event pushed my jewelry business into the black for 2009. The profits were turned around and bought higher-quality materials. Now I can offer gold wire wrapped items.

I found that the cost of vendor booths at some small festivals in this area are amazingly high compared to the traffic/average spending expected. I also didn’t mind having my designs vetted for “fit” at some venues. I did find it odd that I was told by a reviewer that “No-one would buy those at our festival” In this case, “those” was one of my bestsellers, and the fair was a non-specific event mostly attended by my target audience. It wasn’t a place where anything I sold would be out of place or reach for most people. Oh well.

Pictures were taken, and my desktop photo studio performed admirably. Here is a hint for people taking pictures with old digital cameras: tape or hold a piece of tissue so it covers the flash. The light is diffused through the tissue and you don’t get the shiny metal causing contrast problems, and pearlesence is somewhat retained. Using a setting for close-ups, I managed to get most of the photos with one shot.

The website, without store is almost ready. The webstore is still sitting there, but that goal is pushed until October, giving me more time to evaluate different software. I reviewed Mal’s, and it seems OK, but I need to see more examples than their demo.

The copper wire project was a success in making coppery doodad goodness. I didn’t try for consistency yet. There was too much fun making the shapes.

The tutorials are waiting, since I’m within two weeks of my next event, and want to keep making new materials. I also need to get someone to take pictures of me holding the in-process pieces because it’s way to hard to hold wires in place AND take a picture.

In the meantime, a wire-wrapping commission inspired me to create a method for making very delicate flowers/snowflakes.

So, “Whew” for what’s happened so far, and “Oh my goodness, I thought I’d accomplish what?” by the end of the summer.