Non-jewelry vendors selling jewelry

[#1]

I just have to vent here: I am so tired of seeing non-jewelry vendors at shows that have a display of jewelry along with their main art/craft. I'm talking about clothing vendors, potters, fiber artists, etc. whose main craft is definitely NOT jewelry but they include jewelry in their booth. You know they did not jury into the show with jewelry. It is so difficult for jewelry artists to get into shows already since it is such a crowded space, but then have to compete with so many vendors selling jewelry is unfair and disheartening to those of us whose only craft is jewelry.

[andidanie]

"And as for beaders, well those are not jewelers"

I don't do a whole lot of beading myself, but I disagree with this blanket statement. Look at the work of Melanie Doerman or Liz Smith, and tell me they're not Jewelers.

[Former_Member]

I am a beader and my bracelets take me at the minimum 4 to 5 hours up to 15 plus hours to make and they can be very intricate. So please don't say that I am not a jeweler.

[Former_Member]

Cindy from ChicagoCoutureBags says .
And as for beaders, well those are not jewelers.

***i agree. not a very nice blanket statement to make*****
just sayin'

[Former_Member]

"I do wish for people to express themselves but I wish they would stick to their own artistic expressions."

So the potter must only make pots? And the crocheter should only be allowed to make sweaters and afghans? A fiber artist crochets and makes earrings, a clay artist clays around and makes clay focals. I think the jewelry is 'their own artistic expression'.

[CarolBradleyDesigns]

A flip side is that I am juried in the jewelry category, but I can make the jewelry using metal, glass, crochet, macrame, leather, etc. without having to be juried in the glass, crochet, leather, knotwork, etc. category. I never thought about it that way until this thread came along. Thanks for opening my eyes a bit!

[TigersandDragons]

I actually have to be juried into specific categories like "glass" to do some shows. One show company is very specific about what products and materials you can and cannot sell. Even though I keep writing leather on my application, they keep leaving it out of the contract because they have a leather craftsperson. The cuffs we are selling have etched metal pieces riveted to them and cost much more than his plain cuffs, so the show manager did okay it verbally, but after 3 years, they still won't write it on my show contract. My friend was told she could not bring her belts and buckles, which are amazing metalwork...because of another seller who has cheap buckles with photos and resin. These two different kinds of buckles appeal to completely different markets.

[CarolBradleyDesigns]

I haven't risen to that level of shows yet. So far, my products contain only sterling silver, fine silver, copper, gemstones, glass and vitreous enamel. Thanks for the info about items sometimes being limited!

[Lunachick]

I see what the OP means. Not when people are selling jewelry as an extension of their medium, but when a booth with (for example) 95% tie dye clothing or dog collars or what have you has that one or two random racks of beaded jewelry sitting on their table.

This happens a LOT locally and it is annoying. Why? Because it feeds the "not MORE jewelry!" comments. Some shopper seem to get so irritated by being in a sea of jewelry that they don't even want to look to see if yours is different or not.

[YAHAccessories]

I sell my handmade purses at markets and craft fairs and I'd say at least half the other vendors have a few bags (factory or China made.) Even some of the food vendors. At one weekly market there were only 2 of us selling bags. I sold a lot. By the end of season, over half the booths were selling them.

[Former_Member]

Not a lot of bag sellers round here. One lady makes them out of jean butts. And another lady has small bags, she doesn't make the bags but has her photography printed on them. The local coffee roaster's wife just started making bags out of the coffee bags that the beans come in.

[Former_Member]

Technically, most "jewelers" do metal smithing and lapidary. It's a distinction, not a criticism of beaders. As a beader myself, I'm quick to point out that I am not a jeweler - I am a jewelry designer and a jewelry maker. I don't think it was meant harshly. :)

Personally, I have no problem with different artists including jewelry in their medium, as long as they've listed it on their application. I do think it's a little off to throw in jewelry that isn't handmade or made by the artist.

I also don't see how it's helpful to them, honestly! As a jewelry vendor, it can be hard to sell jewelry, because people get tired of shopping it. Go figure.

[DebbiesDenimDesigns]

This thread has gotten me thinking ... The bulk of my items are purses (full sized and "pocket purses") made from blue jeans, but I also make items such as crayon roll-ups, refrigerator pocket magnets, decorated frames, and ponytail bands out of the leftover leg scraps. I'd also like to venture more into making wrist cuffs with the leftover pieces ... do you think that would be classified as jewelry? I would be staying true to my medium. I definitely do not have an objection to disclosing this on an application if necessary - but usually I just say that I make "other small items such as ..." and list a couple of the above. I guess I don't really consider myself in competition with jewelry displays. Should I be more careful about that?

[Former_Member]

What makes one a "variety seller"? I sell a variety of items, all Irish/Celtic centered, but some are crocheted, some are wood, and I'm currently working on a *few* knot necklaces/bracelets and some work with things like Sculpey, etc. Eventually I would love to try felting as well.

[TheSalvagedEdge]

I don't mind people selling jewelry if it pertains to their crafts like potters selling clay beads they make, glass blowers selling glass jewelry, but there are lots of people around here that sell embroidery, quilts, and beaded jewelry. Um, no.

[NaturelMistik]

Oh that dreaded 'variety shop' label. I am a variety shop to the max. Variety on steroids. That said, I am not a flea market booth. I take my many craft interests (sewing, pyrography, beading, drawing, painting, etc) and turn them into fully developed products - branding, logos, taglines, marketing, copyrights - the works. That is just how my creative brain works. It will be next to impossible for me to jury into one of the bigger pro craft shows because of this. That said, I do feel for the OP and have seen exactly what they are talking about at shows.

[IndigoTurtleArt]

We jury in under jewelry or ceramics - our jewelry components are designed & handcrafted by us. We also have decorative ceramics in our booth,- vases, bowls, etc. Our slides show both the jewelry & decorative ceramics.

The booths we take issue with are the ones who are "hand assemblers" - who take a few purchased components & assemble them together into simple designs, ie: a few charms on a chain. Or the ones who do it as a hobby & don't care if they make a profit or even recover their costs.

We purchase our metal components & accent beads but the main components are hand crafted from raw materials, through a very labor intensive process.

[3BeadDesigns]

This has been a fascinating thread--thanks to all that have responded. And,yes, I am talking about the vendors selling jewelry completely not related to their craft. Glass artists selling glass jewelry is understandable and perfectly acceptable. It's the clothing vendors who have a rack of $5 earrings that kills me! It is hard to compete with that. Even though some artists will say "they are not your customer", they are still hurting sales because that buyer may have put that $5 toward a jewelery artist's item and it does cause "jewelry fatigue" when you see so much.