Using a model

[Former_Member]

I make earrings and I would like to use a model to show what they look like on, but I don't want to gross people out. Since my earrings are one-of-a-kind, it's hard to make a duplicate to use on the model. Could I model them and then sterilize them with rubbing alcohol? Would that turn buyers off?

I don't have enough money for a mannequin head. I wish I did.

[TheDorothyDays]

I would not do that, that would deffinatly put me off. I would not buy earrings which others have worn no matter how much they are sterilized. If they are similar shaped earrings why not take a picture of 1 pair which is a similar shape and size and use them in the photographs and don't sell these. Just to give your customers an idea.

[GirlpowerKnits]

Pin them into something? A paper with a drawn ear?

[Former_Member]

I wouldn't go there. I agree with Emily--find a way to pin them into something to show them rather than putting them on a model. If I had pierced ears I wouldn't buy earrings that were being marketed as "brand new" if they'd been worn--even just once.

[Former_Member]

For me personally, i wouldnt be turned off.
but i know some people would be, you could put in you description that all earrings are sterilized before shipment...
That might put some peoples minds at ease, but others still may not buy.
Emilys idea is great though, somthing a little quirky may get you more veiws too!

Good Luck!!

[2True]

I always think its cute when I see them pinned to a little piece of paper with a cute background.... just as an idea.

[Former_Member]

I agree, that would turn most people off. I like looking at them hanging on the edge of something, a champagne glass, cup? I like Emily's idea of the card with an ear drawn on it. You could probably find a great photo on the internet of an ear you can use.

Thumb's up Girlpower!

[Former_Member]

I love that idea! Now onto searching for the perfect picture of an ear...

[Former_Member]

btw looking at pictures of mannequin heads and boy are they scary...

[Former_Member]

This was "the type" of picture that I had in my minds eye when I read Emily's post. An etching picture that is done in black so that your earring would POP!. Just throwing out thoughts for you though.

If you type in "pictures of ears" on google, there is a collage of pictures, the one that I though of is the top row second from the left.

[Former_Member]

All I see are medical pictures with "pictures of ears". But I think I found one. It's just a plain real life woman ear. I think it's better to have a real ear so people can get a good feel on what it looks like on.

[Former_Member]

I'll be honest... mannequin heads kinda creep me out. I think the idea of using an ear sketch on a card or something is really good. Otherwise, I think maybe using something else to show scale might be good if you really don't want to freak people out.

P.S. Make sure you don't grab a copyrighted ear picture! Don't just grab anything off of the internet. Look for images that are under the Creative Commons license and then verrify that the license type allows you to use the image. (I think you can still filter google image searchess by creative license, and I know you can filter Flickr image searches by license).

You can avoid this altogether by buying a cheap stock image from somewhere like http://shutterstock.com (for photos) or http://vectorstock.com (for drawings and graphics).

That way you know you're not stealing someones work.

[thevicagirl]

I don't think that is is nessary to have them on a live model. I have sold many earrings without models. Make sure it doesn't turn anyone off. Just make sure you have a shot of them hanging off of something and it should be alright.

[Former_Member]

Right now I have them in my hand for size reference. Do you think that's enough?

Thanks for the reminder about copyrighted pictures. I think I'll try to draw one myself.

[Former_Member]

I put some of mine in my hand for size referance too, and i think thats just fine.

with the ear picture though, i think if you just did a scetch yourself it would look better than an actual picture. and actual picture of an ear with the earring might look a little silly... but a scetch would make it quirky and fun, yet still providing scale :)