Wholesale vs. Retail

I received the first edition of a new clay magazine, The Polymer Arts, in my e-mail inbox the other day.  When I discovered you could purchase a digital version, as opposed to a hard copy by snail mail, I decided to give it a try.

I found the Controlled Crackling technique to be quite interesting and something I might want to play around with some day.  The article "Transitioning into Wholesale" was very timely for us since that is basically the stage where we are at.

We started out last March with our first quilting store purchasing our buttons.  That has grown to several more stores selling our shawl pins and now beads as well.  Our wholesale end seems to be taking over and we are at a crossroads as how to divide our time.

We are still booked in for several shows over the next six months and by the end of that time we should be closer to making a more informed decision.

Abstract Floral and Hardly Working

I finally finished some new beads and buttons from the spliced cane I made the other day.  You can see the original cane here.

These pieces are to fill a wholesale order for a yarn and craft store.   The wholesale part of our business has been picking up and we have now expanded into beads and shawl pins.  Selling beads and buttons as wholesale is quite different from selling our jewelry on line or in shows.  It takes more discipline and organization along with working in a more production line-like process.  Consistency is another important factor so that each batch of beads or buttons come out the same size and color.  On the other hand, selling wholesale also forces us to be more creative to come up with more styles and designs.

All in all, it is maintaining a balance between having fun or working.  As long as we enjoy what we do it does not feel like work.  Whenever I go to my studio I always say that I'm off to "play" today.  It gives a whole new meaning to "working hard" or "hardly working".  lol!