I've been visiting juried art shows to research how to set up a nicer booth and to see what the trends are.I'm new and I just want to get it right. Most of the jewellry I saw was obviously hand made and took a lot to create.... Most booths had between 50 to 150 pieces.
I saw some jewellery that looked mass produced... I could be wrong, but as a jeweller I know most of what goes into making jewellery. I'm under the impression all the jewellery is supposed to be hand made by the artist or artists who jury in. The jewellry is supposed to be produced by that artist within a 2 year period.... It even states that on the show's websites before you jury in.
I've seen booths with well over 500 pieces of jewellery out on display,all looked like cookie cutter stuff. Simple bands,earrings,bracelets,cuff bangles,pendants, with stones and when you looked farther in the booth,they had big plastic bins of even more.I swear one booth must of had over 3,000 pieces of jewellery just based on the amount I could see in baggies in many large plastic bins....
Simple ,wide band sterling silver rings ,earrings,pendants, dozens in the same exact style, selling for $20,some were 2 for $35... Maybe I'm wrong but it sure seems like mass produced to me. I saw one booth in a juried show that had Swarovski crystal pentants on a chain...2 for $20....
I saw another jeweller who's work was in a show, most items were less than $50 but I also went into several art galleries that had the same exact pieces.... 4 different towns, nearly 25 galleries that had tonnes of her jewellery,exactly the same as she was selling in the show.
I saw more stuff I know was CAD/CAM.
Am I mistaken in what is allowed? I'm not sure...I'm new and not trying to be petty but I do all my own work and many do. I do everything from the carving of waxes,to casting to cleaning,polishing,setting stones..start to finish. I rarely use manufactured components on my work. I do understand the neccessity to use them at times...
I did use manufactured lever backs,but I plan to change to something hand made on my earrings. I had 6 pendants on manufactured chains,which I may change too. I figure it's the pendant they're buying a chain is just a way to hang it....
I had three neckpieces with manufactured clasps, which I plan to change to hand made clasps ,like my later pieces... I will change those since I did hand make the chain links on those... No manufactured heads or components on my cuffs, bracelets or rings,just a few early neckpieces and a couple pendants on manufactured chains...
I had 105 pieces including a couple that weren't finished but I displayed them. Took me just under 2 years to make. I worked 14 hour days, sometimes 6 and 7 days per week... to get all of them done.... I honestly don't know how anyone person can make several hundred,even over a thousand jewellery pieces in the span allowed for jury without the aid of a manufacturer somewhere....
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I was set up behind someone at a local juried show in PA several years ago. He and his family made the jewelry he was selling. All of the pieces were simply strung pieces, a lot of hematite, lots of cats eye beads, not my style, no imagination. He said that they would all sit at the table and say "today is purple day" and they'd string pieces and make earrings all day in one color. With 4 or 5 people, I can't imagine how many pieces they'd made. He had several tubs of jewelry, a double space and other family members had a full set up at another show. There are juried shows and there are juried shows. It pays to do your research ahead of time to see if the show fits with your art.
3000 is suspicious. Personally I have between 100 - 200 pieces at any given show, I also wholesale. I can do about 40 pieces a week, all hand fabricated using traditional silversmithing techniques. After about 26 years I have gotten fast! With simple things such as bands etc you could do 100 in a week easily, if thats what you want to sell. With two pairs of hands thats doubled. At the average show I will sell about twenty items, it can add up. Shows want slides from the past two years, I have one spectacular necklace thats very expensive, its over two years old, of course I still show it. I sell sea glass jewelry, right now I am in Hawaii collecting sea glass. People often think I am buying or making the sea glass because I have so much of it. Since all my glass is unique each one has to have a bezel made specifically for it, much harder than calibrated stones. Things some times are what people say they are, some one may be faster or work as a team. Unless you have proof, like the catalog from which the work was ordered you cant be sure if its B/S. If I holed up for two months making work I could easily have 300 - 400 new pieces to go on the road with. Also many of us do work on the road too, I often have my flex shaft with me. Of course all this depends on the type of work you are doing.
I assume since I saw several huge plastic totes about 8 of them...,about 14 inches by 26 wide and 16 inches deep,full of baggies of rings, another plastic tote with earrings, another with bracelets and cuffs. Easy to see inside since they were clear... I have the same clear plastic totes for supplies like jewellery boxes and my displays.
Actually the 3,000 pieces comment came from another jeweller who was right across from them and watched them set up.... But just a quick count,I saw over 500 on display...
We watched them open some of the totes ,sort through and pull out several styles of rings in different colours of stones but similar design...and they were inches deep with baggies of finished jewellery....
Michelle,
That's a no brainer, it is B/S. I have been in the jewelery business for over 30 years. Apprenticed at a major manufacturer in Detroit, then with a designer who worked 8-12 weeks overseas and the rest of the year in Michigan. The quickest and surest way to tell aside from that kind of volume is the hallmark stamp on each piece. By Federal Law all jewelery made of precious metals Gold, Silver, PLatinum, And Palladium, MUST have the manufacturers/Jewelers hallmark visible, either on the inside of the ring shank, inside of a bracelet,or the back of a pendant or earrings. Any jeweler on the circuit who is not hallmarking their jewelery is not only suspect as a B/S agent but also in violation of Federal Law. Most are not aware of this but it is the easiest way to identify B/S. Particularly when there is more than 1 hallmark in the collection. The other is when you see 3-500 pieces and the silver is too white. This is due to Rhodium plating which is done in commercial operations not a 1 or 2 person studio.
Hope this helps
I did notice the finish was very white and no tarnish, super shiney. I can't get mine that perfect. and I can't keep mine all shiney and perfect either.... It had that factory perfect finish. I don't know for absolute certain it was mass produced but it just had that jewellery department store look to it. Very plain,all the same style,cookie cutter , too many exactly the same look. I can't put it into words but you know it when you see it...
I saw what they juried in with, and the picture in the show brochure/catalogue,it was the only piece he had like that,everything else was the look of mass produced.
The other one I saw with the Swarovski crystals were just a variety of crystal dangle shapes, like a pear shape and star fish shape, rounds, free form and hearts. Several in just a simple wire basket shape, rhodium plated,selling 2 for $20. These were very hard to get into juried shows too, which is why I was surprised to see that type of jewellery....
I should just get over it..it happens and I should just concentrate on my work and hope I can get juried in to future shows....
Can you really judge based on the number of items someone has in a booth? I do agree, a booth with 3000 jewelry items seems way over the top. What were their price points? How complex are the pieces to make? We probably have 150 items under the $50 price point, but these are the simpler items, the ones that can be made quickly. I understand the buy/sell issue, I've gone into booths where I've seen pieces that I know I could order from Rio Grande as finished products.
However, I try to be very careful about just assuming a booth is buy/sell based on the number of items. Last fall we participated in a show that we had first done in 2008, didn't get in the next couple of years and found out it was because a local beaded jeweler told the director there was no way we could make all the pieces we make. Last year we got in after they called us during the jury process, asked a few questions to verify that we really do make own pieces. I had to laugh, I offered to send them a picture of my husband working from the picnic table in our campsite since we were on a 4 week road trip, I'm sure they would have loved to see a picture of him working in his swim trunks since he had just come back from the river where we were camped between shows. I try to look at the quality of work before just assuming it's buy / sell based on the quantity.
Welcome to the crazy world of art shows. Booths such as the one you describe with 3000 items may indeed be violating the rules and therefore not allowed, but once the booth is set up, it is up to the show organizers to actually enforce the rules and eject the offenders. Good luck with that one! Check out the long, long thread that is currently going on regarding fraud in the art fair world. This issue pops up continuously.
I guess it's everywhere,no matter what. sometimes I think the shows just want people to fill booths that sell well and come back?
I guess we'll have to see if they're back next year...
It's no that I mind less expensive jewellery at shows.I wish the cost of metals would come down so I could afford to do pieces for under $200.
It's just that they get in while legitimately someone making all their jewellery by hand get juried out.
A couple jewellers had obviously mass produced pieces and I've seen them in many shows, the same shows, year after year,so I'm sure the promoters have to know it....