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| photo credit: RubySky Photography |
Sorry to those of you who read this blog for non-jewelry business related topics....this post will not appeal. Come back another day this week to see more of our family pictures from LAST year! I am SO far behind in every aspect of my life, it seems!
To those of you who are fellow jewelry business owners...please stay tuned and provide me with some advice, if you would be so kind. :-)
Ever since I first started selling jewelry, I have kept a detailed account of each piece I have made. It is entered into a database under a numbering system. For example, B39 is the 39th silver bracelet I have made. Gold would be GB3 (3rd gold bracelet). And I describe the piece of jewelry in detail. I must admit that only several times has this system really come in handy. For the most part, it consumes valuable time.
I am looking to use a new system. I believe that I am on the right track, but I need to simplify. A simpler way would be to continue using the same system, but instead of a description, just enter in the photo number where I can actually see it in my computer and don't need to rely on the written description.
Another thought is to just use the name of each jewelry as its identifying label in the database. But then I need to name each piece! I've started grouping pieces and naming a collection instead of just one piece....makes it a little easier!
The other thing to consider is that if I want to start submitting designs to magazines (which I would like to do), then I need to keep track of where I purchased all my supplies, down to each individual bead! My head is swimming...
So if you have any advice or words of wisdom in regards to this topic, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm really not interested in spending hundreds of dollars on inventory software, so at this point, that's not an option I want to explore. But any other tips would be great! Thanks so much!
wow.. I never really thought of the detailed inventory and records you would have to keep! I must say you are one organized girl already with what you have done!
ReplyDeleteAnneliese
What a beautiful picture, btw!!
ReplyDeleteI used to be detailed like this. I don't list new things to sell frequently so I'm not the best for advice. I wish I were more organized. I SHOULD be. As far as submitting to magazines, I've never listed the components of my jewelry piece by piece before submitting them (although I know it would really help, the times I'm scrambling around trying to figure out where to source a bead!). If it is a highly unusual bead, I'll note the type of stone and vendor on the little plastic baggie before putting it away. And art beads are easy - I almost always remember who I bought them from unless it's a very old set, say lampwork - but that's rare that I don't remember. If your piece is accepted and you've used generic components, you can always search your favorite online shop (for example ArtBeads), and look for "10 mm faceted onyx" or something like that. It's good to be detailed, but don't let that hold you up from submitting your work! I think if I worried about sourcing all of the components beforehand, I would put off submitting. I hope you go for it!!