I’ve gotten this question several times and it used to really confuse me and hurt my feelings. I’ve even had shoppers come to my booth and tell me that they could buy similar jewelry from big box stores for just a few dollars, so they believed that I was charging way too much. When they said such things, I thought that they were basically telling me that my jewelry was on the same standards as the cheaply made, mass-produced items that came from other countries where workers were only paid pennies a day, so I was not entitled to charging a fair price for what my jewelry was actually worth. Over the years, I’ve found that I wasn’t the only one who would get such comments from shoppers and it seems that it’s actually a common occurrence for handmakers and artists. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that it wasn’t that my items weren’t worth a fair price. Instead, these shoppers were grossly misinformed on the true value of the pieces that I was offering and I blame this on the fast fashion industry.
Recently, there has been a lot of information, Ted Talks, and news segments explaining what the fast fashion industry is and how it has negatively affected society. Workers are forced to endure horrific working conditions to earn what we would consider pocket change. Factories create an enormous amount of pollution that negatively impacts the environment, often in an irreparable way. All of this is so that consumers in developed nations can enjoy cheap clothing that is up to date with the latest trends. It’s okay if the clothing is made with cheap materials that might fall apart with a few washes because many people will say that they only intend to wear it a few times until they replace it with something newer and trendier. I really don’t think that this kind of thinking applies only to clothing because it seems that many people have the same expectation towards jewelry and even other forms of art such as home decor. Uninformed people see all of the goods that they can purchase at a low price in big box stores and that becomes their standard in pricing, not realizing that there is a very big difference between those items and handmade goods.
If you talk to most artists, you’ll be amazed at the amount of effort, practice, and skill development that goes into their creations. Most times, all of this energy and effort is a labor of love where artists just want to develop their skills in order to provide others with the most beautiful works of art. Every single piece is special and painstakingly created, so that the customer can enjoy having their own personal experience with it. Although I can’t speak for all artists, that kind of sentiment is what makes me try to make the most unique, beautiful, and high-quality jewelry pieces for my customers. A lot of time and effort goes into finding the highest quality raw materials that will last for a long time and will also prevent any bad skin reactions. I always cringe a bit inside when I see people wearing jewelry made of cheap materials because it reminds me of a terrible experience in college when the plating of earrings corroded off while I was wearing them. These earrings were labeled “hypoallergenic” and maybe the plating on it really was, but it was shocking how it came off so quickly within a few days of purchasing it. My earrings ended up swollen and infected for weeks and I couldn’t wear earrings for months afterwards because everytime I tried to insert anything into my earlobes, they would cause pain. Again, I can’t speak for all jewelry makers, but most would tell you that not only do they want their customers to look good, but they want to make sure that they also feel good. They want their customers to feel comfortable wearing their items without having to worry how it might react to their skin or if it might corrode right away. This higher quality does mean higher cost, which is one of the biggest factors as to why artisan jewelry is more expensive than many cheap, mass produced items.
In addition, I do believe that you often get what you pay for when it comes to things like pearls and gemstones. I’m going to save more information for a future blog, but I do want to say now that freshwater pearls and high quality semi-precious stones are coveted because of their high value. It blows my mind and actually upsets me when I see people being misled to think that they are getting a great deal, when they are actually getting exactly what they are paying for because what they are buying is either fake or of the lowest quality. I once had a customer who showed off her bracelet to me and other customers at my booth. According to her, it was made of South Sea Pearls and she got a great deal since she only paid $20 for it at a store in a mall. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of everyone, but after working with pearls for many years and taking several classes on quality grading and pricing, I could tell right away that her “pearls” were not even real. South Sea Pearls are one of the most valuable and expensive out there due to their rarity, and on average, each pearl could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending on their size and quality. This rule is true not just for pearls, but even for gemstones as well. The market for healing crystals has exploded in the past several years and whereas before, you would have to go to a specialty shop to find these, many mass market stores have been carrying such items at very low prices. I once saw an earring and necklace set that was labeled “raw amethyst druzy” and it even had an explanation printed on it of the healing properties of the stone. Oddly, there were several sets available for purchase and each one looked exactly the same even though most gemstones are usually one of a kind due to their natural characteristics. It was only $20 for the whole set, which is shockingly low in price for such a gemstone, but in tiny print on the back of the packaging, it said “made of amethyst-like resin.” In other words…it was fake! It was not made of any natural gemstone at all, which is very misleading to those who are seeking healing crystals. These stores know that they are pushing cheaply made mass market items to the public and as people see them, they start to believe that jewelry made with pearls and gemstones are supposed to be priced very low. To me, that is exactly what the fast fashion industry has done to the public’s expectations of how much clothing should cost.
I could go on and on with so many stories and examples of customers questioning artisan prices making themselves look like they are very rude. I give them the benefit of the doubt and think of them as simply uninformed due to the misleading information that they are given from the mass market industry, but I really do hope that things will eventually change. The next time you are faced with the option to purchase something at a bargain, I hope that you will take the time to at least question why that item is so low-priced. I hope that you will also ask yourself if you really want that cheap item that will probably not last very long and may just be an imitation or if you would rather save the money and wait until you can purchase the real deal that you could treasure for a very long time.
