Friday 3 June 2011

Handcrafted in Bedford Market

The Next Handcrafted in Bedford Market will be on Saturday 11 June 2011 from 8.30am to 4.30pm, in the pedestrianised area of Midland Road, Bedford Town Centre. Our line of stalls run from M & S down to BHS.


There are also a couple of Vintage stalls who attend, in association with the Handcrafted in Bedford (HiB) group.

As a group, we now also have a Facebook Page which I look after on behalf of the crafters. At each market I take photo's of a few of the stalls and get contact details for the crafters, which will all go on the page - thereby making them more accessible to the public outside of the market days.

Take at look at the page by clicking Here and if you are a 'Facebooker' - do please 'like' it and spread the word - particularly if you are local to Bedford. We want to attract more people directly to our market, and not to have to wait for them to just 'stumble' across us in passing. LOL

That's all for now
Thanks for reading
Jane
x

Prices!

I do so hate to discuss money and prices etc but needs must and all that.......

The price of Precious Metal Clay has increased considerably over the last 12 months - particularly over the last few months.  This time last year a 16g pack of PMC cost around £24, then it went up to £27.  At around Christmas time it went up to £33, and then with the VAT increase to £37.  Then the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.....Of course all our thoughts were with the people of Japan - all of us stunned at what they were having to endure.  I certainly couldn't comprehend losing absolutely everything in a matter of seconds, watching loved ones be washed away.  About a week later I realised that I might actually have just gone out of business......the manufacturer of PMC is in Japan, and on further investigation I found that they had plants close to the damaged reactor.  It wasn't looking good for a while, but as it turns out the PMC plant is actually in the south of Japan, and so thankfully was not directly affected.  However, the above events did have an affect on the stability and price of the Yen.  The result was that the price of PMC rocketed further, and whilst the UK Distributer had held off any price increases until last year, it was not longer possible to cover any fluctuations.  Therefore, after the earthquake a further couple of price increases - the same pack of PMC now costs in the region of £45 (inc VAT).  

Whilst other UK suppliers may well have kept their prices as low as possible for as long as possible, I expect that they too will also have to adjust their prices very soon, if they haven't already.  Even the other brand of metal Clay - Silver Art Clay has also increased there prices by around 60% in one go - so this is happening across the industry.  From my perspective, as I get discount from one supplier I will remain loyal to them because it still beats the cost of getting my supplies from those whose retail price may be slightly less.

Workshops

This of course has had a knock on affect on the cost of my workshops and the way I charge them.  In the past I have offered all inclusive workshops - prices to include the materials used.  This is no longer possible due to the way the cost of PMC has increased so dramatically, and that it is likely to continue to increase in line with the price of silver.  Because of this - my tuition is now restricted to One ot One sessions and Small Group Tuition (up to 3 students on a course), and these are priced for my time, knowledge and overheads only.  Students will now be required to source and purchase the required materials for the tuition session themselves, and bring the materials to the session. 

My reason for this is that over the past year I have arranged workshops with third party organisers in advance for their advertising etc, and by the time we have got to the workshop and me ordering the materials, the price has increased beyond what my discount will 'buffer', and I have ended up teaching for a lot less or in some cases nothing, as I have had to cover the difference.  Not a good situation when trying to feed a family!

The website is gradually being updated to reflect this, and whilst I enjoy teaching I am drawing back from the number of places that I teach and also the number of coursed that I put on.  I will now be booking the small workshops when I have sufficient numbers interested in attending.

Jewellery

Of course the above price increases have also affected the price of my jewellery.  Older pieces are still priced at what the raw materials cost me when they were made, and it is only the new pieces that are now reflecting the recent price increases.  It has also been necessary for me to increase my hourly rate - and so together in comparing the older pieces against the new there is a noticeable difference in price - but I believe that you are still getting value for money in buying my jewellery directly from me.  Were my Jewellery to be in a gallery or a shop it would be around 30 - 40% more expensive, which I think may well price it out of the market!

I will therefore continue to sell my jewellery directly to the public myself, either through markets, craft fairs or from my website and I trust that those who are already lovers and wears of my jewellery will continue to support me and spread the word about my lovely and beautiful creations.

Thanks to those who have continued to support me during what has been a difficult financial and economic climate for those in the 'luxury' businesses.

Bright Blessings to all xx