Monday, November 23, 2009

Now Available at Macy's

Hi everyone...

I know it's been awhile, but I just wanted to let you all know the reason for my absence. I'm very excited to announce that Midori Jewelry will now be carried in select Macy's stores in Hawaii. Offered at great prices, with *twinkle* earrings starting at $24, you can even score extra discounts when you use your Macy's card. Select and custom pieces, with a large selection of *twinkle* Collection items will be available at Macy's in Ala Moana, Waikiki, Pearlridge, Kahala Mall & Kukui Grove on Kauai.

Because of this new venture, my holiday show schedule will be scaled back to accommodate adequate representation at Macy's stores. An updated stock list of stores that currently carry Midori Jewelry is available online. Please let me know if you have any questions or if there are specific pieces you are looking for.

Also included in this local showcase of Island Jewelry at Macy's, are luminous lovelies from Mahina Pearls and botanical beauties from Rhoda J. All artists are carried in different locations, so please contact me or any Macy's store for availability. Mahalo for your continued support of Hawaii independent artisans.

Malama pono,
Traci
Midori Jewelry

Friday, August 28, 2009

Trade Show Lessons

Hi Everyone,

As many of you know, I returned last week from my first trade/wholesale show in NYC. It was a great experience, rich with many new found friends, life lessons, and orders. Yes, I did garnish a nice number of orders, more than I thought I would having done no advertising. In these challenging times, people are going with their tried and true performers. Buyers are very hesitant to take on any new lines at the moment. So I was extremely thankful to the buyers that have taken a chance on an unknown gal from Hawaii.

I got a lot of pointers from my lovely neighbors, who were nice enough to share their knowledge and experience with a trade show newbie. Jennifer from Silver Spoon Jewelry, Angela from AMR Designs, and Dagmar & Lisa Marie from Atlantis Jewelry were all the most fabulous neighbors a neophyte could hope for.

They gave me a lot of pointers and didn't grow annoyed at my sometime Bambi-ass naivete. At least, if they did get irritated, they were kind of enough to snicker at me when I wasn't looking or while I was getting to know a buyer. =) Reorders are the key to making profit, marketing is a must, and perfect price points were the main lessons of the show.

Price Points: While a 5-figure investment during a challenging economy might be questionable, I have no doubt that I did the right thing. About half of my new accounts are veteran retailers. Owners and buyers who have been riding the wave of US economy for several decades, and it is clear they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Now while I love buyers across the spectrum, these folks have been around the block several times. Most of them bought very carefully, as I am a new vendor. They placed conservative orders focusing on filling price point voids in their stores.

I was encouraged that many of the veteran buyers were interested in my freshmen trade show efforts and applauded my ability to provide a wide range of styles and price points for every budget. The *twinkle* Collection was definitely the star of the show, with people coming back again and again to these tiny favorites.

Reorders: Some of my buyers were new store owners, who had known nothing of the economic hey days of yesteryear. All were filled with a renewed sense of hope by the way "things were slowly staring to pick up more and more" and an unwavering feeling of accomplishment in opening a successful brick and mortar store during a difficult time when stores were closing left and right. I was, in turn, inspired by their individual triumphs, that like them, I could thrive in these times despite my rookie status.

Jennifer kept telling me that over her many years of doing the show, she has seen a ROI (return on investment) several times over and that if you keep coming back, buyers will take notice of your lasting and selling power. She has maintained many of the accounts that she had secured from her first show.

Marketing: Jennifer also encouraged me to place an ad in a trade magazine. This is something that I had wanted to do when I first found out the show had a space for me. But getting the marketing material that I actually brought with me done in time, was a challenge enough.

Not many people actually hand out catalogs. Most exhibitors like to vet the buyers before giving them a catalog or line sheets, unless they actually write an order. Printed catalogs and line sheets are extremely expensive to produce, and they shouldn't be given away lightly. In order to make sure the buyer has some tangible object to take away with them, and hopefully materialize into an order sometime down the road, exhibitors make postcards.

Mine has a picture of my model, Giselle, with my wholesale terms on the reverse side. This little piece of marketing material can also be mailed out to current and prospective buyers when you have a show coming up or are having a promotion. I also give them to potential buyers that I meet at retail events, like this past weekend at the Made in Hawaii Festival. I made contact with several buyers interested in carrying Midori Jewelry.

Several buyers that grabbed my post card have followed up with me afterward. It's important for the card to be eye-catching and memorable, sticking out amongst the stacks of business and post cards that were hastily grabbed. I don't think anyone can say that Giselle, decked out island-style in her Midori Jewelry isn't eye-catching.

Stay tuned for an updated list of retailers carrying Midori Jewelry. Thank you all for your continued interest and support.

Mahalo,
Traci
Midori Jewelry

Monday, August 10, 2009

Labeling Hell

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to thank you all for supporting me w/ your emails and well wishes. I will be leaving on a red eye Wednesday night, so I am doing last-minute preparation. I've been so busy the last few weeks that I think I haven't had time to sit down and freak out yet. But I have been sitting and typing at my computer for a good 1.5 hrs now, pounding out labels for my hang tags & earrings cards. In my attempt to prevent a freak out scenario, I am trying to think about why what I am doing at this moment is so important.

For those of you who've purchased Midori Jewelry before, you know that I label all my jewelry w/ materials information. This simple feat takes longer than you'd think, but it accomplishes several things:

1. I don't have to tell the customer what the materials are.
-Many times, customers feel hesitant about asking me questions at a show. They feel more at ease shopping "alone" and sometimes don't want to feel pressured, which I totally understand. Putting it right in front of them, in black and white, alleviates all of those feelings.

2. Sometimes, I am not physically there to tell the customer what the materials are.
-One of the main reasons I label is to help salespeople have an easier time selling Midori Jewelry in a retail brick & mortar store. Having been a retail worker at the big blue box, I know how much product knowledge needs to be recalled to land the sale. I try to make it as easy as possible for them. No one has times to memorize all those gemstones, types of pearls, and the differences between gold-fill and vermeil (to be written about in a later post).

3. It captures a store owner/buyer's attention.
Let's face it store owners have little time on their hands. By the way all my buyers sound out of breath and frantic over the phone when I speak to them, I know they are busting their humps helping their store(s) thrive. At a trade/wholesale show, you have about 3 seconds to capture their attention. Many buyers love that I provide all this information for easy selling, they always tell me that the jewelry "sells itself." I love hearing that!!!

But for a trade/wholesale show, I don't post the retail prices. Buyers want to see the wholesale prices for items. Most times, you will see them do calculations quickly in their heads to see if they can turn over your product in their store(s) for their standard markup. Buyers who have trolled my booth at retail shows do the same exact thing.

For the New York International Gift Fair, I decided to put the item #s, name, and descriptions on the self-adhesive labels only. I will put the price on a colored sticker, separate from the label. This way, I can always change my prices up or down, depending on the outcome of the show and the feedback I get from buyers.

One day, I will have all this automated so I won't have to do it the way I am right now. I won't delve into details about it, because you all will surely be feeling sorry for me. Ok, I've procrastinated enough -- back to work!!!

Thanks for caring,
Traci
Midori Jewelry

Friday, July 31, 2009

Preparing for Market Part I

Ok, for all the people who have been bugging me about posting more often on my blog -- here it is -- and I am so glad I did it. I have returned from almost one year of not posting anything, and I've forgotten how therapeutic it is. The current economy has been a challenge for me to tackle, which doesn't mean that I haven't been doing well and had to get a part time job. In fact, things are quite the opposite and going very well. Instead of getting a part-time job, I am going to be giving someone a part-time job very soon.

But when the economy is not as robust as we'd like, in order to crank out the same numbers as I have been, I've had to put in more hours -- put in more hours for marketing, more hours for strategizing, more hours for production, more hours following up on leads, more hours closing sales, more hours calling people for late payments. It has been hours upon hours of just work, work, work.

To top it off, I will be participating in my first trade/wholesale show at the New York International Gift Fair in two weeks. Now people hardly wonder how their favorite brick & mortar store gets all these incredible goods. Well store owners & buyers from all across the globe "go to market." Market is rows upon rows of goods of all kinds from interior design to gift items to imports to baby care to handcrafted artisanal products.
After many hours (again) of research, I decided to book my first trade/show with the NYIGF. Usually, applicants are juried into a particular division based on their proposed booth display, their catalogs, recommendations from current buyers, and photographs of their products. I applied and was accepted into the coveted Handmade Division last year in October, which flaunts a 7-9 year waiting period once you're accepted. I was on the waitlist for about 10 months.

Now being that we are in this current economic situation, many people have decided to forgo the trade show circuit this year to keep their costs down. Well, I looked at this as an opportunity to move forward while others will be pulling back. Coincidentally, this is the slogan for the NYIGF this year. I took it as a sign and snagged literally one of the last booths.

There are astronomical expenses for a small/one person business to take on. Here is a running tally of my show expenses:

1. Booth Fee $2700
2. Airfare $1360
3. Rented Tables $360
4. Rented Lights + Electricity $471
5. Jewelry Displays $323
6. Postcards $120
7. Price Lists $97
8. Catalogs $630
9. Professional Photo shoot $1200
10. Posters to hang in my booth $132
11. NYC Shuttle Service $68
12. Booth Displays $134
13. Model for Photography Session $600
------------------------------------------
sub-TOTAL: $8195

This is not including cab fare for NYC, hotel (b/c I am staying with a friend), shipping goods back to Hawaii, personal booth decorations, food and drink (for my sanity and celebration) and lastly, the costs of materials + making samples to display. But this is what the big guns do, so I figured that I would get out in front of more buyers' eyes and hopefully be represented in a slew of more fabulous brick and mortar stores. My neighbors who will be sharing the floor with me boast stock lists that top 300+ locations. Many of them sell in the top luxury stores like Barneys, Saks, Henri Bendel's, and Neiman Marcus.

This mob of people is included in the 30,000+ registered buyers/owners that make their way to NYC for the Summer Market Month, which includes Intermezzo, Accessories the Show, Coterie, ENK, Brighte (in LA), and a slew a other fabulous shows that I hope I will be able to afford one day in the future.

I will be documenting the trials and tribulations, the celebrations and snafus, and the drops of sweat and tears expended by a market neophyte. Please come along w/ me for the ride.

Malama pono,
Traci
Midori Jewelry

Thursday, August 7, 2008

The Handcrafted Wedding


Hi Everyone...

I think it's always fun to Google yourself and find juicy tid bits about you on the Internet.  I got an order this week from a gal that said she found me on a wedding blog, but wasn't sure which one.  She had visited so many recently b/c she is getting married later this month.   After Googling (I think this is an official verb now) Midori Jewelry, I found the blog in question.  It is called The Handcrafted Wedding.  

Because I run an e-commerce website and am constantly online, there are few blogs that impress me so much and that I get an RSS feed for updates on new posts.  This blog is an exception and is done with classic style and taste.  It makes a welcome departure from just the ho hum discussions of Vera Wang dresses, appropriate appetizer sizes, various calligraphy styles, and the shades of difference between ecru and eggshell.

The blog's author, Lynn, said such nice things about Midori Jewelry...the compliments made me blush.  Lynn claims that she would like bid farewell to the mass-produced.  Now while I am a firm believer in Free Trade, with the pervasive "Wal-Mart" mentality nowadays, it is sometimes difficult to get people to see the value in your handcrafted items.  I have made small steps of progress with help of supporters like Lynn from Handcrafted Wedding, Leigh from hapa | hale, and Liana from Mixed Plate.  These blog babes really bring attention to the handcraft market, and they exhibit our creations with style and write about them with contagious enthusiasm and humor.  It is apparent they are true lovers of handcraft.  From handcrafters and artisans everywhere, trying to make a living doing something we love with vim and vigor, we salute them with a round of big MAHALOs.  Thanks girls!!!





Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Back From Hiatus

Hi Everyone,

I know I haven't been keeping up much with the blog lately.  But mostly I've been busy using the summer months to concentrate on marketing.  It seems to have been paying off, as I've been swamped with orders for stores and for my online store.  

*NEW* sale section: I will be marking 4-10 items down 50% for one week, every week from now one.  Please check back regularly for new items marked down for a limited time in limited quantities.

I have a bunch of retail events to get ready for this month:

Aug. 15-17 @ Neal Blaisdell Center
Fri & Sat : 10am-9pm
Sun: 10am-5pm @ Booth #251 

Aug. 23-24 weekend
Watts Ranch
16855 Bodega Highway
Bodega, CA
10am-6pm @ Booth #T11 (big Tent)

Aug. 30-Sept. 1 Labor Day weekend
Entrances at: 14th Street & Broadway
11th Street & Jefferson
16th Street & San Pablo Avenue
noon-6pm
Booth #TBA

Jewelry Items: Dionysia bracelet Reg. $54, Sale $27 ; Pearl & Amethyst earrings Reg. $20, Sale $10.  Check out other items in the Sale section at the Midori Jewelry website.

As always, please email me with any questions or join my newsletter to hear the latest news with Midori Jewelry.  Malama pono...

Friday, May 9, 2008

New Stocklists at Nohea Gallery

Hi Everyone,

I know it's been forever and a day since I've posted, but I have been getting the last of the orders out from the Midori Jewelry website relaunch. Thank you so much for all of your patience!!!

If you get a chance, I have just updated my stocklists at Nohea Gallery. Operating since 1990, Nohea Gallery is a locally-owned family business. This small gallery chain offers products from over 450 artists from across the US--over 90% of which are based in Hawaii. Most of the items in the stores are offered at about the same as at the local art & craft events. Midori Jewelry pieces are sold at the same prices here as online and at retail events.

Midori Jewelry will now be offered at all gallery locations including Ward Warehouse, the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, and Nohea Island Arts in Kailua. The staff is warm, friendly, and knowledgable about all of mediums they sell. You will find hand-turned koa bowls, oil paintings, metal works, photography, and much more. Each piece in the gallery is artistic and beautiful and each tells a story. Support local business and artisans!!! Thank you for your patronage.

Enchantment Necklace: $128 @ Ward Warehouse. Please call (808) 589-1174 for availability.


Aloha,
Traci
Midori Jewelry