Gyrogami Blog - Precious Metals, Jewelry, Artwork

• No website - Having accounts on every social media platform and selling on a few online venues are fine but be a real business. At least have a brick-and-mortar presence or attend shows.
• Marketing materials - Business cards? Signs for craft shows? Handouts? A stray typo, grammar, or usage mistake may slip by but use a spelling and grammar checker already. Further, if a $20 custom rubber is too expensive then get out now.
• Create - Artists create and design. Buying pre-made components...well, it's glorified assembly (paint-by-numbers). Countless craft shows say "No items from kits or reselling allowed!" so others believe the same philosophy.
• Work quality - Standards exist to identify skilled artisans and every craft has its own criteria. For instance, pinch-cut and improperly closed rings are a danger with their sharp, unforgiving metal edges that favor neither clothing nor skin.
• Breaking the law - Fraudulently using legally defined words like handmade and corrosion-resistant, selling fake goods, and dishonest marketing are illegal.
• Hallmarking - Applying (or having) a purity mark on precious metal jewelry means it must have a federally registered trademark accompanying it. There is an appalling amount of fake silver and gold, most of which is knowingly dumped into the marketplace. Which begs the question: How well do you know your seller?
• Experience - Vast experience doesn't translate into quality work. Decent people fix their mistakes and take steps to prevent them from reoccurring.
• Poor finish work - The finished product needn't be showroom-ready but certainly better than the average flea market find.
• Selling butted precious metals - Properly made precious metal chains are welded or soldered because they are too weak otherwise. The laws of physics, ya know?
• Arguing with science - Even denialists we must agree that measurements are a "fact" in our observable, daily universe. A gap or misalignment big enough to let another ring slip by is a failure regardless of the context.
• Pictures - This has nothing to do with being a competent photographer. Multiple pictures at nearly the same position/angle - remember, there are at least six sides - and any out-of-focus ones are useless. One, maybe two of the packaging and/or marketing materials but leave it alone after that.
• Consistency - Call it organic, free-form, or whatever, imprecision is usually a bad sign. Such failings will inevitably appear elsewhere.
• Social media - Whether posting useless content, commenting without being constructive, or success bombing, if it's been done or answered already then forego your two cents' worth.
• Defending or ignoring any activities listed above - Honorable people do not behave this way and it's helpful when they call people out who do. Unfortunately, when large - sometimes even small - groups of (vocal) people all believe the same (wrong) thing then truth is the first casualty. Circling the wagons is not a viable option but it sure makes for an unusually large echo chamber that easily bullies any dissenters.

Previous Entry  . . . .  Next Entry

Comment Section

NOTE: Your comments will be included in this section as long as they aren't illegal. This section is censor-free so show me your intelligence or ignorance and everything in between!