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| This necklace, made with some of the first glass beads I ever made myself, will never, ever be for sale! |
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A few months ago, I was invited to submit some of my
beadwork to a publishing company for consideration in one of their beading
books. As I went through my current inventory and personal collection of beadwork
that I've created, I realized something distressing: I've sold most of my
really knockout pieces of beadwork!
I did manage to pull together some current and older
beadwork to have photographed and submitted for the project, but it really made
me think about how I go about choosing which pieces of beadwork to sell and
which to keep.
If you're thinking about selling your beadwork, there are a
few things you'll want to think about before you decide whether or not to sell
a piece.
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I put a lot of myself into this square stitch choker, and I was both happy and a little sad to see it go to a good home with another artist. |
1. Is
it perfect? For me, if a piece isn't perfect, I won't sell it. This means that
I don't sell any piece of finished beadwork with mistakes such as having a bead
out of place or one that has too much thread showing between the beads. If
there's a broken or otherwise imperfect bead in the piece, I won't sell it,
either.
2. Is
it comfortable to wear? You want to sell your finished beadwork because you
want people to wear it, right? So if you try on a piece of finished beadwork
and it doesn't lie correctly or is too heavy, bulky, or otherwise uncomfortable
to wear, you probably shouldn't sell it. Likewise, if you have a hard time
working any of the clasps or other findings on the beadwork, you should expect
that someone else may have a hard time working them, too.
3. Are
you already too attached to it? I have a rule: if I get too attached to a piece
of beadwork while I'm stitching it, I won't sell it. It's almost not worth the
heartbreak. When I was pregnant with my son, I managed to finish stitching on a
square-stitched choker that used all Japanese cylinder beads. The fatigue and
nausea were so bad those first few months that I could barely lift up my head
at the end of the day, but I sat and worked on that collar as a way to relax
and occupy myself so I wouldn't concentrate on how sick I felt. A few summers
later, I actually sold the piece at a high-end craft market, and while I was
really thrilled that it went to such a good home (bought by another artist!), I
felt a little twinge when it finally left my hands. Now my rule is that if I
fall in love with a piece of beadwork while I'm stitching it, I keep it, no
matter what!
Have you ever felt a little twinge of sadness as you watched a piece of beadwork go to a new home? How do YOU decide which pieces of beadwork to keep and which to sell? Leave a comment (or two) and share your thoughts and experiences here on the blog!
Bead Happy,
Jennifer