Money, Price, "Filthy Lucre"

No one really enjoys talking about prices. But I think this is a subject I need to bring up. I am often apologetic about my prices. And yet I’ve been told by both clients and other jewelers that it is ridiculous to feel this way. Nevertheless, the price of my necklaces often embarrasses me.

Which is precisely why I feel it is important to bring up the elephant in the room. How do I arrive at a price for one of my necklaces? Do I just pick a number and think customers will be fine with this? Absolutely not! Frankly, it always comes as a bit of a shock when I make my assessments as to what a necklace has to be priced at.

Putting it quite simply, the price of a necklace is based on the cost of producing that necklace. That is, the cost I have had to pay for the pendant, beads, silver or gold, and all the other elements involved. Then there are repairs, alterations to a pendant, and a whole host of unseen costs that go into making a necklace. But this never includes my own time to create a necklace, which can take up to 5 days, depending on what is involved. And then there is travel. I go all over the world to find my elements, but this is not part of the price either. If I charged for my own time, it would make the necklace simply prohibitive.

Another factor is rarity. When I find an element that I know I will never be able to unearth again, that element becomes like gold dust. This can include stones, crafts or antiques. What makes my necklaces special are those unique, often antique pendants and elements. It is what gives the necklace character and individuality. But it comes at a price, which has to add to the price of the necklace. Sadly, once I learn that I will never be able to buy certain stones of quality or colour, because the supply has dried up, that stone then becomes a rare commodity and its price goes through the roof. This unfortunately forces me to increase prices, which I will always try to avoid doing, but sometimes it is simply unavoidable.

I hope that this blog goes some way towards explaining my prices.

Why on Earth Make Necklaces?

To create or not to create: that has never been a question. I have tried my hand at a number of creative pursuits: writing, art history, editing, lay-outs, photography, television work and journalism. But for some reason, jewellery making has latched onto my imagination and super-glued me into its clutches. I don’t want to be coy or cliched about the process, but it does invade my thoughts, like a piece of music that just won’t go away.

If you know my work already, if you have actually met me, none of this will be a surprise. But the purpose of this blog, is to introduce my passion, and over time, if you are still there, share experiences, visions, views and yes, processes that fill my creative jewellery, or in my case, the necklace making life.

Welcome to My New Website

I was frankly quite content with my previous website. But because my host provider had to be changed, most everything from that site had to be changed as well. This has been a major overhaul. A huge amount of work, involving photography, copy, research and planning. But I am relieved to say, it has all been worth the effort, and I hope you feel it has been, as well.

Actually, I’m rather delighted with the results. It is more visual, helpful, informative and interesting. After six weeks of non-stop labour, I am quite excited to present to you this new, Barbara Acton-Bond website.

However, (and I hope this doesn’t read like an Academy Awards thank you speech) I have to thank my web manager, John Gaunt, of The IT Workshop, who worked tirelessly and patiently to guide me, inspire me and alert me when things were not up to snuff. While I did the photography and the copy, and explained what I wanted to create, it was John who put it all together. With such good humour and knowledge, I have learned a great deal from John. Credit, where credit is due, and this is certainly due to John.