First JRB Marketing Academy to be held in 2009 in Tucson
at the historic Manning House during Gem Fair Week
The Jewelers Resource Bureau is taking its education on the road in 2009 by offering seven jewelry business-oriented classes in Tucson during Gem Fair Week.
The sessions will be held at the historic Manning House in downtown Tucson, and designers can sign up for one, two or more of of them to ramp up their marketing skills for the new year.
The dates are Wednesday Feb. 4 through Friday Feb. 6 during the Manning House Bead Show. Please note that although the academy is being held in the building during the bead show, the classes are not bead related. The location was chosen because the place is beautiful and convenient for designers visitng Tucson during this popular week.
The Manning House is located at 450 W. Paseo Redondo in downtown Tucson.
Designers can register for the classes on the Manning House bead show's site: http://www.mhbeadshow.com/classes-new.php.
Most classes are geared for all experience levels although a few are best suited for beginners. They will be taught by Cindy Edelstein of JRB and Marlene Richey, author of the newly published, "Profiting by Design: A Jewelry Makers Guide to Business Success."
In addition, both Cindy and Marlene will be holding speed coaching sessions at a reduced rate during the afternoons in order to work with you personally and specifically on your goals and business plans.
Bring whatever materials and samples you want feedback on and a list of questions -- surely more will come up during your classes, too -- and you will get the kind of customized, one-on-one advice you really need. The cost is $2 per minute for as long as you like.
Email Cindy at:cindy@jewelersresource.com or Marlene at: marlene.richey@comcast.net to set up appointments in advance.
The Classes
1. How to Make a Living at Your Art
INSTRUCTOR: Marlene Richey
DATE: Wed, February 4, 2009 9:00am - 11:20am
LEVEL: Beginner
You have found your passion, now you want to make a living at what your love. But how? You have to develop not only the skills to create art but to get your work into the marketplace. This class will help you understand the steps necessary to run a successful art/craft business as well as teach you tricks of the trade to ensure your art is more than just a hobby. The class is hands on, fast paced, and fun with tons of handouts. Discover why designing your business can be just as much fun and just as creative as designing your jewelry.
2. Defining Your Brand Identity
INSTRUCTOR: Cindy Edelstein
DATE: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 12:00pm - 2:20pm
LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE: All
Great designs are the first step to success but a clear and insightful brand identity is what turns those great designs into a great business. You have to find and communicate your unique selling proposition to be able to have a place in the market. Design talent is not enough. Learn how to find your brand, communicate it and keep it consistent so that you can set yourself apart from your competition. You will have time to discuss successful strategies of others and do exercises that help you craft the identity that brands your work.
3. Building Your Marketing Toolkit
INSTRUCTOR: Cindy Edelstein
DATE: Thursday, February 5, 2009 9:00am - 11:20am
LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE: All
There are many tools to use to communicate with prospective customers, consumers and editors and all are necessary for your success. In this interactive workshop we'll discuss all the tools and how to use them -- and you'll figure out which ones you want to employ right away. From the old standards (brochures and postcards and direct mail) to the cutting edge (blogs, facebook and enewsletters) we'll cover them all.
4. Craft Fairs, Trade Shows and Personal Appearances: How to "Show Up" for Success
INSTRUCTOR: Marlene Richey
DATE: Thursday, February 5, 2009 12:00pm - 2:20pm
LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE: All
Whether it is wholesale or retail, indoors or outside, juried or not juried, local or national, craft or fine jewelry, you will come away from the class with more confidence on the ins and outs and how-to's of participating in all the various types of shows. I will discuss everything from finding the appropriate show venue, the application process, filling out the ten feet of paper work required, the jury process, to designing a booth, traveling to the show, set-up and tear-down, security, making sales, displays, getting paid, and learning that the bottom line of a show is not always the sales at the event. We'll also translate the experience to instore events and personal appearances (aka trunk shows) and learn how to maximize those events as well.
5. How to do Your Own PR
INSTRUCTOR: Cindy Edelstein
DATE: Friday, February 6, 2009 9:00am - 11:20am
LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE: All
Dream about having your jewels on the cover of a magazine? Wish for your phone to ring off the hook because Oprah thinks you're a Favorite Thing? Wishing you'd get invited to events where the paparazzi snap -- or at least people are looking for great jewels? We'll teach you how to find, contact and entice the media to write about your jewelry. We'll break down the different media outlets, how to build a press kit, how to pitch an editor and how to maximize the publicity you get. You'll learn how to write a press release and make a "pitch."
6. The Art of Selling
INSTRUCTOR: Marlene Richey
DATE: Friday, February 6, 200912:00pm - 2:20pm
LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE: All
Most really good salespeople (not the used car stereotype) are born that way. But that doesn't mean everyone can't learn some of the basics, things like how to close a sale, greet someone who walks up to your booth at a craft show or answer difficult questions. You'll learn how to provide a potential client with the necessary information to become a paying client, and you'll learn some of the tell-tale body language signs that will give you the confidence to be your best self in a sales situation. Just as there is an art to making jewelry, there is also an art to selling it. Learn from someone who has been there, learned through experience and done it. See why some simple tricks of the trade can make sales exciting -- and definitely rewarding.
7. Profiting from an Online Presence
INSTRUCTOR: Cindy Edelstein assisted by Larry Chasin, Ideal Diamond Solutions
DATE OFFERED: Friday, February 6, 2009 3:00pm - 4:30pm
LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE: All
Wondering how to use the internet to grow your business? From online stores to selling communities to your own website we'll discuss all the options and figure out which ones are right for your business. We'll talk about what you need to have on your website to maximize traffic, aid sales and partner with retailers and customers online. You'll learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and why you should care about it more than anything else. With this class you'll be confident about your next steps to increase sales online.
About Cindy
Cindy Edelstein is the owner of Jeweler's Resource Bureau, a niche marketing consultancy dedicated to helping designers grow and prosper. A journalist by trade, Cindy's expertise comes from 20 years in the fine jewelry industry championing the designer sector with projects she has invented just to serve her niche. She has created trade shows, conferences, publications and online businesses that offer designers education, marketing opportunities and business advocacy not seen anywhere else. She consults with the premier jewelry trade shows -- Couture and JA New York -- to help designers reach their best customers. Often called the Designer's Guru, Cindy has listened to her clients and set out to teach and offer them all they need and make it fun and easy to do.
About Marlene
Marlene Richey has been on both sides of the jewelry showcase having run a wholesale handmade jewelry business and a successful jewelry gallery. During the past three decades she has grown and nourished these artistic, entrepreneurial businesses and taught herself how to sell, market, merchandise, publicize and profitize designer jewelry and fine craft. She is a well-known teacher and lecturer on the subject of design entrepreneurship and the author of the book "Profiting by Design."
About Larry
Larry Chasin is the president of Ideal Diamond Solutions, the first jewelry industry internet platform that helps bricks-and-mortar jewelers sell more product online and connects them with fine jewelry designers via the JRB Designer Gallery on IDS.
Larry is committed to the growth of the jewelry industry on the internet and to helping every jeweler prosper from it. IDS has patented technology that allows for true interconnective business relationships that make it easy for all kinds of jewelry makers and sellers to sell in cyberspace.
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