Thread: silk dyers and artists have you ever considered changing your keyword to fabric instead of veil?

silk vendors need not respond..this is for those of us who hand make our silk veils (or you can apply to any type of hand made costuming)

here's my recent blog post about changing the key word from veil to fabric (if you google search the price of dyed or painted silk fabric it ranges from 20 dollars per yard to 30 or more..and that's for fabric offered thru thai silks or other companies) ...yet we price our silk VEILS which are 'finished products' for much less

just wondering about your comments..I've been spurred on by this to discontinue wholesale orders and just offer a FREE silk veil to anyone who brings in ten retail orders. PS THE AVERAGE resale price for an akai silk veil IN PERSON at a bazaar or studio is $60 to $70 ..American dancers call it too much, Japanese dancers call it a steal..

changing a keyword from veil to fabric | The Morning Bleat

I clicked on this as a hobbyist silk dyer, but I am responding as a retailer- small time for belly dance, but my main job is running a (non bd related) retail shop with a local/handcrafted focus.

In your blog, you complain about retailers making more than you do when you are doing all the work. I simply have to disagree with that statement. Retailers work hard and often have overhead artisans don't have to worry about. We take financial risks buying things we hope will sell, and not because we have that emotional interest of doing the art because we love it. We act as go betweens representing artists and doing some of the day to day work necessary to free up time for those artists to actually make their art. Retailers deserve to be fairly compensated for their work of bringing your articles to market too.

It is a constant struggle for us to convince our artisans, many of whom are stay at home moms or retired folks who do not need the income as much as they just want to support their artistic habit. If you only intend to sell direct, then no, there is no issue with you, personally, charging a lower rate as far as I'm concerned, but if you want to work with retailers, I do think it is important to set your prices at a sustainable level- both so the retailers can afford to promote you and so *YOU* don't get financially/emotionally burnt out!

I absolutely support you raising your prices. I think it is good to play around with what you call your product, tho I'm wondering if playing around with words like "hand painted" and "silk art" might be more beneficial than reducing your product to "fabric" when people are specifically doing a search for veils. Another option to consider might be to have a per yard price and a fixed yardage/veil price. If your per yard price for hand painted fabric is $30/yard, $75 for a hand painted veil is a bargain (and a price you have demonstrated people are willing to pay for your fabulous work!)

Here's the key, in my opinion- remember that you aren't marketing to every one out there. You are marketing to a niche group who is interested in high quality, hand made items. If you have a sustainable business marketing to your niche market, let the undercutters and inferior quality advertisers go- let it roll off your back. You know what you need to charge for the quality you produce, so stick to it. Know your worth and charge accordingly.

definitely food for thought, I very much appreciate your comments Lara.

I didn't mean to ..in any way..undermine retailers ..they are often carrying the costs of studio or bazaar rental space, etc. I completely understand what you are saying there. I was more referring to group orders when specific veil colors are requested ..and just meant that its not really a wholesale order when someone requests specific colors for each student..in that situation yes they are handling the emails and communication/ coordination but this is not stock that will sit in their store hoping to be sold..these are items that are already requested and sold with the combined benefit of discount shipping. In that situation it's not really a wholesale order but a group discount on custom veils.

My number one reseller consistently orders 40 to 60 veils per month and the price to her is 40/each for assorted colors. As mentioned in my blog her dancers have the luxury of seeing the veils in person ..she often sells out in a few days. She does not have a store, she just packs the silk (they pack lightly :) and brings them to class. Something I sell to her for 40 dollars she sells for 60 to 70 dollars. This is not an American reseller btw. It then lands me in a dilemna that if this resellers is happy with the wholesale price and she is profitting quite well by rolling a suitcase to work, it makes it difficult to offer someone else who may be paying studio rent a wholesale price of 30/ea just so they can profit and pay their bills/overhead for studio etc.

Again I understand exactly what you are saying..and it's pushed me to think more about what I accept as a wholesale order and maybe add a group discount to the option. Luckily I don't have to pay a large overhead (well not unless I moved into a two bedroom house but right now I'm able to fit inventory in this place)..I don't pay assistants or a warehouse rental so I'm able to keep retail prices low.

Thanks for the feedback you all inspire me to think and be creative with solutions and I greatly appreciate it.

I totally see where you're coming from- and I am sorry if I over stated it a bit- had 2 frustrating conversations with consigning artists at the shop this week, so I may have been a bit touchy coming into this conversation!

It is hard to figure out, especially when some "non-traditional" resellers do better than an old school retail shop or studio, and more difficult yet when you face the varying sizes and needs of stores, or workshop vendors, etc. You mention a someone who sells more out of a suitcase than I probably could in a year with stock on the shelf because of our community demographic- so asking why I should get a discount simply because I have to pay extra rent etc. is a valid question, when she has better access to your potential clients.

I deal with a couple companies who offer tiered programs- $XX for 1-25 items, XX% discount for 25-100, etc. I think that gives a good incentive for retailers to buy extra stock and really work at marketing it, but also allows folks who either have lower turn over or just want to try a product in the shop as well. Out of town companies generally require some kind of verification that we are an actual business (resale license, picture of the shop, etc.) before allowing us to set up an account- especially small, niche producers who don't want to see their product devalued by co-op orders. Other companies are willing to ship to anyone (business or not) who has a minimum $ amount for their first order. There are a lot of different ways you can work it.