Frame It!

by Judith Rudolph, Holly Cottage Designs
(Thomaston, Maine)

One of My Picture Frame Displays

One of My Picture Frame Displays

When my local library asked me to sell my jewelry at their Christmas Fair, I agreed because I wanted to support them. But since I don’t normally do craft fairs, I didn’t have any table displays and didn’t want to spend a lot of money to buy them.

I sell my jewelry online and wholesale to gift shops, so I don’t have an ongoing need for display materials, except for a couple of neck busts and earring stands that I use to photograph jewelry for my website.

My husband, David, is a good woodworker and I talked to him about making some display cases for my table, but it seemed like a lot of work and expense for one little craft show that wasn’t likely to bring in a lot of return.

I set up my dining room table for a trial run and experimented with different ideas to display my necklaces. I know that good lighting is critical to good sales at shows and I noticed that when I laid the pieces on the table even under lights, they had a tendency to “flatten” out against the tablecloth.

When David and I had been playing around with ideas for display cases, we thought it would be a good idea to use picture frames for the tops and I had a few of those on hand. Just for the fun of it, I laid some of the frames on the table and placed some necklaces on top of them. I had removed the backs of the frames, leaving just the glass inside. Then I turned on my lights.

Wow! The necklaces really sparkled and came to life.

Another bonus was that my pretty tablecovering showed through and gave the whole table a more cohesive look.

People seemed to like being able to pick up the necklaces and hold them for a closer look so that was another plus for this display as opposed to having them in a case.

Much to my surprise, my sales at this show were fantastic. I don’t know how much my picture frames had to do with that, but I know it didn’t hurt!

Judith Rudolph
Holly Cottage Designs

Comments for
Frame It!

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Pretty as a Picture
by: Rena

Beautifully done, Judith (and David)! What an original idea - and an elegant effect.

Thank you for sharing your flash of brilliance!
Clever!
by: MailleEtc

I love your idea and that the table cloth shows. I can see using fabrics and scrapbook papers for different effects. Thanks for sharing :))
LOVE IT!
by: Linda G.

Love the idea of using simple frames with cloth or craft paper in the background!

I have a bunch of pretty unused picture frames lying around that will work great for my first jewelry show!

Thanks for sharing!

Linda G.
LinnyGirl Designs
www.linnygirldesigns.com
Website Photography
by: Elsie

I went to your web-site and loved your jewelery. I was very impressed with your photos - very clear and saw every detail of your pieces. I am trying to launch my own web-site and haven't managed to take good pics as yet which is key to sales. Any hints and tips for a beginner? Thank you in advance,
Elsie
www.laboiteabijoux.biz
Photo Tips
by: Judith

Thanks, Elsie! I agree that good photos are the key to selling online. Here are a few tips that should help. First, make sure your camera has a macro setting, which is essential for getting detail in photos of small objects. Second, I recommend purchasing a photo cube - a little tent to place your item in for photographing (I bought mine on eBay). That will do away with any shadows. Third, crop the photo so that the jewelry fills the area with very little background showing. Finally, a good photo editing program (I use Photoshop) can bring more clarity and help you get the colors as true to the real piece as possible.
Thanks again for your kind words. And good luck with your new venture!
Thank you
by: Elsie

Thanks Judith for your advice - I think it is great that you are willing to share your expertise. I really appreciate it.

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