Imagine for a moment you’re a small child in the eighteenth century, playing on a Cornish beach. The jagged cliffs that rise high above you are peppered with a labyrinth of caves and, with your faithful hound at your heels, you set off to explore them. The sand is wet and squelchy through your toes. The water drips from the ceiling, causing a steady plink into the stream which flows noiselessly out to sea. You can feel the damp air pressing on your skin, plastering wisps of hair to your face. It gets darker as you go deeper within.
You have adventure and risk in your bones, as this is smuggling country; since your infancy you’ve known not to ask questions when, in a morning, horses are wet in the stables and your father’s clothes hung out to dry in front of the fire. You’re walking on jagged, slippery rock now and as the light diminishes, you reach your hand up to the rocky ledge to help gain balance. Suddenly you sense a different texture, that of cold, hard wood. As you scrabble around you discover a chest, made fast with a clasp … it is unlocked. You dip your hands in. Even in the dim light, the sparkle of many diamonds pierces the darkness. You feel the smooth, cold touch of golden chains as they flow through your fingers, the weight of heavy brooches and even the engraving on the inside of the many rings. You know you’ve found a treasure trove … maybe one day one of its contents may mysteriously come your way. But for now, you gently shut the lid and turn back towards the light and home.
A flight of fancy maybe, but for how many of us does the sparkle of gems and the solid feel of precious metals hold a hint of magic, adventure or romance? And for independent jewellery makers, Christmas is a fantastic time to promote and sell your products.
Whether you sell online or in person, it’s important that you know your client base and, if you’re selling online in particular, that you unashamedly let your customers know the advantages of buying hand crafted, rather than mass produced, jewellery. Here are a few points you could put on your website. Although the price will be slightly higher initially, you need to think about what this reflects over time. As each item is made by an expert craftsman/woman using traditional skills and tools, it will be made to a high standard and so will have a longevity that its factory produced counterpart may not have. In addition, the structural integrity of hand forged jewellery will be strong, and customers can be assured that solid precious metals (gold and silver) are used rather than cheaper base metals which could cause a skin reaction.
It is not only the item of jewellery that has a price tag; every product we buy comes with a price tag for our environment and, less talked about, but a price tag for those also involved in making it, including in the case of jewellery those who mine the raw metals and precious stones. Hand crafted jewellery is made locally using traditional techniques which are kind on our planet. The income generated is ploughed straight back into the local economy, rather than funding large national or international retail chains. Buying from a local jeweller also makes it much easier to trace both the gems and the precious metals of your chosen piece of jewellery. In this way you can ensure that the beautiful piece of jewellery you or a loved one will be wearing has not been produced at the cost of a mine worker’s health or wellbeing or at the cost of the surrounding ecology.
Buying directly from an artisan silversmith also has the unrivalled advantage that every item is completely unique, and beyond this, that items can be bespoke. As Christmas approaches fast, customers will be looking for some special gifts, and what better than a stunning necklace, brooch or set or earrings made by a local artisan with ethically sourced metals and gems?
Amid all the sparkles of Christmas, some choose to pop the question to their beloveds and of course, need a stunning ring ready to accompany the question. All engagement rings carry a story, and what more so than one which has been especially created for that special woman? The whole process of choosing a stone and designing the ring in collaboration with a jeweller is an amazing process in itself and makes a one-off occasion even more unique.
So, with your promotion in place and your range in the making for the festive season, you will need to ensure you have crafts liability insurance in place. Whether you sell online, in person or both, crafts liability insurance covers you for both legal fees and/or compensation. It includes public and product liability insurance. Public liability covers you in the event of a member of the public making a claim that either you or a member of your team has caused harm or injury to themselves in an activity related to your work. Product liability insurance covers you if a member of the public makes a claim for harm or injury caused by a product of yours. In either case, the crafts liability insurance will cover you, whether it is in fact your fault or not.
Here at Craft Insurance, we communicate directly with our customers. We know the run up to Christmas is a busy time and you don’t need to spend extra hours waiting in a call queue. So, pick up the phone or drop us a line and either Sam or Naomi will be here to answer your questions and make sure you get the best crafts liability insurance package for your unique business. Then, you’ll be ready to spread the sparkle this Christmas!
