les pop up, les boutiques et la valeurs  des bijoux

“Will you give me a small price, anyway? »

A little panegyric of these insane phrases that we hear too often, when we are a creator, a second-hand dealer, a stylist, a creative person, in short... an independent who comes up against preconceived ideas.

“Will you give me a small price, anyway? »

What designer, what freelancer hasn't already heard this phrase? As if we had to justify our prices.

These customers who dare to ask, would they do it at Zara or Monoprix? with a service provider, their doctor, for example? no, of course. Because a doctor is serious. And the price of food cannot be discussed, we happily agree to pay farmers and that is already a superb step forward. But then why should a creator justify the prices applied to the fruit of his work?

“It’s not very complicated to do that! Me too, I have my grandmother's medals, I could do the same"

I sometimes had the impression that, for some people, I take what I find, I tinker in 2 minutes, I sell it, and I pocket it.

Why are creative professions so often underestimated? Would using your imagination and manual agility be a way to make money easily? This is what some people seem to believe.

However, like all designers, I calculate and estimate the prices of my jewelry at their fair value. So let's see, what does this fair price include? how can you justify not selling your creations at fast fashion prices?

First of all, there is the material and therefore estimable part:

“It’s a shame, your medals are a little damaged”

Upcycled materials : some are worth almost nothing financially and have a touching story, others are rarer, made from more precious materials and are purchased at a higher price. But what is really important is the time spent hunting, without ever knowing what you will find. It is this research time which is precious and makes up the quality of the selected pieces, but also the time necessary for their sorting, their cleaning, sometimes even their repair, without altering the traces of experience and their history which make them unique and touching. .

New materials : carefully selected, they are chosen for their quality and their origin. Chains and findings from Europe, in 925 silver or goldfilled only.

Goldfilled is a process for manufacturing components for jewelry from a thick layer of 14 K Gold mechanically pressed or heat-applied to a brass base. The weight of gold alloy corresponds to 1/20 of the total weight of the product, or approximately 50 times more than in a gold-plated product. I use this material for chains but also for all rings and finished clasps. gold.

No Chinese suppliers, no cheap alloys, no plastic, or composites, only natural materials like fine stones or mother-of-pearl.

The packaging

Paper, of course, but carefully folded by hand for each piece of jewelry. Often, I slip in a small old map that I bought from second-hand dealers.

Material investments and fixed costs

Tweezers, polisher, storage, internet, etc… which allow you to work in qualitative conditions thanks to professional equipment.

Then there is the more subjective part but which nevertheless makes all the difference. We could call it added value.

The workforce, in this case mine and only mine, first of all. Honestly, do you go into self-employment to get paid the minimum wage? Don't you think that to succeed we must demonstrate skills and responsibility as executives or even business leaders? Because in micro-enterprise, there is indeed the word enterprise.

 We rarely spend 8 hours of work at the workbench when we create a jewelry brand. So paying the minimum wage is heresy if you simply want to eat at the end of the month. (I remind you that the hourly minimum wage in 2022 is worth €10.57.)

Working on unique pieces is also more tedious, there is no mass work at BLISS, each piece is different and requires tailor-made work. Sometimes I can't do it, I undo it, I start again. Other days, there are breakages, defects, you have to take them into account too. It's not optimal, but I want to take this approach to offer you jewelry that you will never see on another.

“Honestly, you could offer the shipping costs!”

(they are from 100€ of purchase)

And then there are all the additional costs, which make you know BLISS today and which are not free: the pop-ups and events I participate in, the time spent looking for the right addresses, the right people, communicate, imagine a scenography, its creation, the assembly of a stand, invite you to come and discover it over a drink, the time spent on site with you.

And what is perhaps less visible are the business cards, the envelopes and cards for sending, a photographer from time to time, the costs of posting online on the different internet platforms, the commission on sales , pop-ups. Organizing, planning Instagram posts, writing this post, everything takes time. And you know, time is money….

Without forgetting of course… taxes. And yes, creators pay taxes too.

“I saw some similar ones at Zara, but cheaper”

And above all, more than anything,…. Ideas! Like all creative people, I know that intellectual property, the original idea, constant renewal has a price that cannot be discussed. Otherwise everyone who works with their intellect would work for free. Each BLISS jewelry is unique, there are obviously no copies of models seen elsewhere. They are worked and adjusted to highlight the antique elements, ensuring the renewal of styles and constantly evolving, and always with conviction.

You can also see the interview conducted for Couleurs Paris , on Instagram.

If after this, you still doubt the value of BLISS jewelry, ...

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