Jewelry as a Symbol of Status

The on-going discussion about renaming polymer clay, as well as some comments I received even on my humble post about this issue, returned me to my old thoughts about the implied value of jewelry.

Obviously, there is something we, as jewelry makers, cannot ignore. Yes, the downgrading of polymer clay, based on it's classification as “just plastic” in people's minds, IS real. Not all, but some customers do think about gold, silver, and precious stones when they think about “real jewelry”. I think the reason lies in the history and is implanted in the buyer's sub-consciousness.

Now, these are just my thoughts, I am not a historian, and I do not pretend to have answers to these kind of questions. However, at least for myself, this is how I explain this phenomenon.

A long time ago (think Medieval times), only reach and noble people could afford jewelry. Right? It was expensive, and it was one of the attributes of power and money. The original purpose of jewelry, therefore, was to manifest it's owners wealth to the rest of the world. It was the mark of the status. Those, who had jewelry, belonged to the higher class than those, who did not. The price of the finished jewelry was directly proportional to the size and rarity of the gems used to make it. The work that went into creating the finished piece of jewelry was if not insignificant, then definitely secondary to the other parameters, when it came to the price of jewelry. Also important, that at that time, there were no ways to mimic the gemstones convincingly enough. The glass was of low quality. There were no lab-grown gems, no cubic zirconium... So, once again, the original and most important purpose of jewelry was the status symbol, and it was an accurate connection, because every piece of jewelry was equivalent to that much extra money.

Later, in late 19-th, and even more so in 20-th century, we see the development of all these alternative processes and materials I just mentioned. What they create are surrogate status symbols – cheaper jewelry, that looks pretty much as “the real thing”. With this more affordable jewelry more people are able to pose as if they, too, belong to the rich and noble group.

I think, that for some people, jewelry is still “the status thing”. And these are the people who look first of all at the material, not the craftsmanship. These are the people who think that “gold” equals “value”, and “plastic” equals “cheap”. I am not talking about poorly-made polymer clay items (which is an issue in itself). I am talking about pieces with high craftsmanship, original, and well-executed, but still "not made of gold".

If people thought logically, and remembered that the manufacturing processes are getting more and more economical, while the manual labor gets more and more expensive, they would have to realize that a high-quality hand-made piece is a better manifest of its price than a piece of “real jewelry”.

I just hope this realization comes while we are still in business.

Eugena's Creations at La Boutique De Mon Amie

I am happy to report that some of my jewelry may now be seen in a brick and mortar store in the beautiful historic part of Elicott City, MD. This store is called La Boutique De Mon Amie, and it is owned by two elegant women, Debbie Kehoe and Kimberly Kepnes.

I went there this Wednesday, on my friend's recommendation, and was absolutely charmed by the place. The shop is located in an old French-style cottage, and has its own charm a certain European aura. There is Little French Market Cafe right next door to this shop. While I was talking to Debbie, a girl from this cafe brought her some most deliciously-looking coffee. I did not have time to check out the cafe, but I will definitely do it next time.

The boutique sells various accessories, purses, and jewelry. It has three floors, with a nice cozy room at each floor. Visitors are greeted at the first floor, the second floor is dominated by a huge wall mirror in a wrought-iron frame and a few glass cases hosting black velvet jewelry displays, and the third floor (the attic, as they call it) is all sunny and colorful. Everything is presented with a great taste and in a very friendly atmosphere.

There are only a few of my pieces there right now, but I shall bring some more in a couple of weeks. We are also talking about me creating an exclusive Mon Amie collection to be carried in this shop only.

New Shop

Eugena's Creations

at 1000markets.com

I am in the process of setting my new on-line shop at 1000markets.com.

The idea is to move there all my jewelry, while leaving the tutorials, beads, and polymer clay supplies at Etsy.com.

1000markets offers many ways to manage my products, sorting them into logical collections and controlling the page layout. It is a juried environment, which, I think, will be more suitable for my jewelry. I also like the fact that the products do not need to be constantly renewed in order to be seen by the customers.

I am planning to list most, if not all, of my available polymer clay jewelry by the end of this month. Meanwhile, I am adding new listings every day.

My Gallery Page Is Done!

I finished updating the gallery page on my web site and very proud of it! This is something I wanted to do for a long time. I decided to keep my web site as an on-line portfolio and a tutorial shop. There is a link on my site to my shop on Etsy.com for people who want to buy my jewelry, but I do not want to maintain a separate on-line shop through my web site anymore. In line with this idea, I removed the page with my sold items from the web site and replaced it with a portfolio (or gallery) page. Some of the items on this page had been sold or given as gifts to my friends and relatives, and some are still available. I just wanted to show all my favorite creations in one place, no matter who owns them right now. In the process of up-dating this page, I placed all my pictures in a uniform format – they are all the same size now and have a watermark with my company name. I am very pleased with the result. To finish this round of my web site update, I am now going to fix all pictures, including those on my free tutorial pages and in the polymer clay gallery. This is a smaller task than updating the gallery and should take that much of my time.