A PROFESSIONAL JEWELRY PHOTOSHOOT…

When I first started to create my jewelry pieces, I was taking pictures of my own jewelry pictures (who doesn’t start like that, huh!?), but I am not a professional photographer. I’ve tried for so many times to do my own pictures and I took many pictures but could never give them the right white background or the right black grayish background plus you could see the shadows, light reflection etc., etc.….I took quick photography classes, did some internet research on how to photograph your jewelry and still was not getting that perfect professionally looking picture.

In the beginning…I couldn’t afford to pay for a professional photo session of my jewelry pieces. So I post and add on the famous craigslist and got me freelance photographers that were looking to gain expertise in product photography and who wanted to add experience to their resumes.

These were my 1st pictures taken by me a not professional jewelry photographer…not so good right?

Then it was time to launch my men’s Moschik catalog and I was not going to invest so much time in creating a whole new jewelry collection with poor pictures and poor presentation. Two of the most amazing relationships were born. My catalog designer Alvaro Luna & my professional photographer Rui Barros. I personally find that there has to be good energy,  positive attitude and willingness to work with your business partners (that is how I call them).  Just as me they want the final product to speak highly of their work. I believe I can sense energy VERY well and I was not afraid when my dear friend Alvaro was taking the responsibility to re-design my image/logo/designing my catalog everything till he handed me my Moschik Men’s catalog.

I also knew it was going to take some time. It was not going to happen in a couple days…although I wanted see the final product ASAP.

One of the first things Alvaro asked me was you need a professional head shot…I was thinking OMG another expense to the creation of my men’s catalog. BUT I can still remember what he said to me: I refuse to create the catalog with a picture that you have cropped from some wedding and put it in this professional jewelry catalog. He said go to Rui Barros Photography. He will do your headshot.

This was my 1st professional headshots as a jewelry designer

Then our photo-shoot for the catalog took us a whole day at The Park @ 14th in Washington DC, models came on time, photographer and Alvaro took care of styling models & the photo-shoot. We ended exhausted but with amazing photos to be used in our Moschik Men’s Catalog.

What to order my catalog? (click here)

I have been working with Rui for quite sometime now. I’d say at least five years. We have shot my jewelry pieces at his studio in Arlington, VA. It usually takes us a whole day. Every time I come in he has some new tool to shoot faster and have higher quality pictures, better lighting or the latest new gadget in professional photography. Another important thing to mention is that you have to communicate well how you like your product to look like, if you want to highlight some areas more than others, etc., etc.…My advise as a jewelry entrepreneur is do some research  before you call someone to do your professional product photo-shoot. I have done so much research about it that now I feel confident to share my ins and outs about shooting jewelry pieces.

Rui is so dedicated to what he does, that I totally trust his work and I know no matter what my pieces are going to have a professional look. The look I need as a professional jewelry designer.

My Nazca Jewelry collection has recently being photo-shoot again by Rui, take a sneak pick at it

 

If you are trying to take your jewelry business to the next level and want to bring it to high end boutiques, museums, fine art fairs and so on…don’t waist your time trying to make it yourself. It is more beneficial to invest your time in what you know best. In my case I rather use my time designing more beautiful jewelry pieces. In Spanish there is a phrase that says: AL CESAR LO QUE ES DEL CESAR = GIVE UNTO CESAR’S WHAT’S CESAR

Hasta pronto

Evelyn Brooks

Technorati Tags: Rui Barros Photography,Alvaro Luna,Evelyn Brooks Designs,Jewelry Photography,Jewelry Business Photography,Photograph Jewelry,Nazca lines,Nazca Jewelry

Caught On Camera for teaching ad campaign...

I’ve been teaching jewelry design classes at Montgomery College for a couple years now. I have to say it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences to teach people how to make jewelry. It’s therapeutic and gets your creative juices flowing. All you need to do is bring yourself !!  Please, trust me on this one I guarantee you’ll love it. And if you don’t want to take my word for it take a look at some of the shots I’ve taken of my students! With the pictures I’ve taken of my students and thanks to some tips from Entrepreneur magazine (I would be so lost without their trusted articles) I put together a video.

All I did was picked a topic…in this case it was the Jewelry Design Classes I teach, and used Windows Live Movie Maker to compose the pics together. It was easier than I thought! On the other hand, if you want to record a video, don’t psych yourself out. Be confident and press record. Practice, practice, practice so that you don’t  say “um” every other word, look directly into the camera lens, and address your topic of choice. Check mine out

I’m REALLY proud of my video. And hey, maybe next time you’ll see me putting up jewelry business tips on YouTube .

 

Yours truly,

Evelyn Brooks <3

WHY PROFESSIONAL FOLLOW UP IS SOOO IMPORTANT?

The wholesale shows have passed and the next ones aren’t happening until January/February, right? So what happens when you have clients that did not visit your booth at the recent wholesale shows or you simply have not heard from them.

You are probably wondering why? what happened? was my product good enough for their clientele?  and  did my product met their sales expectations? etc., etc.…One of the main things your have to find out is making sure they have received your information which means your new catalog, brochure, etc., etc.…

Don’t wait to find out that the post office did not deliver your wholesale catalog and that you lose an order because of that. That just happened to me. I was hoping to get an  order from a very important client BUT GUESS WHAT? my client never got my catalog and when I spoke with her she told me. I am really sorry because I already placed all my orders for the rest of this year. So please contact me back in January. OH WELL! maybe it wans;t my time BUT I was really upset. Although I learned a lesson. With your VIP’s make sure you mail your wholesale catalogs via certified mail.

Anyways…as the fall is coming and the weather is changing I can not just sit down and wait for calls to come in to get orders from my clients. So I am actively calling my clients to make sure they have received my wholesale catalog and if they want to place another order.

Following up is SO IMPORTANT! Don’t feel bad by calling and getting feedback on your product. Every time we learn something and don’t be afraid of hearing some constructive critic.

Surprisingly, few businesses actively follow up with their existing clients. This is a mistake. Your existing customers produce more sales at a lower cost to you. They already know and trust you.

If you follow up, it will help you to identify problems that customers had but didn’t complain about. This will allow you to resolve those problems and keep those customers. You are providing excellent customer service, and you will generate positive and ongoing word of mouth advertising about your company.

You can read  Word of Mouth Advertising for more on this subject.

Marketers tell us that it costs 5 - 8 times the amount of money to get a new customer than it does to keep an existing customer satisfied. Well, it’s true. Think of customer retention as pebbles rolling down a mountainside. Happy customers spread the word, and soon you can have an avalanche on your hands. Follow up is the key.  

Follow up works to build customer loyalty. It’s how you tell your customers that they are important. Research shows that 68% of customers that don’t return to a company say that the company never contacted them, was indifferent, or had a poor attitude. Sending your customers follow up letters is the solution.

And of course your competition is trying to win your customers. But you can beat them. A follow-up personal note is more powerful that a full page ad in the New York Times. If you invest in your customers, they will keep bringing – and sending – you business for life. No competitor will be able to win them away if you stay in contact and follow up with your customers.

For more information of Professional Follow Up

MY WORST TEACHER MADE ME A BETTER TEACHER?!

Oh yes I still think how it all  started?  It has been over two years of me teaching jewelry design, jewelry beading and answering a bunch of questions from young future designers or simply those who think of it as a business. Over the long run they realize is too hard and difficult to make it happen.

I have been invited to different presentations from for profit and  non profit organizations to share my experiences as a jewelry designer and business artist entrepreneur.                                                                                                                I remember volunteering my time to give a presentation for Empowered Women International, especially because this non profit helps immigrant artist through their Entrepreneurship Training Program to learn how to see themself as an artist but more importantly a BUSINESS ARTISTA.  I feel very compelled with their mission and the program. I came to this country without knowing how to introduce myself as an artist/jewelry designer, nor how to create a portfolio (now I have three different ones) and I learned that through that program I have also learned through perseverance and through other classes I have taken. We still make fun and joke about my 1st meeting with Mrs. Marga Fripp the director of Empowered Women International. She always says I remember Evelyn walking into their office/shop of Alexandria with a bag full of stones and even tools. All this to show Marga that I was a true artist who made her own jewelry. And YES I still giggle about that day and how I did my 1st introduction. Of course I will never go to any of my boutiques that now carry my jewelry line with my bag of huayuros and tools to introduce my new collection right?! But at that time I didn’t know what was best to do. Experience has given me confidence to present my work professionally and proudly.

Empowered Women International has open the doors of many inmigrant artists. Their histories have being featured in different social media, too. Above picture EWI artists, Marga Fripp (Director of EWINT) next to Evelyn Brooks

Time has given me confidence to present my work professionally and proudly.

I digress back to my teaching subject. I have lots to share and probably I will talk about it more than once. It is an honor for me to be recognized for my work as a teacher and recieve a diploma from the Montgomery College. WOW! It is an honor for me to be recognized for my work as a teacher and get a diploma from the Montgomery College….WOW!

If I teach is because there is a necessity and people are eager to learn something new, something that can be used for themselves or giving away as gifts or simply as a relaxing way to de'stress. My method is VERY DIFFERENT, there is no ice wall barrier in my class, everybody can participate, we laugh and chat. However, when I have to say CHICAS ESCUCHENME! THEY DO! I think working for United Airlines helped me a lot in given me so much knowledge about customer service. Immediately making them feel at easy. That you are there to assist them is key to success in any business venture. Do never make anybody feel bad.

One of my worst experiences I had as a student; was when I went to take a class at the Torpedo Factory. . I had such an awful and complex teacher. Three students dropped the class. Her social skills were abrasive. So rough, that one day I came back home and told my husband: Thank God I do not suffer from depression because after hearing what I heard I would have probably jumped out of the 10th floor. I stood still and tried to be so strong every time I went to that class. The teacher whenever I asked a question, she pretended did not understand what I asked and asked everybody in the class: can anybody translate what Evelyn had said? or simply will cut me off when I would ask a question. Until one day I told her: LET ME FINISH… and she did

I have had the pleasure of not seeing her again. I promised to myself if I ever teach, I would never trample on the imaginations of others. As a teacher your responsibility is to lift and raise the potential of others so that they may reach their full creative potential.

I am soooo proud with my advance group (students Lucia Goldman & Milagros Murga) how well they are working - GOOD JOB! (see pictures below)

I have more teaching experiences I can share . If you like to attend one of my classes – Please visit my link http://www.ebrooksdesigns.com/teaching.html, classes can be taught in Spanish and English