Our local "handmade" craft shows have really turned into a venue for people selling Cookie Lee
jewelry and other purchased items.

Who the hell is cookie lee and what makes her jewelry better than mine or any of your jewelry?
Yeah, that fu*ked up thinking really ****es me off. Even though my jewelry is made with REAL gem
stones and pearls and REAL Sterling SILVER, they'd rather go and buy this cheaply made, plated,
fake, crappy cookie cutter junky stuff. I just don't get it!

Ha - can you tell I get real emotional about this subject? The next time you are in Nordstrom's,
take a trip through the jewelry dept and you will be amazed at what you see and the price they are
selling this crap for. I mean, who wants to pay $40.00 for one of my handcrafted bracelets (made
of course with real gems, pearls, and sterling) when they could buy some "designer's" crapy
creation? Look at Silpada...... another cookie lee type home jewelry business. Yeah, they got
some nice looking stuff, but their prices are outrageous; especially since I can make 80% of the
offered Silpada jewelry items and bust the price to a fraction of what they charge and still make a
very nice profit. Can you say "way over-inflated markup" ?? The kicker to all this is that if I
made the exact same bracelet that is found in a Silpada catalog, and put the exact same price on it
that Silpada has on theirs, do you think mine would sell for that price? Figure the odds!

So, why is pre-manufactured cookie cutter jewelry more sought after than the unique, custom designed
and individually handcrafted jewelry that we make??
Here is another thing that makes me mad!! Why do people think they can negotiate with you on the
price of your jewelry but wouldn't dream of trying to negotiate the price of the pre-manufactured
cookie cutter jewelry? Is it because we are the artists, designers, manufacturers, purchasing
agents, advertisers, publishers, and sellers of our own jewelry? Oh, and lets not forget chief
cook and bottle washers too. If that were the case, then we should be able to totally inflate our
prices to compensate for all the hats we wear.


Gawd, I look back at what I just wrote and you'd think I was bitter. Me? Bitter? Naaaaaaaaa, just
a little put off, but will it keep me from making and selling my own jewelry? NOPE! I'm sill
stringing and crimping and putting price tags on all the stuff I make. Some day, maybe I'll be able
to over-inflate my markup and make some real cash and perhaps a name. Till then, I am just another
starving ARTIST just like all yous guys.

Thanks for letting me rant,


Sterling