Make it and Take it

Sandy Paluzzi
The Bead Peddler

Last April, I went to a craft fair that was rife with jewelers.  It seemed like every other vendor was selling jewelry.  Sales were slow that day and many vendors were crying.  However, one vendor was doing exceptionally well.  She had her ready made jewelry on display.  She also had little baggies containing two beads.  For 7.50 a pair, people could pick out a pair of beads and make their own earrings.  Customers were standing in line.  Kids loved to make the earrings as Mother's Day gifts.  Teenagers loved 'designing' their own earrings.  This vendor, Stephanie, had set up a card table with a chair on 3 ends.  She had her earwires all set to go.  The customers picked through the beads and chose their own.  They put them on the headpins and Stephanie patiently showed them how to form a loop with round nose pliers and attach the dangles to the fishhooks.  She usually corrected the shape of the loops before having her customer attach them to the earwires.  Now this way of selling takes much more patience than I have but Stephanie is a born teacher and loved working with her customers.

With the advent of Pandora  and Pandora style bracelets, you can also have a 'make it and take it' table without needing Stephanie's patience. Lay out your Pandora style beads by size, putting glass beads in one bin, metal in another and stopper beads in yet a third bin.  Display your bracelets to the side of the beads.  Charge a base price for the bracelet and charge by the bead.  Or charge one price for the bracelet and  the customer's choice of 5 beads.  Extra beads cost extra money.  There are a lot of ways to work the bracelet/bead mix.  What makes this an ideal make it and take it project is that it does not require the customer to use any special skills.    Even the very young can push beads onto the bracelet (WARNING: Make sure there is no lead in the beads if the child making the bracelet is under 9). 

There are all kinds of variations on the make it and take it theme.  Let people combine glass pendants and silk neck chains.  String beads on a leather bracelet and tie it around a teenager's wrist.  The list is probably as endless as your imagination. 

But the key components are that the project can be easily made and the customer is given a choice.  Depending on the project you chose, make it and take its would do extremely well at school fairs, kids birthday parties or girl's night in.

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