If you've read my journal you know I'm learning to make jewelry.
It's an expensive hobby but I'm hoping to be able to retire early and switch careers to one I'll enjoy more.
I need more practice but copper, bronze, silver and gold (especially gold!) is expensive!
I'm looking for a way to practice on someone else's nickel and I know that all of you want to save a buck, too!
So, if you need rings, pendants, brooches, etc., I'm willing to make them for the cost of the materials and the shipping.
Here's the deal.
1. You tell me what kind of item you want and approximately what size you want it to be. I'll work with you on that, particularly for ring sizes.
2. You tell me things you like or anything else you think is pertinent to helping me get inspired with a design you'll love and cherish.
3. I'll figure out what the cost of the materials will be and we'll agree on that. If it's too rich for my blood, I'll decline to continue, because I've got most of the risk.
4. I'll buy the materials, make the item to my satisfaction, and send you a photo of it.
5. If you like it, you'll pay by paypal and I'll mail it to you. Paypal gives you plenty of protection, probably more than me.
6. If you don't like the item in the photo, you can tell me to forget about it, or ask me to try again. If I don't think you're a pita, I'll probably do so. If I do think you're a pita, or I'm just too darn busy to try again, I'll tell you I'm too darn busy to try again. Unless you're a rude pita, in which case I'll tell you to get lost.
7. The item will be done when it's done. I have a day job and an ailing mom and a loving family. This is an unpaid hobby, it comes after all that. Plus I'm a student. It might take me a dozen tries before I get it done to a level of quality that satisfies me. If you've got to get something by a particular date this is the wrong way to go about meeting that need.
8. If you don't like the quality of my work, you can pay shipping and insurance and send it back for a full refund.
9. You acknowledge that I've been forthright and stated that I'm a student, not a master jeweler. You acknowledge that you accept the terms and timelines listed here.
10. That means you can't hold me to a master jeweler's standard. If my work isn't to the level of quality that you wanted and that gives you some emotional trauma, you acknowledge that it's your fucking problem you're a wuss. If it gives someone you care about some emotional trauma, you acknowledge your a fucking moron for hanging out with someone like that and that makes it your problem, too. Either way, you agree that returning the item via an insured common carrier, signature required; and receiving a full refund is your only redress for not liking the work I did for you. Since this is an audience that doesn't mind a bit of cursing and plain talking, I thought it best to just be blunt and plain spoken.
11. You agree you'll never divulge the price you paid for the item, just that you got a student and MMM discount. I'll supply you with a proper retail price that you can divulge. And yes, that price will be a lot more than you paid for it because you won't be paying for my labor, or my profit, or my overhead, or the markup to cover the cost of paying for expensive materials before I get any money to reimburse me.
PS - Designs with diamonds, rubies, sapphires or large sized items out of gold will almost certainly be too expensive for me to sell this way.
