Chandelier earrings have seemed since I started my Etsy shop to just be not worth the effort. They consistently get lower views than similarly tagged earrings in other styles, I've never sold a pair, and they are actually harder and more repetitive to make than even many-tiered drops.
Available here.
The wholesaler I use is having a sale on a bunch of Swarovski stuff and I ordered some of their silver-plated pewter findings, but found myself hesitating over the chandelier findings. "Chelsea," I said to myself, "these are the best deal they have. Chandelier plus post plus clutch. If you're trying to get the most for your money this is what you should be doing."
Then I said to myself, "But it's foolish to throw good money after bad getting things that won't sell. And the likelihood of someone requesting a pair of chandelier earrings, let alone a single pair in the specific color you're getting, is apparently slim."
Then I said to myself, "I need to stop talking to myself. It alarms Megan if I do it too often or earnestly."
So really, which is worse? Passing up a pretty good opportunity to get discount supplies -- or getting supplies that I know are slow sellers?
The pair above was for the wedding collection, mind you, and wedding jewelry sort of across the board seems to be largely the same stuff so I felt obligated to have some "classic" boring pieces. I don't think they're especially boring, though, and I'm really proud of the photo, where the slightly darker clay sets off the rainbow effect of the AB crystal quite well for this neat sort of carnival effect. Still, they were meant as a complement, not a showpiece. This pair was more intended for actual, y'know, coolness, sort of a Steampunk Atlantean feel:
Available here.
Possibly the slow selling is because people are highly aware that anonymous chandelier earrings are a staple of the cheap import fashion jewelry market and the look can be gotten for a lot less -- for which I can't blame people at all. It's a little ludicrous to try to compete with dollar-a-pair outfits at their own game, and the look has to be significantly different for jewelry to not be a futile market. The look has to be different (unexpected bead and finding choices); the quality has to be higher (I wire-wrap the elements together, because that's a whole lot of a small, fine-gauge jump rings to put so much trust in and wire-wrapping is much more secure).
I did take the trouble to list another set this week, because I've had these forty-year-old curtain rings in my hardware box for ages, then found that it is remarkable how much grey transparent glass will take on the tones of the metal it's nearest:
Available here.
Still, ones like the second photo seem like they ought to be going better than they do ... which leads me back to my original question. Is it just that I'm the only one who wears chandelier earrings anymore?
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