Hosting Home Parties- Focus On Jewelry Parties

If you have ever been to any kind of home party you know how much fun they can be. Let me reference some home party based companies: Tupperware, Pampered Chef and Mary Kay- just to name a few. The basis for all of these is a gathering of people (mostly women) at the home of a hostess to sell a product. The product we are discussing today is YOUR goods. Specifically your own handmade jewelry. Home parties are a perfect way to sell your handmade goods. During a jewelry party your product will be the center of attention, with no competition. This is why at home parties are the cornerstone of many direct selling product lines. Just think of your average sale price and multiply that by how many people you expect to come to your party. My most popular item is my sterling silver stackable band rings, their cost is $28. Say if I were to invite 20 people to my at home party and 15 people showed; if each person orders AT LEAST a set of those rings. If you did the math that would be a pretty decent amount for 3 hours of hanging out with the ladies.

The first step would be to choose a place to have your party. You can host your party at your own place or you can have a friend host one for you. (More on hostess gifts later.) To get the word out make sure you send an evite to anyone who has an email address a month or so before the event so they are well warned to save the date! Send your invitations a week later; This time line is especially important with the holidays coming. You can make your own invitations from a prefab invitation, have some custom made on etsy or even have some nice glossy ones made from a place like vistaprint. Postcards are good for invitations, or you can choose to use a more traditional card if you wish. Make sure to include a link from your online store or website so your guests can get a general idea of what type of product you sell as well as your pricing.

How much jewelry should you bring? Well that’s up to you. If you have ‘line’ of a certain number of items I would say to bring the entire thing! If your items are made to order, make sure people are aware of the amount of time it will take you to fill those orders, (more on that later). If you are planning on selling one of a kind items or items people will be able to buy and take home that night I would say abut 2-3 items per person. So if you’re expecting 10 people bring 20-30 items with you. Just a side note, ‘cash and carry’ is really what people prefer at these parties. If they see something they want to be able to have it in their hands right then and there, they don’t want to wait a week to have another made for them. For me personally I would bring a mix of items. For example I would bring items like necklaces and earrings that people could buy that night and my rings in the most popular sizes. (6,7,8) Then take orders on them if they are needed in any other sizes. Make sure you bring your boxes, bows and bags with you so everyone can take home their ‘present’ and it will feel really special.

Stay tuned for part 2 next week- Including refreshments, set up, what to do afterward and booking more parties!

About the author: I'm Julia Catherine from Julia Catherine Jewelry. I live and work in NJ, im very familiar with all aspects of jewelry creation, sales and even repair. I enjoy creating new jewelry items in my spare time and also work as a jeweler as my day job. My specialty in SASsy is listing creation and tagging, but am willing to give help in all aspects of etsy!