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 CREATING A COLLECTION THAT SELLS
IS AN ARTFORM!
By combining the right mixture of elements, you’ll be able to develop a solid,
cohesive collection that makes sense to buyers. Remember, this is essential
regardless if you are selling direct to consumer, in person, in your own retail store,
on your website, Etsy shop or to wholesalers who are reselling in their stores.

Learning how to tell a story with your work and to design pieces that merchandise
well together is what will make your pieces fly off the shelf!

Even established designers can get stuck on collection development because

finding the right balance for your brand is very personal. Whether you are a newer
designer or a designer who has been at it for awhile and just needs a refresher,
enjoy this resource.

We have a lot of information for you here:

• The first section is a summary of the key components of Creating

Collections that Sell
• The second section is a checklist and worksheet to help your creative design
juices flow!

Use these tools and get your work on more of your DREAM clients and raving fans
today!

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
 THE COHESIVE COLLECTION FORMULA
Creating collection that sell starts with developing a cohesive collection. There are
many factors involved in developing a cohesive collection. Using the framework
below will insure that you are developing a cohesive collection that sells.

Signature Style
At its foundation, creating your signature style just means telling your story. Where
do you find beauty? What inspires you? It is a story told in materials and motifs
such as color, stones, shapes, patterns, techniques, etc. It’s your overall design
aesthetic!

Your signature style is what will put you on the map as a designer, so you need to
define yourself before you put your jewelry out there. Your jewelry needs to be
original. If your product looks exactly like other products, you won’t stand out and
you’ll feel that in your sales.

The best way to stand out is to be innovative. Innovation comes in many forms. You
might try coming up with a proprietary production technique or maybe use your
jewelry to define a bold, new design aesthetic. If you can interpret some aspect of
the jewelry you design in a fresh and cohesive way, your signature style will shine
through.

Remember, that many of us have the same design “influences.” Defining your
signature style is YOUR interpretation of said influence. Go ahead and make it your
own.

Collections vs. Items

As an extension of developing your signature style, consider what “type” of
designer you are. Do your collections revolve around a single piece that sells in
multiple color-ways? Or are you designing a curated series of pieces that can be
worn together.

As you are developing your signature style, determine whether you are a collection
designer or an item designer.

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
Collection Designers typically develop collections that revolve around a statement
piece or a central piece, but there is a common thread that ties the pieces together.

When developing your collection, you should have a minimum of 12 pieces and we
actually recommend a minimum of 24 pieces for better exposure.

More is not necessarily more. Well developed collections that sell can have anything
from 12-150 skus (designs) depending on the brand.

Item Designers typically design collections that contain a single item that is
showcased in multiple color-ways. For instance, you might have your best selling
hoop earring that comes in 12 different colors.

If you are an item designer, you should design at least 12 different skus in your
collection (or main designs) and offer at least 4-6 color options (or more) for each.

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
One of a Kind Designer: You may also design one-of-a-kind work. You can still
utilize the concepts below to develop a collection. We would recommend following
guidelines as if you were a collection designer.

The Key Elements for Developing a Collection that Sells

Signature style and your collection “type” are just a few things to consider. To
create a collection that really sells, you will need to develop each of these key
elements:

The Statement Piece - Think of the grandest, brightest, most sparkly piece of
jewelry you have ever seen. That is an example of a statement piece. You statement
piece should be bold and eye-catching. It should catch the eye of every passerby.

Keep in mind, the statement piece is just for bait. These may not be your best
sellers. But, if designed well, the statement piece will be the piece that catches the
eye of your DREAM clients.

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
The Gateway Piece - Which of the pieces in your collection do you sell the most
of? Typically these are your Gateway pieces. The gateway pieces are the designs
that you are known for and your best-sellers.

The Gateway piece usually falls right in the middle of your collection’s price range.
If you have a hard time keeping a certain piece in stock, it's probably great for a
Gateway piece!

The Up-Sell or Add-ON Piece - The Up-Sell or the add-on pieces are the impulse
buys. They are on the bottom end of YOUR price range. They are great for
suggestive sells because your clients probably won’t even think twice before
dropping them into their shopping cart.

Regardless if you are a collection or item designer, you can utilize all of these
elements as you develop your collection.

Perceived value
Perceived value is the difference between the amount your customers are willing to
pay for your products and the price of their alternatives. This perception isn’t
dictated just by the value of the materials you use in your products. There are
countless intangible factors that help convince customers to shell out extra cash.
Here are a few:

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
 • the service you provide
• the originality of design
• the quality of the workmanship
• your proprietary techniques
• extra special details like packaging, thank you note, etc.
• additional value adders like your story, the process, etc.

What do you add to your jewelry line that increases the perceived value? What can
you do to add even more?

Pricing
Pricing is one of the most difficult things for a designer to grasp. Plus, there can be
a lot of fear surrounding it. If you underprice your work, you will be devaluing your
brand. If it is overpriced, you won’t make any sales.

It is tricky to find that sweet spot where you are pricing so that your jewelry sells,
yet also maintains the proper perceived value on the market, but it is important.
Your pricing sets the standard for your brand.

While there are many formulas for pricing (which we won’t go into detail about
here), there are a few factors that you must consider when pricing your jewelry:

Costs and Overhead:

Tally every expense that went into production such as, material costs, labor
(including your own), and overhead. Don’t overlook fringe expenses such as
packing materials or rep commissions.

Markup-Percentage:

You shouldn’t price your jewelry just to match your expenses, otherwise you won’t
be making any profit and your business will never grow! Add a reasonable, fixed
markup percentage to each piece. Remember to price for wholesale FIRST by at
least doubling your costs and labor then mark up for retail using a 2.5 % markup.

Collection Price Range:

Review your final price range with your DREAM client in mind. Your DREAM client
has a certain price range that they want to purchase their jewelry within. Everything

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
in your collection needs to fall within that range with the statement piece at the top
and the upsell pieces near the bottom.

Since pricing is so particular to the type of designer you are, we offer a much more
in depth analysis in several of the courses we offer including Laying the Foundation
and Mastering Wholesale.

Merchandising Your Collection for Sales

Previously in this resource, we explained all of the key elements of Creating
Collections that Sells.

There is one thing that we haven’t talked about directly yet and that is
merchandising. What do you think of when you hear the word merchandising in
relation to your jewelry?

Merchandising, or how your products are presented to the end or retail consumer
(AKA your DREAM Clients), is the one part of the process that designers often
forget.

It’s not enough just to design a few beautiful pieces and expect them to sell. It’s
MORE about how they work in relationship to each other. Your job as a designer is
to develop cohesive collections that lead a prospect to the sale.

Here is a great practice:

Once you’ve designed your beautiful jewelry, create a display of all of the pieces in
your collection. Essentially, merchandise them as if they were in a case at a trunk
show or at your favorite boutique.. Envision yourself as your DREAM client.

• Does the collection seem complete?

• Are there any elements that are light or missing: Statement, Gateway, Up-Sell
• Do you have enough pieces so that you create a story?
• Are there too many pieces?
• Does the price range make sense based on perceived value?
• Ask a friend who can be objective to give you constructive feedback

Regardless if you are selling your work to other retail stores to sell to you
(wholesale), direct to consumer in your own store, on your website or Etsy shop or
at in person trunk shows and markets, your collection needs to merchandise well
with the other pieces.

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
 EVALUATING YOUR COLLECTION
WORKSHEET AND CHECKLIST
Signature Style:
How would you describe your signature style?

What defines your signature style?

What makes sets your design aesthetic apart?

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
Collection Development Checklist and Questions:
Do I have a defined signature style?
Am I designing a collection, items or OOAK?
Is the collection fully developed?
Are there enough or too many units?
Is the perceived value in alignment with my price-points?
Is my collection priced correctly? Are the prices aligned with my DREAM
client?
Does my collection merchandise well and tell a story?
Is my collection cohesive?

Does your collection have the following key elements:

Statement Piece
Gateway Piece
Up-Sell Piece

Fine Tuning:
What can be added to make the collection more cohesive?
What can be taken away to make the collection more cohesive?
How is the collection being packaged?
Does my packaging add or takeaway value?

Pricing:
Have you priced for both wholesale and retail?
Does pricing match perceived value?
Is the price range of your collection reasonable for your DREAM client?

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
 COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT TIMELINES
Designers are always asking about how often they need to come up with new
collections. The Timeline for new collections depends on you, the designer, and
whether you classify your line as more of a gift store line or more of a jewelry store
line.

If you are a gift store line, you could probably get away with just two collections a
year - January and August. But if you are interested in being in the more fashion
side of things, we recommend 3 - 4 (and possibly 5) new collections per year.

The collections would be considered: Spring, Summer, Fall 1, Fall 2/Winter, and
Resort/Holiday

Here is how it breaks down:

Your Spring collection will start selling in January so this collection should be
completed in December.

Your Summer/Fall 1 collections will start selling in April and May so this collection
should be completed in March.

Your Fall 2/ Winter collection will start selling in August so this collection should
be completed in July.

Your Resort/Holiday collection will start selling in September so this collection

should be complete in August.

Meeting these deadlines is especially important for keeping up with seasonal trends.
Typically, these timelines coincide with the wholesale buying schedule and
tradeshows. Regardless of your business model, these are good timelines to stick
to.

If you are only designing two collections a year, your Spring collection should be
ready in January and your Fall collection should be ready in July.

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy
 JOIN THE CONVERSATION…
If you enjoyed this resource let us know via social media!

For even more about creating your collection, here are some more quick reads
from our blog:

• Collection Development Timelines

• Collection Development Tips for Maximum Holiday Sales

• 8 Crucial Components for Laying a Strong Foundation for Your Jewelry

Business

• When Does Drawing Inspiration Go Too Far

• 3 Things You Should Never Do When Designing Your Jewelry Collection

• Why the Way You Design Sets the Tone for Your Brand

This document is owned and distributed by Flourish & Thrive Academy. It may not be sold or
otherwise distributed without expressed written consent. | © 2014 | Flourish & Thrive Academy