We also visited The Market while we were in San Antonio. It is an indoor marketplace made up of all kinds of little shops selling imports mainly from Mexico and South America. The girls had $ burning a whole in their pockets, so Adriana bought a little coin purse and a little wooden box full of worry dolls from Guatemala. Isabella bought a stuffed Armadillo with a little purple bow on it's head. I picked up a couple of hand painted soap dishes, and my dad and husband both bought these woven hats. Arturo looks like Poncho Villa in his, and my dad looks like Panama Jack! I'm kicking myself now for not getting a picture of them wearing them!
The above pictures were part of a killer display at one of the shops. Mexicans use a lot of skulls and skeletons in their art as a remembrance to their ancestors.
There was a building in down town that had all of these poor miserable looking people built into it. The faces are just eerie, and the people look absolutely miserable, like they are responsible for holding up the weight of the building, and have been doing it for an eternity. I wish I knew more about the history of the architecture of the building. It was really interesting...
Between shopping in San Antonio, and in Fredricksburg, I saw a lot of hand crafted jewelry. It is interesting to step outside of the Etsy bubble and see what the rest of the world is doing jewelry wise. I've only ever sold my jewelry on-line, and have only done one art show. I've not even contemplated taking my jewelry to boutiques, or other places locally that may take consignments.
There were a couple of things that struck me while checking out retail jewelry. One, the prices were so high!!! One boutique had quite a few silver cuffs with stones and detail work that on Etsy would have sold for around $ 200 listed for $ 450. The other thing I noticed, and it could be just because I am used to the jewelry artists on Etsy, Etsy has so much more to offer. I saw store after store filled with jewelry that all had the same look. A lot of American South West designs. I grew up seeing these designs, to me they are not fresh. They are not updated, they aren't modern.
When I discovered Etsy just over a year ago, it really opened up a whole new world for me. Joining such a large marketplace, with so much to offer showed me things being done that I had never thought possible. Selling on Etsy really makes a person step up their game, create beyond their limits, do things they never thought possible. The way we all influence each other can be both good and bad. Influenced to the point of copying? Clearly not acceptable... but being pushed to create to the utmost of your abilities because you want to be at the top of the heap? I've seen amazing things because of this.....
Anyway, this post took a turn somewhere ;) So back to the prices of retail jewelry...are they out of line, or are we??????
I have been to shops in Fredricksburg and SanAntonio, too. I think they all look the same because they are all imported from the same place! Too sad. Very few are handcrafted. The pricing also may have something to do with both of these places being high tourist areas.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen anything like yours though! Your stuff is gorgeous and original!