When deciding to make a production line of your artisan jewelry, an important consideration is whether your line will be unlimited or limited.

You may want to start out with an unlimited line, making as many copies of a piece as you can, especially if the design strikes a chord with buyers and sales are very good. However, depending on where you’re selling the pieces—say a department store chain or catalog—you can end up investing a lot of time in the making, and a lot of money in materials and supplies. If your market research is faulty, your timing is bad, sales are not as good as expected, or the selling venue stops carrying your line unexpectedly, you’ve lost that time and money.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada, jewelry artist Kari Woo’s first cast line lasted for 10 years. Although Woo’s line ran a long time, her venues were small–shows, boutiques, and galleries. While she did have money and time tied up in the product she needed to have on display at these venues, she only had to stock a relatively small number of pieces at a time. The investment was worth it for Woo. The production line introduced her work and her signature style to many people. As her customers became more affluent, they often returned to her for custom work, knowing they liked her style and trusted her craftsmanship.

While Woo’s work was unlimited in time, Kerin Rose, in Burlington, Vermont, has made work unlimited in numbers. Working with lifestyle catalogs that can demand unlimited production runs of thousands, Rose had to be prepared to deliver hundreds of pieces on the catalog’s schedule, and had a great deal of time and material invested in her line. Although the sales potential was excellent, if catalog sales fell, and the catalog cancelled the order, she faced the risk of being left with hundreds of pieces—or more—with no market. To cope with this possibility, artists who work with catalogs or large department stores may try to make work that can be sold in other venues. Rose works in silver which she can melt down and re-use, if necessary, although her time is completely lost.

Woo’s work was relatively low production. She made the pieces on her own and only in the numbers she needed. Rose’s line was high production, making pieces in the thousands. High production lines may have other considerations. You may need to hire help–from unskilled help who can help tag, package and ship work, to skilled workers (trained by you) who polish, fabricate, saw, or set. Artists commonly hire casting companies to cast waxes and return the pieces either semi-finished or completely finished. These extra costs must be considered.

There is another risk to high production: repetitive stress injuries (RSIs)–injuries that occur as the result of doing the same task over and over again. RSIs can cripple an artist for months or even permanently. When working high production, talk to other artists and, if necessary, get advice from an occupational therapist on the best working methods to use to prolong your working life.

The high upfront costs, the financial and physical risks, and what can become drudgery are the reason most jewelry artists avoid high production.

You can choose to limit your production either by number of pieces—you only make so many–or time—the work is available only for a month, a year, a season. You may limit the line because the materials in the pieces are limited in number: Perhaps you are setting your line with ancient coins—when they’re gone, the line is done. For most artists, the downside of a large production line is heavily outweighed by the benefits of limiting production:

• Gentle sales pressure: The customer knows that the same product may not be available in the future, and so has an incentive to buy now.
• Avoids oversaturation: Limited production keeps your inventory fresh. There is always something new for customers to see.
• Increases repeat business Limited production means you always have something new to show. Customers have a reason to come back and see what’s new—and buy it.
• Keeps artist interest high: It’s not only the buyer who wants something new. Limited production keeps the artist interested in the work, too.
• Flexibility: Limited production gives you more flexibility to change or refresh your line if you find something isn’t working, or you get a better idea. Perhaps the profit is there, but low because some aspect of manufacturing takes too much time. When the line runs out, introduce something new.
• Higher prices: Because production is limited, you can set a somewhat higher price for the work than you can for unlimited production. Rhonda Coryell’s collection of gold and diamonds overlaid on ancient bronze bracelets was limited by the fact that the bronze bracelets would never be available again. She was able to charge accordingly.

If you limit your production, though, and suddenly the line is selling out, don’t cheat the customers who have already purchased the work thinking it is in short supply by issuing more pieces. It’s tempting, but can hurt your reputation for credibility.

Unlimited or limited production? Which suits your market and your business plan the best?