Spacer Bead Prices

   After a full long day in the garden yesterday I've gained enough credit points to spend a few  hours playing with silver glass in my studio followed by a good cycle through the local drove roads, I can't think of a better way to spend a sun filled spring Sunday. As I grow older I realize just how much the turning of the seasons can effect us, for me the cold winters working in my barn studio seem to extend each year and the arrival of the warmer weather becomes a greater pleasure, of course it's more likely just old age that longs for the heat, either way it certainly puts a spring in my step.

   I had a nice message from a customer this week regarding the price of my spacer beads in the Etsy shop, she mentioned how much she had paid in the past to other bead makers for their spacers and couldn't believe what great value my beads were. I explained that the prices some charge for simple spacer beads had always been a bugbear for me and promised I would post my reasons why here on the blog. Having been a bead maker now for many years I have seen, met and known of many kinds of bead maker, I've seen them come and go and I've witnessed prices that range from great to unbelievable and none more so than with spacer beads. Now before I go on I have to say the prices that people place on their beads is completely up to them, if they believe their beads are of such a fantastic high standard then I guess they have every right to price them as such, but when it comes to the simple spacer bead then my thoughts are very different.
    A spacer bead is I guess the most basic of beads though some good jewellery designers know they are also a very important part of bead jewellery, they are the base to some wonderful pieces when used correctly and as a bead maker I know that to make spacer beads is probably the easiest of jobs and can take seconds rather than minutes, so why some makers charge what can only be called ridiculously high prices for them I do not know.  In just half an hour searching for lampwork spacer beads online I have found prices that range from a sensible £3.99 for ten beads up to the outrageously high price of £7.50 for just six beads, these prices do not include the postage, which I must add can be morally unacceptable too. I have even seen some claiming their spacer beads are replicas of ancient or medieval beads, come on, who the hell are you kidding, they are bloody spacer beads, no more no less!
   Now when I was attending bead fairs around the country I was often told by other bead makers how sales had dropped and people were using imported seed beds from India, China etc rather than lampwork spacers and my answer was always the same, price spacer beads at a reasonable price and more people will use British made beads. As you can imagine to some this went down like a lead balloon, their beads priced low, "oh no, I'm not doing that".
   This is the way I feel, by selling your spacer beads at reasonable prices you do two things, firstly it means your customers can afford to use your spacer beads and still have the money to buy focal beads or main bead sets, letting them complete whole jewellery pieces without breaking the bank. Secondly and more importantly by selling your spacers at sensible prices means more new people can afford to start using handmade lampwork beads, even the young can afford to start using British beads in their jewellery, now how can that be wrong, why on earth would I want to out price half the population, that's no way to gain more users of our beads.

   So, to the lady who messaged me, thank you for your kind words and I promise my spacer beads will stay at realistic prices and to those bead snobs who charge silly prices for the common spacer, stop moaning about sales going down when you know the answer, sensibly priced spacers can lead to more sales and more people using our lovely British made lampwork beads