How Do You Handle Jewelry Repairs?
Tuesday November 21, 2006
Repairing jewelry seems to be a constant topic on the jewelry making forum, so I recently wrote a new article about this topic with tips for dealing with your own jewelry repair issues. I also updated an older article I had that discussed an actual repair job I had to do once.Right now I've got three repair projects to tackle, and I've been very bad about getting them done. I just hate doing repairs!
What about you? Is repair work a pain? Do you try to avoid it too? Or, is it even a large part of your jewelry work at all?
Comments
I have this one person in my office who seems to love to bring me her jewelry repairs and they aren’t usually the run of the mill kind. She enjoys bringing me challenging ones thinking that I enjoy the challenge. I don’t like doing repair jobs and I have tried to get away from doing them with her by charging more thinking that she won’t want to spend the money. She doesn’t seem to take the hint or she will stop for a couple of months and then she is back again with another mess. Another way I have tried to dissuade her from giving me these re-dos is to take a while to get them done for her. She seems to be a constant customer with me and if she asks me to make a specific thing for her it is never a pricey job it is usually minimal. It is frustrating at times!!
I have people bring me things all the time. My most frustrating one lately, a friend’s mom asked if I could fix a pair she had just bought. She bought it from a vendor after passing through MY booth at a craft show. ummmm, ok, I’ll charge her, and it really isn’t a big deal, but she and her older daughter passed right through my booth without much of a glance.
I do the repairs, but mostly my own work. Only on special cases do I repair someone else’s work.
I actually like doing repairs, especially when something has to be changed altogether because parts have gone missing. (Hopefully not what I have made). I expect though if I spent hours each day making new jewellery, I probably wouldn’t have so much patience for repairs just like your other readers.
I enjoy doing repairs most of the time and purposefully buy vintage costume items that need repair. I love the challenge of finding the right stones or findings to bring a damaged piece back to life! I’ve expanded my hobby and now do work for some dealers, but don’t charge much more than cost recovery. I know I could never make a living at it so can understand why those who make jewellery professionally don’t want to do repairs. The one thing I don’t really like is redoing hand knotted beads or pearls, as it’s difficult to do quickly and accurately when you don’t do it frequently. Having to undo knots is very frustrating!
If it is a unique repair, it is even more fun. Helps me get ideas for my next work.
I am still rather a novice, so I encourage people to whom I have gifted jewelry to return anything that falls apart! It is very humbling and not-so-fun, but a terrific learning experience–so maybe someday if I ever sell any I will have some better experience!
I like to repair jewelry. However, I often do it for free or for a favor. I just feel bad because my customers are my friends and why should i charge my friends right?
I don’t mind doing repairs or restringing because if I do a good job, sometimes it brings in more business, especially after they see the quality of my work.
I feel like Susan. My customers are so happy that I will restring, repair, or change pierced to clips that they buy my finished pieces as well. Sometimes that’s how I get a new customer or keep old ones. Charging a little less than the jewelry stores for repairs is a good business for me.
And to Linda, have you found an awl? It’s inexpensive and helps with knots. Also, I use it for many things where I need a sharp fine point.
Most of my time is spent as a lapidary. I don’t get (take) as much time as I would like to work with jewelry. When I am able to do some simple repair work on jewelry, I enjoy it even though I have had no training in jewelry repair. I just try to look at what needs fixed or changed and try to think of a way to do it. I learn new techniques: some work and some don’t. Most of what I have worked with is sterling silver and not gold.
I despise repair work! I have little enough time and energy to create jewelry so I resent making repairs. I’ve only ever had to make one repair to a piece I made myself, but family and friends who find out that I make jewelry automatically assume that I’ll do repairs - and they expect me to do the repairs for free! Most of the repairs are to cheap pieces (some of them downright ugly, even accounting for differences in taste). I really wish that I’d never found a stone to replace a missing one in a pin owned by one of my sister’s work colleagues, because my sister has been bringing me all the junk jewelry from her office pals to fix - and only one woman has offered to pay for the repairs! Like Shellz, I’ve tried discouraging this by taking forever to do repairs, but it hasn’t worked. When I told my sister that I had to charge for materials, she paid for the materials herself - refusing to ask for the money from her friends! And not a single person in that office has bought a piece of my jewelry, even though they’ve admired the jewelry I’ve made for my sister over the years. I recently put my sister on notice that I won’t be doing any repairs other than to pieces I’ve made myself, and even though I explained why, she acted miffed about it. As for other family members, I’m sure Thanksgiving will bring another few repair requests, and I’d love to just say no….
I feel off and on about repairs. I love them until somebody hands me something that was put together in a way I would not have chosen myself. Then it’s hard because they ask you to go ahead and use the same style, and you have to just grin and bear it. Oh well. My favorite repairs are the ones where they say, “Do whatever you want to it!” All right, if you say so…
Repair work is ok. I have only been beading for a year & just started selling my jewelry. I have done a lot of repair work for a co-worker. She won’t take it back to the person who made the jewelry. The repairs have paid off because she has noticed the quality of my work & just placed a big order.
I don’t mind making repairs on other people’s things. I usually do little ones for free, esp friends and if it helps get someone interested in my things….but if it isn’t a friend, I may cahrge a little , I usually charge $5.00 as long as it isn’t a difficult one. It is interesting to me to fix someone elses things, I can see different styles of work…I am really picky about making sure my things won’t come aprt and used to take it hard when someone brought something back just recently. but , like Tammy told me once, hey, we make jewery not tables that are expected to last forever!by the way, repairs on my work are free…
I don’t like doing repairs. I definitely charge just as I would an order. I don’t like repairs because there is no creativity in it. I’m just fixing someone elses work! Maybe that’s why others may not like it as well…
I’m another one who doesn’t like doing repairs but understands that they often lead to future purchases. I have started putting a labor charge in after doing repairs for free. The frustrating part is people who buy junk jewelry, it breaks, you fix it, it breaks again somewhere else, and they want you to fix it again!!
I would rather get a root canal than fix other peoples jewelry. I make jewelry for the creativity. I hate to even re-string stuff, but that is a necessary evil to make stuff fit appropriately. I say charge them out the wazoo, or just say…I no longer repair jewelry…but you might try calling XYZ jewelers.
Repairs are one of my least favorite things to do. I’ll send mine off to the folks who don’t mind doing them!!
I will fix my own pieces for free, unless it’s obvious that a break or issue is due to abusive wear. Even then, if it’s a close friend, I’ll fix it for free, but “counsel” the person on how to care for the piece.
Other people’s work, or manufactured pieces…I’ll do it if it’s within my realm of expertise - there have been times when I’ve advised someone to go to a jewelry shop because I just don’t have the skills or won’t take a chance on something I can’t recreate.
Hate redoing work that was subpar to begin with, but when I do, I make sure I point out to the person who owns it how I “improved” their piece by using better materials (such as stringing materials or crimps.)
I’m also one of those who does not like to do repair work. I explain that I am not in the repair business but if it is a simple or easy repair I will do it but only after examining the piece. That way I can deline those “junk jewelry” items that might be made out of silver mystery metal. As a silversmith, I have had the experience of attempting to repair a “sterling silver” piece only to have it melt at a very low temperature.
It depends on the job. Most of the time I am happy to do repairs, but if I see it was badly made I always say no, and explain why I refuse to do it. Most people have been good about it. If it’s an easy repair I often do it for free for friends, but if it’s going to cost me for extra bits, or takes a lot of time I will charge something for it.
I hate jewelry repairs and find I’m angry with myself when I agree to do it. For a restring I charged $10 but felt guilty. The last repair request was for a triple strung bracelet that the person wanted changed from elastic to a toggle. It had separators plus a pattern to follow. She told me initially she had a “project” for me. I don’t want anyone else’s projects. I want to make my own things. So now I’ve decided to direct the person to the local bead store that restrings. I thing these people think we don’t have better things to do with our time like make our own!!!!! How do you feel about people who change their minds about what they ordered from you? This last person “told” me what she wanted. I remade it because it was too small for her wrist. Now she decided she wants assorted colored crystals. Is it me or do people grate on your nerves?
When I help out at the homes, I’m often asked to repair vintage pieces of jewellery, I’ll say no, if it involves soldering, but any type of beadwork is fine and I have taught myself to knot pearls recently.
I usually have a couple of repairs to do every week and occasionally someone will come in and say, “I’m bored with this will you help me make it into something else?” - those pieces are always good fun to do.
With my own work I try to make my pieces as durable as I can and I’m very fussy about my finishing,but, when I first started a few pieces came back to be repaired, because my techniques were not quite there at that time.
love, Jan
I am thankful for every single repair job I take in… except the dreaded restring on pearls. I would rather hit my head on the corner of a brick building, repeatedly, rather than restring pearls.
I love fixing someone elses mistake and pointing out to my customer that so many folks who sell jewelry do not know the professional way to make it. I charge $10 per hour plus retail on materials. During the slow season I am happy to have the projects to supplement regular sales.
**Secret “sell-up” tip: If I am restringing a necklace, I make a matching pair of earrings to offer the customer at the time they pick up the repair job. If they choose not to buy them, I simply ad them to the finished stock in the bead shop.
Thanks for the opportunity to share
LLW