Interview with Dianne Karg Baron Part 1

Wild Hearts EarringsI discovered Dianne Karg Baron during my recent adventures into wire work, and was immediately impressed by her designs. Keen to try incorporating what seemed like one of her easier techniques into my designs, I downloaded a tutorial, and was equally impressed by her attention to detail in the instructions. Clearly, Dianne's wire work design talent is matched by a talent for teaching - yet another skill which I am sadly lacking in. So, doubly eager to hear her tips I contacted her for The Jewelry Report interview.  If you are thinking about creating and selling your own tutorials online,  her answers below provide some great wisdom.

There is a trend for jewelers to share knowledge through tutorials. Do you think that this is a good second revenue stream for jewelers?
I think there is just as much work involved in marketing tutorials as there
is in marketing jewellery; the main difference is that in writing a
tutorial you do the writing once, and you can earn money from it multiple
times whereas with jewellery, you still have to produce each individual
piece.

The same issues that affect jewellery affect selling tutorials:
quality and originality. The quality of the writing and photography has to
be there, as well as the originality of the design.

Viking Knit TorusWhat do you like/ dislike about jewelry tutorials sharing designs?
There is a level of detail you can get from some of the tutorials that is
not possible in a design included in a book or a magazine. For example,
with my own tutorials, I am able to include little notes and tricks that
I've discovered. It's not unusual for one of my tutorials to have 40 to 60
steps.

Books and magazines want to pack in as many projects as possible.
Individual projects have only limited space, so the number of steps
that can be included is also limited. The sorts of projects that can be
included in these types of publications are simplistic and, to some degree,
repetitive, almost by default.

Some online tutorial sites also have a
restrictive format, which, although good for consistency of look, mean that
designers can't go into as much detail as they might like. Some really
original designs have been shared. That's very nice to see, but I've also
seen a lot of tutorials that teach bad technique, and that drives me crazy.

You are quite active in the online jewelry design community. How
important do you think it is to embrace online selling, promotion and
collaboration through platforms such as blogs, Twitter, Etsy and
forums?
I've had an online presence since 1998, and have participated extensively
in online forums. Until I started selling tutorials, I didn't really
embrace online selling and promotion. I'm relatively new to Etsy and
Twitter, so I'm still trying to find my way around there. It's a bit
overwhelming.

I think that you have to devote as much time to it as you
would running a bricks & mortar operation. The difference is you can do it
in your pajamas at 2:00 in the morning and you don't have to deal with
inclement weather blowing your displays away. It doesn't have the same
immediacy and personal connection that selling at a craft show has, and I
kind of miss that.

You can find more about Dianne Karg Baron at her websites:
www.wrapturewirejewellery.on.ca / www.wrapturetutorials.com /
DianneKargBaron.etsy.com / www.twitter.com/DianneKargBaron

Part Two of this interview will be published on Thursday, and deals with her thoughts and inspirations on making her jewelry.