Wine Glass Charms

[LynnK]

Hi everyone...I'm getting ready for craft fairs this fall - have 5 scheduled - and I'm trying to find a good way to package my wine glass charms for display.

Previous years I have used bracelet boxes (white 2x8 cotton stuffed) but they are expensive and I'm running out of them.  

I saw the post about using CD jewel cases, and while I think it's a great idea, many of my charms are 3D and wouldn't fit.

Any ideas?  I appreciate any thoughts at all!!!

[Metalman]

We all wrestle with this end of selling.  Some of the answer depends on your price bracket.  With higher end charms or anything else, the customer/client expects a quality box, which they will probably keep your work in for posterity - If you can afford it then you want a box/container that reflects well on you, your design  and your company.  You can easily be spending $1.00 to $5.00 per container.  Does the cost of your work cover this marketing aspect?
Other solutions might be origami containers you make up yourself while you are sitting at a show; or tent cards you make up on your home computer and print on select stationary from your scrapbook supplier; or '>
A long decorated or decorative piece of card stock with holes so the charms can hang, fitted to an envelope or a standard jewelry box sounds pretty good to me.

[LynnK]

Thanks for the ideas!

I have thought of card stock, but none of it seems heavy enough to hang on a peg hook.  I might try the table tent idea, however.

[Metalman]

Last time I was looking for card stock I ended on the internet ordering direct from a paper manufacturer in Wisconsin - but I got some great stuff.  I would highly recommend a browse through a scrap booking store.  They have a lot of odd card stock and other materials which may fit the ticket.

[LynnK]

Well, here's what I came up with as an experiment....it appears to work, although for anyone who has hundreds of WGC, it may be a little cumbersome.

I found some place cards (at Shopko, but I'm sure any office supplier would have them as well) - these were for weddings, so they have a nice irridescent border.  Printed "Wine Glass Charms" on them, then glued the two sides together to make one super-strong card.  I then used a template (which I made myself on a sticky note '>) to determine where to punch 4-6 holes in the bottom of the card.  The charms hang nicely, and do look presentable and professional on a table.

If a hangtag were attached or another hole punched in the top, they could also be hung on a display.

[Luann Udell]

I would like to add another source for cardstock I rarely see referenced, and that is your local print shops!

They often have leftover sheets of cardstock from other printing jobs, or can special order any color or weight you want from their sample books.  One print shop even went down into their basement, pulled out boxes of leftover cardstock and cut it down to size for me!!  They charged me a minor amount for the cardstock and the cutting fee which came to peanuts.  They were happy to find a home for it!  I was teaching workshops at the time on rubberstamping, so they cut postcards, bookmarks and greeting card sizes.  

Even if they don't have scraps you like, I've found that ordering cardstock directly through the printer is much, much cheaper than any other source I've researched (unless you are fortunate enough to live close to those odd lot paper stores...)  It's even cheaper if you order the larger sheets and have it cut down to your desired sizes.  A good printer can do all the calculations for you, letting you know what the most economical cuts are and where the most economical price breaks are.  

BTW, you can also order sticky back label paper from them, too, in a wide variety of colors.

If you decide not to go the card route, another suggestion that might work for you would be to buy those inexpensive silk pouches (in bulk they often get down to 10 cents each).  You could make a display board for your charm styles or samples of your sets, then color-code the pouches to each style.  I see Rings 'n' Things has the drawstring velvet bags, and places like Rio Grande have the silk pouches, as do many other display & packaging suppliers.

I mention this because this summer, I used up a box of small velvet bags I'd bought on sale somewhere, and customers LOVED them!  I wish I'd bought a thousand...  It was just different from the usual box, was sort of already "gift wrapped", and was much cheaper even than my jewelry boxes.  Organza bags might work, too, though they get pricier.
hope this helps,
Luann