One of Salt Spring’s favourite annual fundraisers is just around the corner, which means as you read this story, all hands are on deck getting mountains of used books and jewellery ready for sale at the Farmers’ Institute.
This year’s Books & Bling Salt Spring Literacy (SSL) event runs Friday through Sunday, Nov. 7 to 9, with a SSL members’ preview on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 6. Donations can be brought to the Farmers’ Institute on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Last Thursday most members of the Bling team were deeply immersed in a pricing session, which saw numerous items laid out on the table and suggested prices bandied about, with as much information as possible about each piece shared in the process. If something didn’t sell at a certain level last year, lowering the price was discussed.
Nancy Gerrish heads the Bling committee and is also a SSL board member. She explained how the first thing committee members do when sorting through donations is to take out any gold, silver or special pieces valued at more than $40 for the “black velvet table.” Bags of earrings, rings, necklaces and bracelets are then created, and each item priced.
“Because silver has gone up so much in price, the starting point is weight, and then you add on things like ‘how intricate is the design?’ And then, ‘are there any stones as part of that piece?’” she said.
Prices for 925 (North American labelling), sterling and Mexican silver are looked up and used accordingly.
“So that just gives you a sense that we do a lot of comparatives,” said Gerrish.
“It’s a long process, but we have really good results,” said Ann Matheson, who is in her second year on the committee. “We’ve had a lot of good donations this year.”
Wendy Vine has volunteered with the Bling part of the fundraiser since its inception 10 years ago. The event was initiated by former SSL board member Pat Campbell, who had witnessed the popularity of a used jewellery sale at a U.S. literacy event she attended. The book sale had already been running for several years at that point.
Gerrish said Vine spends many hours cleaning the jewellery — including tarnished silver pieces — and looking up comparable items on sites such as Etsy and eBay to get a sense of their value.
“Haunting” jewellery stores and galleries to get pricing information is also done for research purposes, she said, and as much information as possible is provided for special pieces.
Jenny Meyer is a volunteer who repairs damaged items, or takes them apart for beading supplies if a repair cannot be done. Gerrish notes that the sale has a huge number of beads this year, in part due to a former jewellery maker’s donations.
Meyer is also somewhat of a children’s jewellery expert, developed over her time as a volunteer, and an entire table is now devoted to bling for younger shoppers.
“Jenny said it started out as a bowl with things priced at 25 cents,” said Gerrish, adding that the range is now from a quarter to $4. “It’s a fun table, and the kids and parents make a beeline for it.”
“Most of the women have been involved in the jewellery sale for many years,” said Cheryl Roehlig, who has been the Books & Bling coordinator for four events now. “So year after year, you gain a little bit more knowledge of what is sellable, especially with the designer pieces. There’s a dedication here that doesn’t just last for one event, it’s over a series of years, which goes for the books as well.”
Roehlig said SSL is extremely grateful to the many volunteers who participate in Books & Bling, as well as the sponsors. More volunteers are always welcomed. See saltspringliteracy.org/books-and-bling for sign-up info. People wanting to donate books to the sale should first read the list of criteria in the same spot.
SSL Society memberships may be purchased at the door of the Nov. 6 preview event.