Becoming a Fashion Jewelry Entrepreneur: Trends, Design, and Budgeting

Abstract

In this lesson, learners will use creativity as they think about future business decisions and activities. Students are asked to create a budget and calculate the price points of different jewelry pieces. Targeted skills for this lesson include: career, life, entrepreneurship, and employability. The learners will describe five modern trends of fashion jewelry in the region, country and worldwide, calculate the price point, and design an original piece of jewelry. This lesson was designed for one, sixty-minute, class period but can be adjusted.  The learners in this lesson are presumed to be young women or men, ages 15-18, in a secondary classroom. The lesson can be a part of math, art, or business courses. Significantly, the author licensed this lesson to be reused and modified to meet the needs of any users.

Learner Audience / Primary Users

The primary users for this design guide are teachers working with young women whose goal is to become entrepreneurs. The learner audience includes girls, 15-18 years old, in a secondary classroom.

Educational Use

• Curriculum / Instruction
• Professional development
• Informal education

Language

• English

Material Type

• Instructional Material
• Activities and Labs
• Homework and Assignments
• Lesson Plan

Keywords

• Style Her Empowered
• 21st Century Skills
• Entrepreneurship development
• Fashion jewelry
• Costume Jewelry
• Business
• Art
• Math

Time Required for Lesson

1 class period/ 60 minutes

Targeted Skills

Key skills covered in this lesson include:

• Career
• Life
• Entrepreneurship
• Employability

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to:

• Describe five trends of fashion jewelry in the region, country, and worldwide by the end of the research and brainstorming session at the beginning of the lesson

• Calculate the price point of four pieces of fashion jewelry during the assessment portion of the lesson on the Calculating the Price Point of Fashion Jewelry worksheet

• Design an original piece of fashion jewelry using inexpensive metals and materials (bead, wire, plated metal, plastic, synthetic gems, etc.) and calculate the price point

Prior Knowledge

Before beginning this lesson, students will need to know about some of the fashion trends in their region, the country, and worldwide. The learners must know how to access the Internet and search the Google images section. The learners must need to know the definition of the following terms: budget, fashion, trend, price point, and entrepreneur.

Required Resources

• Google Slide presentation for the lesson (designed with the prototype)
• Access to Internet (depending on availability)
• Print fashion magazines or E-magazines (class set/ a few per group)
• Calculating the Price Point of Fashion Jewelry worksheet(class set/ 1 per student)
• Presentation Guided Notes sheet(class set/ 1 per student)
• Design template (class set/ 1 per student)

Lesson Author & License

• Lesson Author: Eulalia Gallegos Buitron

• License: Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license 

Instructional Strategies and Activities

Warm-Up

Time: 5 minutes

The teacher will begin with a picture of Beyoncé (a worldwide celebrity) on the Google Slides presentation. Students will have three minutes to imagine the jewelry that the celebrity should be or could be wearing. Students should write a short description of the jewelry on their Presentation Guided notes.

Introduction

Time: 5 minutes

The teacher will lead the students in a discussion about fashion jewelry and ask students; “What is fashion? What is jewelry to you? Do you want to start a small business making jewelry? What would you need to know in order to start a jewelry business?”

Presentation / Modeling / Demonstration

Time: 5 minutes 

The learning objectives should be displayed somewhere in the class, either written or on a projector. The teacher will have students define key terms including: entrepreneur, fashion jewelry, price point, creativity, and small business. The teacher should encourage students to write their own definitions. Students will receive Presentation Guided Notes and will be asked to write the definitions of the said terms on the Presentation Guided Notes. Afterward, the teacher will demonstrate how to calculate a price point for the piece of jewelry projected and ask students to take notes on making the calculation.  The calculations for the price points should vary depending on the location where the lesson is taking place. The user (instructor) should make calculations representative to those in region.  Students can take these notes on the Presentation Guided Notes.

Guided Practice

Time: 20 minutes

Students will work in groups of three to describe five trends of fashion jewelry in the region, country, and worldwide. They should describe a trend in the region, a trend the country, and a trend in the world. The other two trends can fit into any category. Students should be able to access the Internet, and magazines. They will write their descriptions of the trends on a poster board, a piece of paper, or other available material. At the fifteen-minute mark, students will be asked to share their trends with the class. The teacher will make a compiled list for trends in the region, country, and world.

Assessment

Time: 10 minutes

Each student will receive a Calculating the Price Point of Fashion Jewelry worksheet and they will be asked to calculate the price point of four pieces of fashion jewelry. Meanwhile, the teacher will walk around the classroom and check that students have calculated a reasonable price point for the different pieces of jewelry. The teacher should check for reasonable explanations for the calculated price point.  After five minutes, the teacher can ask students to check each other’s price points and make any necessary adjustments. Answers should vary with lesson setting because of the different prices of material.

Application

Time: 15 minutes

In this part of the lesson, students will design an original piece of fashion jewelry using inexpensive metals and materials (bead, wire, plated metal, plastic, synthetic gems, etc. They will be designing the pieces on their own. They will create their design in the Design Template handout. Then, they will be asked to calculate the price point of the design. The instructor should check that price points for the designs are representative of prices for material in the region.

Key Terms and Concepts

• Budget- an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time
• Trend- a general direction in which something is developing or changing
• Creativity- mental characteristic that allows a person to think outside of the box, which results innovative and different approaches to a particular task
• Entrepreneur-  a person who creates a business by identifying opportunities and bringing together resources with the purpose of achieving profit and growth
• Fashion Jewelry- also known as costume jewelry, is made of inexpensive material such as imitation gemstones or lucite on pewter, silver, nickel, or brass. It can also include plastic, acrylic, leather, or wood
• Price Point- retail price of a product, determined in such a way as to compete with prices of other products. A product may be introduced with a specific price point, but that price may be altered depending on current demand and competition
• Small business- Designation for firms of a certain size which fall below certain criteria (that varies from country to country) in terms of annual turnover, number of employees, the total value of assets, etc