Jewelry Making at Home

by sfrom
"I find that a great part of the information I have, was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way."
-Franklin P. Adams

Jewelry making is becoming one of the biggest home based businesses in the world. 80 per cent of home based jewelry making is done in the home by women. It is a great alternative for the homemaker who needs to stay home to be with her children. This self employer does not have to worry about daycare or babysitting expenses. Kids get to soccer practice, dance class and cheerleading daily. There isn't any overhead and the working hours are up to you.

Here 's what Wikipedia has to say about the topic:
"The techniques of jewelry making are as varied as the types of jewelry and materials used. Popular techniques used by hobbyists are beadwork, wire wrapped jewelry or macrame as is used in making friendship bracelets. Materials such as polymer clay, carved wood or leather may be included as part of the design, such as the pendant of a necklace, or may form an entire bracelet, for example. The use of photos in creating jewelry is also not uncommon. Professional jewelers may use precious metals or gemstones to create handmade jewelry. Some metalworking techniques that can be used in jewelry making, like electroplating, stamping, etching and casting are used in mass jewelry production for distribution through retail channels."

Depending on the style of jewelry you are making depends solely on you. You are your own boss. Home based jewelry making businesses are easy to organize and there is no cap on creativity. You set the length of your day and you decide how much vacation to receive each year. Home jewelry making can be a very lucrative career. But a home based business depends on self-motivation.

Jewelry Trends

Success in the jewelry making business depends greatly on jewelry trends. Of course there will always be a demand for earrings, rings and necklaces. But following the current trends in jewelry will lead a home based jewelry business to success. Turquoise jewelry is one style of jewelry that is here to stay. Silver jewelry is usually a staple in every woman 's jewelry box, as well as, gold and silver cross necklaces.

Power beads are an example of a trend in jewelry making. The beads that are made into bracelets all are supposed to have a mystical power to them. They could bring you wealth, love or good health. Large 'honker' rings and oversized earrings were other notable trends. Bracelets made out of hemp or natural twine also shot to fame at one point in time. Colored fired glass was another beautiful trend in jewelry making.

All one has to do is go to a local craft show to see the many booths full of jewelry to discover the latest look. Many home based jewelry making businesses use local fairs and bazaars to sell their jewelry. EBay and the internet is another selling tool. The more artistic and creative the artisan is in her jewelry making, the more successful she will become. It is not unusual to discover that many of the great jewelry lines today have come from women who started jewelry making businesses in the home. Whoever said, that the woman 's place is in the home, obviously was clueless to the power of the woman!

For more information on the topic, here are some helpful suggestions:
1) The local university - there are professors and libraries on every topic under the sun
2) Search Engines - You can try searching under a similar term for more results
3) Specialty Stores - well-trained employees can be very helpful

 

Ten Tips For Finding The Best Bead Jewelry Supply Websites

by Eri Attebery
Boy do I spend a lot of time shopping for and buying beads on the internet. My husband would say way TOO much time! Compared to shopping at my local craft stores, I just love the unbelievable variety of beads available on the internet.

If youâ??re patient, you can search various online bead jewelry supply stores and find some amazing prices on beads as well. This is particularly important if you are buying beads and beading supplies on a wholesale bead supply basis to make jewelry that you plan to sell.

Iâ??ve been buying beads online for so long now that I decided to put together a list of things that I think make a great bead jewelry supply website. No site on the web is perfect on every aspect, but many of the places I shop on the web do very well in many of these categories.

I put the list in prioritized order of whatâ??s most important to me, but you may have different preferences so please rearrange the list to fit your own priorities as you see fit.

Here goes:

1. Secure Payment Page

Iâ??m sure you hear horror stories on the news all the time about people having their financial information stolen when they purchased from not very reputable online stores.

Make sure you only purchase from a store that has a secure checkout. That means the site uses encrypted servers. How do you know if it is an encrypted server or not? You can identify this when you go to the payment page the browser should have an https:// and not just http://

2. Great Value

Of course, you want to get the lowest prices you can get for what you buy. But make sure that you buy quality as well. That means you should look for the best value (the combination of quality and price), not just the best price.

3. Low or Free Shipping Costs

Youâ??ve probably had the experience of shopping on a website and thinking you found a great deal, then you get to the payment page and get surprised by a large shipping fee. Suddenly, that great deal turns out to be not quite as great as you thought.

Make sure that the bead supply website youâ??re using doesnâ??t use low prices to bring you in and then make up for it by tacking on high shipping charges. Look for sites that offer very low, or even better, Free shipping.

4. Large Selection of Products

When you go grocery shopping, wouldnâ??t you rather get everything at one place rather than having to go to many different places?

In the same way, when you are shopping online itâ??s nice to have a bead supply store that has a very large selection of products so that you can do â??one stop shoppingâ?? and save a lot of time.

5. Products Always in Stock

It can be very frustrating to find what you think is a good bead supply website, you place an order, use your beads, then go back to the website to order more, and find out that they are out of stock.

If you sell jewelry then a wholesale bead jewelry supplier that doesnâ??t keep a stable level of stock can really put you in a bind. Find a supplier that maintains a high level of stock, particularly for items that you use often.

6. Good Customer Care

Even the best suppliers will occasionally make mistakes and ship you the wrong thing, the wrong quantity, or a product will be damaged.

When this happens, you want a supplier who will quickly resolve the problem for you in the way that you choose to communicate with them.

Email, phone, quick response

7. Shopping Cart that Stores your Information

If you frequent a bead supply website often, you donâ??t want to have to re-enter all your shipping details each time you purchase something at the site.

Advanced shopping carts will store this information for you which makes it much easier, and much quicker to check out once you have all the items you need.

8. Volume Discounts Offered

The more you buy from a retailer, the more discount that store should be willing to offer you on your purchases. Smart retailers know that you will buy more if they offer you a discount for doing so, or give you free shipping or some kind of incentive.

Also, if you are making jewelry to sell to others and buying large amounts of beading supplies, getting discounts on volume purchases means more profit for you when you sell your jewelry.

9. No Minimum Order Required

While itâ??s true that it cost companies money to process orders, it seems to me very self-serving and short-sighted when a company charges a fee if you donâ??t purchase a minimum $ amount when you order. It sure doesnâ??t make you feel like a valued customer.

Fortunately, there are some bead supply sites that donâ??t have any minimum order requirements. That can be a big help during times when you only need a couple of small parts.

10. A Strong Privacy Policy

No one likes spam. Many companies will sell their customerâ??s information to email list marketers, and thatâ??s when you will start receiving unsolicited emails for things you donâ??t care about.

Make sure the store has a policy of keeping your information to themselves with a commitment to not give it to any third parties without your express consent.

Are there more things to consider? Actually, I have an additional 15 or so things that I look for, which Iâ??ll offer in another article, but the ones listed above are the big hitters. Use these tips when evaluating bead suppliers and youâ??ll end up dealing with the best.