Why People Prefer Handcrafted Jewelry
Sep 6, 2011 handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, Handmade Jewelry, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Many people use handcrafted jewelry to help express their individuality and how they feel feeling on any given day. Some ladies love glitter and sparkle, gold and silver, bright colors like hot pink to make them the center of attraction where ever they go. Others prefer simple, classic styles in subdued colors and earth tones that give an air of sophistication and elegance. Still others choose to show their love of nature and their free spirit by selecting butterfly jewelry, hummingbird jewelry or wolf jewelry. What ever style handcrafted jewelry you prefer you are sure to find the perfect handmade jewelry just for you.
Butterfly Jewelry Earrings, Handmade Earrings, Unique Handcrafted Jewelry
There is a disturbing trend toward mass-produced, low quality, generic jewelry, which still costs as much as real handcrafted jewelry without the character or charm of authentic handcrafted jewelry. There are times when you have purchased something online only to feel disappointed, and at times, even betrayed that the picture looked so much better than the actual piece you received.
A friend purchased earrings from an internet jewelry website. They were silver hoops with gorgeous butterflies in the middle. Then she wore them to work and got several compliments, but then after a couple of hours noticed that one of the butterflies was missing. My friend contacted the company who had sold the earrings. The procedure was long and complicated to replace the butterfly jewelry earrings she just gave up.
One day my friend went to a craft show and visited many handcrafted jewelry artisans there who make all their own handcrafted jewelry. Every one of them would stand behind their unique handcrafted jewelry, no paperwork required. She bought several handcrafted bracelets and handcrafted earrings which are all beautiful, unique jewelry pieces and still look as good as they did when she bought them. The moral of the story is simple, handcrafted jewelry from a real person is the way to go.
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Many of these same handmade jewelry artists had their own websites. Anytime and anywhere anyone can order the same beautiful handcrafted jewelry from real people not huge corporations. Handcrafted jewelry artisans put their hearts and souls into each pair of handcrafted earrings and the handcrafted bracelets they create. Each piece of unique handcrafted jewelry is made by hand with love and patience, and with appreciation for not only the handcrafted jewelry piece, but also the person who is going to wear it and cherish it for a lifetime. Handcrafted artisan jewelry can and should bring people together.
Everyone should pay more attention to the jewelry they buy and wear. Each handmade jewelry piece should reflect and emphasize your personal style whether you prefer classic, flashy or butterfly jewelry. Most importantly you should always feel special each and every time that you wear handcrafted artisan jewelry. Also, when you are wearing unique handcrafted earrings and handcrafted bracelets you will greater understand and appreciate the high quality and patient craftsmanship that handcrafted jewelry artisans put into their creations.
Tags: animal jewelry, butterfly jewelry, hand crafted jewelry, handcrafted bracelets, handcrafted earrings, hummingbird jewelry, unique handcrafted jewelry, unique handmade jewelry, wolf jewelry
How to Take Great Photos of Handmade Jewelry Earrings Bracelets
Jun 1, 2011 handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, Handmade Jewelry, unique gift ideas, unique gifts, unique jewelry, wholesale fashion jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Great photography is a necessity when you have a handmade jewelry website. Unfortunately, handcrafted jewelry is very difficult to photograph. Many jewelry artisans cannot afford to go to a professional and so they want to do it themselves. There are some simple techniques that even amateur photographers can use to obtain better results with minimal effort. The following suggestions should allow anyone to achieve results they can be proud of.
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In the olden days we spent thousands of dollars on film and photo processing but nowadays we are so blessed with the digital camera. I could write an article just about the virtues of the digital camera. It does not have to be the top of the line professional camera anymore as most digital cameras have a macro feature which is specifically for photographing small objects like handmade earrings and handmade bracelets. It is worthwhile to read your camera manual to learn how to put the camera in macro mode.
If you are thinking of investing in a new digital camera just for photographing your handmade jewelry, one of the most convenient features we use constantly is a direct camera to computer cable. We adjust all the settings from the computer and press the space bar to take the picture. No more shaking or movement of any kind and all the settings are the same every time. Technology makes our lives much easier.
The keys to good handmade jewelry photography are sharpness, lighting and exposure. The macro lens is a big help for the sharpness factor. Another key to a sharp image is a tripod. It is absolutely essential to use a tripod or similar camera support when taking pictures of handcrafted jewelry. A sturdy tripod is better than a flimsy one, but any tripod is many times better than no tripod. Always use a tripod and your photos will be sharp.
The second key to great handmade jewelry photography is the lighting. Normally diffuse lighting works best for jewelry so that there is no glare. We cannot sit around waiting for the perfect slightly cloudy day to take pictures of new handcrafted jewelry designs. You have probably already discovered that an on-camera flash does not lead to good photos. Not only is the flash too bright at such a close distance, it will also create bright spots and distracting shadows. Rather than flash it is better to use continuous lighting for photographing handmade earrings and handmade bracelets. Using daylight balanced bulbs for lighting provide natural-colored light. You can purchase these from photography suppliers. We use 5200 K bulbs which resembles daylight most closely. Even these lights will need to be diffused and for that use a light tent as the diffuser.
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A small light tent makes it easy to reduce glare and control shadows for handcrafted jewelry photography. These are commercially available in a wide range of sizes and shapes, but are generally quite expensive. It is not difficult to make your own lighting tent from white rip-stop nylon material, a couple of metal coat hangers and double-sided tape. The light tent tends to soften the shadows and eliminate glare, while providing a clean and clutter free background. We place the tent on a glass table and have a light under the table to reduce shadows.
Proper exposure is the last key to good handmade jewelry photography. If your background is actually white but appears gray in your image then the image has been underexposed. This means you need to let more light get to your camera’s image sensor. Adjust your camera exposure compensation setting to slightly overexpose the image. Nearly every digital camera has an exposure compensation setting, but you may need to read your camera user manual to find how to adjust yours. Once you locate the controls for exposure compensation simply increase the exposure until the image looks correct. We adjust the white balance so that the background shows white and this dramatically affects the crispness of the colors.
If you are comfortable with photography you can experiment with the settings for aperture and shutter speed to see how they affect the exposure. Once you find the perfect settings for your handmade jewelry you will find that you can easily adjust them for different pieces. We tend to take photos for new handmade earrings and handmade bracelets all at once so that everything is set up properly only once. You can also look at the settings on photos that you are happy with and keep the same settings each time.
Imaging software, even inexpensive software like Photoshop Elements™ can make handmade jewelry photography much easier. It may seem like it would be faster to use an image exactly as it was shot. But in reality, it is difficult to get your handmade earrings and handmade bracelets to look exactly how you would like it to appear. Imaging software allows you to crop an image, re-size it, adjust the exposure, remove the background and even sharpen the images. I especially like the auto-enhance for just the right color balance.
We having been taking our own handmade jewelry photos for many years and just as it is with making our handmade earrings and handmade bracelets, it does get easier with time. I hope these suggestions help you to take great photos of your unique handcrafted jewelry.
I personally think that taking good photos is more difficult than making our handmade jewelry! Everything has to be perfect to do justice to your handcrafted artisan jewelry. A picture is worth a thousand words if you’re a writer, a picture is priceless if you are trying to market your handmade jewelry and unique gifts online! You can never have enough information about photographing handcrafted jewelry so please check out these great Handmade Jewelry Photography Tips.
This is an original article by Jennifer Hisir of Handmade Jewelry by Copper Reflections
Tags: animal jewelry, butterfly jewelry, copper jewelry, dragonfly jewelry, hand crafted jewelry, handmade jewelry photography, how to take great photos, jewelry photography, photography tips, unique handmade jewelry
Make Handmade Jewelry Unique Earrings Handcrafted Bracelets
Mar 24, 2010 butterfly bracelets, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, Handmade Jewelry, small business, unique gift ideas, unique gifts, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Do you want to create your own handmade jewelry? If you are creative a quick stop at the local arts and crafts store can give you many ideas and materials to make your own unique handcrafted jewelry. It does not have to be difficult or take a lot of time to learn how to make unique jewelry pieces like handmade earrings and handmade bracelets.
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Many people are very creative and learn quickly how to combine and use materials to make extraordinary handmade jewelry pieces. There are many jewelry making kits, magazines and websites that can help to quicken your learning process.
One of the most important parts is bringing your own creative style to the handcrafted jewelry pieces that you make. That is what will set your handmade jewelry apart from the others. Consider different combinations of materials and how they affect the final piece. The more creative you are and the more unusual materials you use will determine how unique your handcrafted jewelry pieces appear and ultimately how well your handmade earrings and unique bracelets will sell.
For those who find creating handmade jewelry difficult, there are many wholesale jewelry suppliers who specialize in unique handcrafted jewelry. Search online to find many jewelry wholesalers who supply unique and unusual jewelry that you can sell to your customers from your handmade jewelry website or at local arts and crafts shows.
This is an original article by Jennifer Hisir of Handmade Jewelry by Copper Reflections
Tags: animal jewelry, butterfly jewelry, fashion jewelry, hand crafted jewelry, handcrafted artisan jewelry, jewellery, jewelry wholesalers, unique bracelets, unique earrings, wholesale jewelry suppliers
Best Ways to Care for Handmade Jewelry Handcrafted Earrings Unique Bracelets
Mar 4, 2010 handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, Handmade Jewelry, horse jewelry, Uncategorized, unique gift ideas, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry
One of the most troublesome problems is how to care for handmade jewelry. Choosing the wrong method of cleaning handmade jewelry or using harsh chemicals can damage and even ruin your most treasured piece of unique handcrafted jewelry. Here are some suggestions to keep your handmade earrings and handmade bracelets looking like new.
Handmade Bracelets, Unique Handcrafted Jewelry, Horse Jewelry Bracelets
1. Touch the surface of metal jewelry as little as possible. Silver and copper jewelry will quickly discolor from the oils, sweat and other impurities on your hands,
2. Do not wear handmade jewelry to wash the dishes, while washing your hands or showering. The detergents that we use everyday will harm your favorite handmade bracelets and handcrafted rings.
3. Avoid using hand sanitizers while wearing handmade rings. Even the best protective finishes cannot withstand repeated use of hand sanitizers.
4. Whenever possible buy handcrafted jewelry that has protective coatings. It is easier to prevent tarnishing than to remove tarnish.
5. Store your silver and copper handmade jewelry in a tarnish-free cloth or in an airtight plastic bag. Exposure to air and humidity will increase the chances of tarnishing.
6. Avoid the build up of hairspray on handmade earrings and handcrafted barrettes or hair clips. Put your earrings and hair clips on last.
7. Do not wear handmade jewelry when participating in sports, sunbathing or swimming. Water and excessive sun can discolor your handmade jewelry.
8. Take care not to scratch, bend or damage your jewelry. Choose your jewelry wisely for the occasion. If you are gardening or cleaning where you will be in contact with water or chemicals try to pick jewelry that will not be damaged.
Keep in mind that handmade jewelry is fragile and not usually meant to endure the beating that it sometimes receives. Taking special steps to prevent damage to your handcrafted jewelry pieces will ensure that you always look great wearing your favorite handmade earrings, bracelets and necklaces.
Tags: animal jewelry, copper jewelry, fashion jewelry, hand crafted jewelry, horse lovers jewelry, jewelry for horse lovers, unique bracelets, unique earrings, unique gifts, wholesale jewelry suppliers
