Create Handcrafted Jewelry Handmade Earrings Unique Bracelets Using Patinas
Oct 8, 2009 Handmade Jewelry, Uncategorized, handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, unique gift ideas, unique gifts, unique jewelry, wholesale fashion jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Handmade earrings, Handcrafted jewelry, Unique Earrings with green patina
Creating incredible layers of color on your handmade jewelry is easily achieved with the use of Liver of sulfur. This wondrous chemical compound oxidizes many different metals creating fantastic colors on your handmade earrings and unique bracelets making your handmade jewelry extraordinary. The varieties of colors that can be achieved are incredible ranging from gold to black and everything in between. No other chemical can produce such wide-ranging color patterns on the surface of a variety of metals including silver and copper jewelry.
Working in a well ventilated area is a definite must, outdoors is preferable. The odor of rotten eggs given off by liver of sulfur can be overwhelming if used in a closed area. It is easy to be put off by the smell but the results that can be achieved are simply amazing.
Liver of sulfur comes in two types. The liquid form can be used straight from the bottle, but the shelf life is unpredictable even when stored in a cool, dark place. Solid liver of sulfur is usually sold in small chunks, which are mixed as needed. For this reason, it is better to buy small amounts of the solid and make your solution mixing only what you need to create the most beautiful handcrafted jewelry.
For your solution, put a 1cm or 1/4 inch clump of solid liver of sulfur in a glass or plastic container with about 1 cup of water. The color of the solution should be a very pale yellow. A strong solution will develop the colors too quickly to stop the process at your desired color while too weak of a solution can take too long and build a thick flaky crust. Experiment to find the best concentration for the metal you are working with to get the results you want.
Set up your workstation so you can easily go from one step to the next. Have a heat source, the liver of sulfur solution, cold water bath and finally a soapy baking soda rinse. The secret is to control the process is the solution strength and the temperature. The hotter solution will react more quickly and the colors will move faster from one color to the next. They roughly go from gold, pink, blue, purple, gray and finally black.
Before you begin, your metal handcrafted jewelry piece should be clean and free from dirt or oils from your hands. Wearing gloves throughout the process is preferable. Liver of sulfur will begin to react the instant you put handmade bracelets or handmade earrings into it. Let the color develop for a couple of seconds on the handmade jewelry piece, then put in the cold water to stop the patina forming. Repeat these steps until you reach the desired color. Finally, rinse the piece in soapy baking soda solution to remove any liver of sulfur residue that could continue to change the color of the patina. Do not rub the handcrafted jewelry piece with the baking soda mixture as any abrasive will damage the patina finish you have worked hard to create.
Liver of sulfur produces a patina finish on metal handmade jewelry but if not treated the effects will wear over time. Use a clear lacquer finish to protect your handmade earrings and handmade bracelets with their new patina finish. Be adventurous and watch how a little color can change your handcrafted jewelry into a masterpiece!
This article is an original article by Jennifer Hisir of Handmade Jewelry by Copper Reflections and may be reprinted as long as the hyper-links are kept intact with working links.
Tags: copper jewelry, handmade jewelry business, jewelry making, Native American jewelry, small business, tips for success, unique bracelets, unique earrings, wholesale jewelry suppliers
Handcrafted Jewelry Wholesale Jewelry Online Marketing Tips
Sep 7, 2009 Handmade Jewelry, Uncategorized, bracelets, copper jewelry, earrings, handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, necklaces, online marketing, rings, small business, unique gift ideas, unique gifts, unique jewelry, wholesale fashion jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Handmade Bracelets, Handcrafted Jewelry, Dolphin Jewelry Bracelets
So where do you start? The first thing you will need to do is take great pictures of your handcrafted jewelry. “A picture is worth a thousand words” or not. Make sure the photos are in focus clearly showing your design, with small pieces like handmade earrings and bracelets this is very important. Don’t put jewelry on a rock or a hunk of wood, although it is very natural and artsy, it is too hard for people to make out in the seconds you have to catch their attention online. Your handmade jewelry should be on a plain background so it stands out clearly.
Now you need a website, if you’re just starting there are lots of free blogs out there. I prefer the WordPress.com, mostly because it’s easy and has lots of plug-ins to do all the SEO work for you. Blogger is also a great platform, easy to set up your template with lots of widgets and other cool stuff. There are so many free blogs check around for the best match for you. Once you are up and running you can invest more into the site but we are trying to save some money and do it all for free, for now.
Read, read and read more; you can never have too much information. The web is filled with great information; every time you see something new do a search until you understand what it means. SEO is the most important part of getting good search engine rankings. Make sure to have meta title, description and keywords tags. Don’t forget image alt attributes as well. Do your keyword research and write it into your content. Wordpress has lots of plugins that take the guesswork out of SEO.
Off-site SEO factors means links to your site. This is probably the hardest and most time consuming because you need to get related sites to link to you. Make sure your site is ready and has good content that other sites will want to link to. Stick with it and bit by bit links will come. Check other related sites link pages to get more links. Make sure you have your target keywords hypr-linked in your link information.
Do all these things then continually read and update your site as you go; this is a continuing process always needing to be tweaked. Check your statistics to see what is working and what isn’t. Change the things that aren’t working.
To get noticed you will need to join and participate in social networking sites, submit articles, write press releases and get listed in as many related directories as possible.
Time is also an important factor. Everything takes time so try not to get frustrated when things don’t happen overnight. Patience is a necessary virtue in wholesale handmade jewelry and online marketing.
If you make handmade jewelry or have a retail store that sells handcrafted artisan jewelry you need to be online! With millions of handmade jewelry websites how do you get your product seen online? It’s not going to be easy and it takes a lot of hard work, not to mention time. If you pay someone to get you to the first page it’s going to cost you. If you do it yourself it will take time, effort and a lot of reading, but it will be worth it and its kind of fun. Even though the competition is fierce, there is still room at the top if you want to play the online marketing game. Good luck to you in all your online marketing efforts!
Tags: business, handmade jewelry business, increase sales, internet marketing, tips to succeed, wholesale jewelry suppliers
Selling Handmade Jewelry by Copper Reflections will Increase Your Sales
Sep 7, 2009 Handmade Jewelry, Uncategorized, bracelets, earrings, handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, home-based business, necklaces, rings, small business, unique gift ideas, unique gifts, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Handmade Earrings, Handcrafted Jewelry, Horse Jewelry Earrings
Where do you find suppliers for wholesale handmade jewelry and gifts? You have lots of choices but obviously the easiest and fastest way would be online. Just Google or Yahoo! search “wholesale handmade jewelry” to find suppliers for your store, can’t get much easier than that! You can also search “handmade jewelry directories”, most web directories even have a separate section for unique handmade jewelry. You can search anywhere, anytime; whenever it is convenient for you. Today you can find everything you need online without all the expenses of attending the traditional Wholesale Jewelry and Gift Shows. Everyone has a contact us page so you can ask any questions you may have if its not already in the FAQ. Online companies try to give you as much information about their products as they can. This is hard to absorb in the hustle and bustle of shows but comes naturally when you are relaxed and interested in the product. You will know the special features and techniques used to make the handmade jewelry and gifts. This information will help you to sell the products better.
If you have a retail store or boutique these days you have to stand out from the crowd. With so many products available, providing handmade jewelry and unique gift ideas for your customers makes your store stand out and people take notice. Variety is the key to great sales. Provide your customers a wide range of styles, shapes, colors and prices. Offer a choice of materials; stones, beads, shells, resins and metals. You will find that casual sales become repeat customers if you select a great variety of unique handcrafted jewelry and gifts that will suit everyones personal style! Aim to give your customers an unique shopping experience, unusual high quality products and excellent personal service.
If you are more a hands-on type, wholesale jewelry and gift shows are the next best option. At these shows you will see the actual products but attending these shows can be quite costly, tiring and they are only held at certain times of the year. The wide range of products available might overwhelm first time buyers but you’ll quickly learn how to narrow your search to find the items you want to see. You may just find that you can sell the handcrafted products better when you have made a connection with a real person. Pay attention to how they sell their products to you and you can carry that over to when you are selling their products to your own customers. The better the personal connection with a product, the better your sales will be!
Handcrafted artisan jewelry will attract new customers to your store. Many jewelry artists have a loyal following who will seek you out in order to buy their favorite artists’ jewelry. Look to provide a range of products and prices. People generally look for that extra special piece once in a while; for anniversaries or weddings. Have some outstanding pieces for them and to draw people into your store. More reasonably priced jewelry will sell more often to more people. Pay special attention to what we call the “added value” jewelry – this is handmade jewelry that looks more expensive than it is. This is the impulse buy type of jewelry; who can say no to unique handcrafted jewelry that is affordable and you can wear it every day?
Copper Reflections artisans have been making unique jewelry for almost 25 years. They take pride in their jewelry designs and the quality of them. This unique jewelry craft was originated from an ancient art. Over the years Tony and Jennifer came up with so many jewelry designs and unique techniques which made this handmade artisan jewelry unique to them. To craft their jewelry they use embossing, etching, diamond cutting, patina, hand painting on jewelry pieces as well as many other techniques. Their handmade unique jewelry has been selling well in Canada and the United States for years because of their great quality, uniqueness and prices. Most people agree that Copper Reflections handcrafted artisan jewelry looks much more expensive than their actual prices. This could be an attribute as one of the key reasons to their success; uniqueness, quality and price.
Your goal is to make your customers come back time after time to check out your great selection of handmade jewelry. Whatever the occasion handcrafted jewelry will continue to keep them coming back for more!
Tags: business, handmade jewelry business, increase sales, jewelry wholesalers, tips to succeed, wholesale jewelry suppliers
