How to Start Selling Handcrafted Jewelry Handmade Earrings Unique Bracelets
Oct 22, 2009 Handmade Jewelry, butterfly bracelets, handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, home-based business, online marketing, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Handcrafted Jewelry-Handmade Bracelets-Butterfly Jewelry
Do you want to start your own handmade jewelry business? Making handcrafted jewelry, handmade earrings and unique bracelets can be easier than learning how to sell, where to sell and at what price to sell your unique jewelry. Marketing, advertising and promoting your new company is an obstacle many cannot overcome. Many people give up when just starting out because of the frustration. There is a learning curve with any new venture, everything takes time and a lot of energy to become successful. Here are some easily accomplished steps to build your handmade jewelry business and put you on the road to success.
First of all, and most important, is to create truly unique jewelry. Finding you own niche, expressing your individual style and creativity is key to making your handcrafted jewelry business a success. Experiment with techniques and materials until you find the right combination that suits you. The most successful jewelry artisans have their own style that draws customers to them.
Secondly, choose your target market. What age group does your handmade jewelry attract? This is a good pricing indicator. A younger age group will require lower prices while a middle age group is looking for more sophisticated looks and can afford a higher price range.
Trial and error is sometimes the best method for pricing. Estimate how much a pair of handmade earrings or handmade bracelets costs you to actually make. Double the cost for your wholesale jewelry price and double that again for your retail price is the general rule. Look around at other handmade jewelry artists offering similar products to see if your price falls into the same range?
Local craft shows are a great way to start in the handmade jewelry business. Check your Chamber of Commerce for an event schedule in your area. Talk with other crafters to find other craft shows and art festivals that they recommend. Slowly build a schedule of shows. Pay attention to what your customers are looking for and try to focus on their needs.
Start slow with baby steps gradually building your customer base. Not every show will be a huge success but bit by bit you will learn all the things you need to know to make your handmade jewelry business a success.
Online marketing for handmade jewelry artisans is growing quickly and it is easy to set up a free or relatively inexpensive website at many handcrafted sites. Building an online presence can take a lot of time and effort which will be worthwhile eventually. Do not depend on immediate sales as it takes time to become established online.
Not everyone can be an artist and a salesperson. Luckily there are many wholesale jewelry suppliers who specialize in handmade jewelry and handcrafted artisan jewelry. Check out their websites and see if their wholesale products fall into the niche you have decided upon. Whether it is horse jewelry, cat jewelry, wildlife jewelry or Native American jewelry designs, you are sure to find wholesale jewelry suppliers who have the perfect handmade jewelry for your target market.
Tags: business, butterfly jewelry, copper jewelry, craft shows, internet marketing, Native American jewelry, online marketing, tips to succeed, unique bracelets, wholesale jewelry suppliers
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
Southwest Native American Jewelry by the Artisans of Copper Reflections
Aug 9, 2009 Handmade Jewelry, Uncategorized, bracelets, copper jewelry, earrings, fashion jewelry, handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, necklaces, rings, unique gift ideas, unique gifts, unique jewelry, wholesale fashion jewelry, wholesale jewelry
- Handmade Earrings-Southwest Native American Indian Jewelry Designs-Handmade Jewelry
Southwest Native American jewelry, Native American Indian jewelry, Southwestern jewelry by the artisans of Copper Reflections provide Native American jewelry designs and styles that will make perfect handmade gifts for any gift giving occasion; birthday gifts, anniversary gifts and Christmas gifts.
Southwest Native American Indian jewelry is offered in a vast selection of designs including Kokopelli, Native turtle, end of the trail, four elements, starburst, Native star, Native bear and more. Each Native jewelry design has special meaning that has been passed from generation to generation through ancient stories.
Southwest Native American Indian jewelry designs are first hand drawn and transferred to copper sheets. Designs are individually silver plated and diamond cut by hand to bring out the luster in the copper to give that special sparkle like diamonds. Most of our Southwest Native American Indian jewelry are cut out meticulously by hand using jewelers shears. Southwest Native Indian jewelry is available in a great selection with many designs and styles of Southwest Native American earrings, Native American bracelets, Southwest Indian necklaces, pins, brooches, lockets, rings and hair clips are all available with Southwestern jewelry themes.
In our Southwest Native jewelry collection you can be sure to find a special gift for your loved ones, unique gift ideas for women with Native American Southwest jewelry themes. Copper Reflections also offer other Southwest Native jewelry styles where we have used seashells, mother of pearl and abalone shells, to accent and highlight our unique Southwestern Indian jewelry designs. We use a variety of techniques to make our Southwest Native jewelry including etching, embossing and engraving. Native earrings like TS series are cut out and also two tone plated in gold and copper. We hope you will enjoy our Southwest Native American Indian jewelry collections that we have been working hard for over 24 years to make it even more beautiful for you.
Copper Reflections has a wide assortment of Southwestern Native American jewelry available on handmade Native American bracelets, earrings, necklaces, lockets, rings, hair clips, brooches and many other handmade jewelry pieces. You will be pleased with our reasonable wholesale jewelry prices, our service and high quality of our unique handmade jewelry.
Tags: anniversary gifts, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, handmade gifts, Native American Indian jewelry, Native American jewelry, Southwest Native American jewelry, Southwestern jewelry, unique gifts
