April 19, 2007

Making Jewelry: Supplies to get you Started

Tip! Second, if you haven’t already, decide on the kind of jewelry you are going to make. If you’re just getting your feet wet in the jewelry making arena, start out with something simple.

236a

The best advice I can give anyone starting a jewelry business is to use quality products. To start beading, the basic materials that you will need are: needle nose pliers, scotch tape, beading wire, crimp beads, wire cutters, a clasp of some sort and the actual beads you will be creating with.

The needle nose pliers can be purchased at any hardware store. I use needle nosed pliers to crimp the crimping beads. Many people market and sell a crimping tool.

I have found in my experience that the crimp that the crimping tool makes does not hold as well as when you use a set of pliers to smash the crimp bead.

Tip! Mike McDonough is and avid hobbyist. His primary craft hobbies include, stained glass, polymer clay, jewelry making, scrapbooking, and candle making.

A crimp bead is a round metal bead (best if you use sterling silver or gold) that hold the wire in place after you have attached the clasp.

You can start to make your own designs with a minimal investment. The beading wire, crimp beads, wire cutters, clasps and the beads themselves can be purchased from local beading stores or online resources.

Some places to check out are:

http://www.firemountaingems.com
www.ebeadshop.com
thecoloredstone.com where fine jewelry is sold. She received this jewelry advice from Morgan Gardiner, an outstanding jewelry-maker who makes all of the beautiful and colorful jewelry for thecoloredstone.com

Tip! Finally, take not of all the other expenses that is related to your jewelry making. This could include the rent of the stall in the trade fair you joined, or the website maintenance expenses, or the telephone charges you got from calling contacts.

To see Morgan’s amazing jewelry pieces,
visit:

http://www.thecoloredstone.com/jewelry.html

Bookmark to: