The Jewelry World Weblog

Entrepreneur,  March, 2005  by Nichole L. Torres

It’s making something glittering and beautiful. It’s creating a sparkling necklace or a pair of earrings. It’s designing and manufacturing jewelry to your heart’s content–while making profits at the same time. Think you can handle the glamour of running a jewelry business and seeing your creations adorn the rich and famous? Then prepare for the serious hard work it will take to get established.“Sometimes [jewelry entrepreneurs] try to go too big, too fast,” says Ann Barber, director of membership benefits at the National Craft Association, a professional trade association in Rochester, New York, for the arts and crafts industry. “One way to start is doing craft shows so you can get direct customer feedback.” It’s not just about setting up shop with your wares and expecting people to buy them–it’s about researching the styles people buy, the prices they’re willing to pay and what works in a particular geographic area. A key to success in the jewelry business? “Make sure your designs are unique,” says Barber, “not something you can buy everywhere.”

Once you set yourself apart as a hot jewelry designer, you’ll be ready to approach trendy boutiques to carry your wares. First, create a catalog of your designs or sell sheets with your designs and wholesale pricing information. “Send the packet to the buyer from a particular shop, and then make an appointment to meet,” says Barber. Many buyers have specified days and times to meet with new jewelry vendors. According to Barber, “When you go in, have everything ready on [your] order form so you can speed right through the process.”

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When Maya Brenner of Maya Brenner Designs in Los Angeles started designing jewelry part time in 1998, she successfully got the attention of a boutique owner. While shopping one day in New York City (her former home) and proudly wearing her creations, Brenner was spotted by the owner of a trendy boutique, who noticed her jewelry and ordered some on the spot. After that exposure, Brenner found a sales rep, and today her designs are in boutiques like Fred Segal as well as online at www.girlshop.com, pushing sales to about $200,000 annually.

Brenner, 34, who has even seen her jewelry adorning actresses Debra Messing, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Reese Witherspoon, found one of her biggest challenges was transitioning from manufacturing everything herself in the wee hours of the morning to calling for outside help.

Deciding when to expand depends on your volume, say experts. “The decision is dependent on your skill level, production size and cost-effectiveness. If you cannot make your jewelry by yourself well enough or fast enough, then you need to outsource,” says Cindy Edelstein, founder of the Jeweler’s Resource Bureau, an education and marketing consulting firm for jewelry designers based in Pelham, New York. “There are contract shops in many major cities, and many work by mail as well, so you don’t have to physically be there.”

In fact, the world of jewelry design is rife with options. In terms of what’s hot, be aware of the fashion trends in your area. Edelstein notes that upcoming jewelry trends include a return to yellow gold (a rollback from the all-white gold and diamond phenomenon) and the addition of lots of color. Beads, stiletto earrings and layered necklaces are also heating up. But, warns Edelstein, “Long-term success comes from developing your own unique style through which you can interpret the ever-changing tide of trends.” Bottom line–if you can dream it, it’s a good bet that someone will wear it.

A JEWELER’S TOOLBOX

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE JEWELRY INDUSTRY? CINDY EDELSTEIN OF THE JEWELER’S RESOURCE BUREAU SUGGESTS THE FOLLOWING SOURCES FOR INFORMATION ON THE SUBJECT:

* American Craft Council (www.craftcouncil.org)

* Crafts Business (www.craftsbusinessmagazine.com)

* The Crafts Report (www.craftsreport.com)

* Jewelers Vigilance Committee (www.jvclegal.org)

* Jewelry Design Professionals’ Network (www. jdpn.org)

* Jewelry Information Center (www.jic.org)

* National Jeweler (www.nationaljeweler.com)

* Modern Jeweler (www.modernjeweler.com)

* Women’s Jewelry Association (www.womens jewelry.org)

COPYRIGHT 2005 Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group

Submitted By: Ann Marier

All you need to start up your own jewelry business are beads and jewelry making supplies. Making your new jewelry business a home based business makes it even more economical. Your bead and jewelry making supplies are very inexpensive, since you already have your hands, and there is no overhead when working out of your home.

Bulk Buying

Your bead and jewelry making supplies can and should be bought wholesale and also in bulk. It is much cheaper for the new business owner to buy their beads and jewelry making supplies in bulk. The bead and jewelry making suppliers give deep discounts when the consumers buy in bulk quantities. It would be wise to select one type of jewelry to make at first. Again, it is cost effective, because your inventory will be limited to a specific type of bead or jewelry component. And being a new jewelry business owner, this gives you the opportunity to practice on the specific item until you perfect it.

Choosing Beads

When choosing your bead and jewelry making supplier, remember to research the company before making a decision. It is always wise to ask a fellow jewelry business owner who they would recommend. If the supplier gets good reviews from fellow artisans, then you generally can depend on that supplier.

It’s also a good idea to decide on one style of bead to use before you pick a supplier. Maybe you should buy from a supplier who specializes in the one specific bead you are interested in. There are hundreds of locations for bead and jewelry making supplies all over the world. A good rule of thumb is that if you are choosing, for instance a Bali pearl, you should buy from a supplier in Bali. But then again, Austrian Swarovski crystals can be purchased in the U.S. for a very fair price. But normally if you are seeking a bead from a specific region in the world, the cost of a middleman is taken out if you buy direct.

There are hundreds of internet sites where you can find bead and jewelry making supplies. The number of bead suppliers alone run in the hundreds. If you are looking for the average wooden, ceramic, plastic or glass bead, the internet can become your best friend. All of the bead and jewelry making suppliers have competitive pricing. But be sure and research the quality of the bead before you make your final selection. If you follow all of the above and you already know how to make jewelry, your home based jewelry business will be simple to start. Good Luck!

About the Author:

Ann Marier has written many articles on family life and different health issues. Her hobbies include jewelry making and her latest articles tell you all you need to know about jewelry making

Article Source:  www.iSnare.com
Republished: http://www.thejewelryworld.com/wordpress/

Many people spend a lot of money on jewelry, women especially. However, so much money could be saved if only people would make their own jewelry. Some would scoff at the idea, as they think that home-made jewelry is second best or inferior to store-bought jewelry. However, jewelry had to be made somehow and likely, if it’s nice enough, it was made by a person. So, why does it seem so farfetched of an idea or so outlandish to make your own jewelry?

There are many jewelry making tutorials out there that will teach you how to obtain the materials for your favorite types of jewelry, how to make the jewelry and there are even jewelry making tutorials that will tell you how to sell the jewelry you create. There will always be a demand for jewelry, you may as well take a jewelry making tutorial so that you can learn your own techniques.

Store-Bought Jewelry Is Expensive

Jewelry that you buy in your local jewelry store is very overpriced. Sure, the value of the stones and metals has a lot to do with the price but the labor and the hand made originality of the piece in question. If you can obtain the materials, say, at a wholesale cost and then make the jewelry using jewelry making tutorials, you could save loads of money and you might be able to go into business for yourself.

If you think about it, jewelry makers learned from tutorials, just like the jewelry making tutorials you can find in books or online, except they may have taken a class or learned through apprenticeship. The point is, you can make your own jewelry using jewelry making tutorials and then you can open your own jewelry store? Thinks it sounds incredible? It can happen, it just depends on how much time and money you have to put into your venture.

Or, even if you just want to try jewelry making as a hobby, there are jewelry making tutorials in books, on the internet or even through seminars where you can learn all the ins and outs of jewelry making. Once you get the jewelry making down, you then must find a way of obtaining the materials. When you get to some of the higher end materials, obtaining them can sometimes be as difficult as learning the jewelry making tutorials themselves.

About The Author: Ann Mariera writes articles about family life and health issues. Each set of articles contain useful information and advice. Her latest set are about making jewelry and how to get started http://www.jewelrymaking-supply.com Visit http://www.ultimatehealthinfo.com for full list of health issues