With Christmas approaching, I know that lots of our customers have seasonal sales of their bead creations to raise a bit of extra cash. I know that we  have plenty of customers who are real regulars at craft fairs, running jewellery parties or supplying shops and stores with the jewellery they make.  I often get phone calls asking for advice about starting to make and  sell  jewellery so I thought I’d write a few of the tips and hints down in thi sblog over the next week or so. As I used to make and design for independent and multiple retyailers I hope I will have a few bits of good advice for you. I am going to focus on more  local events rather than supplying chain stores in this series.

Know your Market

This really applies if you want to sell jewellery in a targeted sort of way. If you are simply taking  a few pairs of earrings or a couple of necklaces, that you have made, into the office just to see who likes them then you don’t need to  worry. BUT if you have booked a stall at a craft show or a table at a charity event it would be a good idea to find out what the paying punters for your handmade jewellery are going to be looking for. Consider the age range & the type of function, for example will they be  retired ladies or young Mums. Find out from the organiser who came last year and which jewellery stalls did well and are coming back this year.

Pricing

The same applies to pricing the jewellery you make. Don’t be too greedy but don’t make your beaded goodies so cheap that you are threading beads on to headpins for peanuts either.  Account for your time too. look around in stores to see the going rates for similar pierces. Many people are prepared to pay a little extra for bead jewellery with a personal touch. Maybe add some pretty packaging, or sterling earwires. Check out the competition from your fellow jewellery makers and see what they are charging. Your necklaces might be cheaper, make a feature out of their good value but NEVER run down the competition. If your handmade bead jewellery is a little more costly than others, explain why. Have you used better quality beads, maybe some Swarovski crystal beads or sterling silver. Explain all this to your customers and have some display cards to point out unique selling points!

Next time: Where to sell your jewellery and following bead trends to increase sales of your beaded jewellery. Happy selling beaders.

If you are a creative sort of person who enjoys various other crafts, then you may want to look into making your own jewellery. Making your own jewellery requires a little skill but in actual fact it is a very easy thing to learn how to do. Once you have the right tools and equipment, you should find that making jewellery is very simple and can be achieved with very little training and just a small amount of  practice.

First of all you will  need to decide which sort of beads and gems you want to use to create your jewellery pieces. If you want to make something a little ethnic, then you may want to look at using wooden beads. Wooden beads are nice and light so you can use big ones for a dramatic effect, they look  amazing and come in a range of sizes so you can really create something that looks unique and individual. Mix them up with beads in other materials. If you would prefer something with a little bit of sparkle, try  gorgeous Swarovski crystal beads and silver findings. For a bright chunky necklace mix lampwork glass beads in with tiny xillion swarovski spacers to give space in the design.

There are lots of ideas and help on jewellery making in out Tips and Hints section.