September 16, 2011 at 3:28 pm | Uncategorized

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.

September 12, 2011 at 9:20 pm | Uncategorized

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.

New Beads for early Autumn

September 9, 2011 at 9:18 am | Beads

It seems as though Autumn is on its way, so we are going to brighten up our days with some new pieces of jewellery made from our latest collection of  beads. We have been adding all sorts of beads to the store over the summer in time for all of you busy jewellery making fanatics to get new beads in your bead boxes and get busy with the pliers. Latest additions include some really lovely glass blown beads in new colourways and shapes, oval beads, heart beads and big fat round but lightweight glass beads.

Lots of New Beads

June 3, 2011 at 12:45 pm | Beads, bluestreak beads, glass beads

We are adding so many new beads at the moment it’s difficult to keep up!

Pretty Foiled Millifiore glass beads

There are new foiled beads, heart shaped and round beads, see the pretty ones on the left!

We will continue to add lots of beads over the next weeks so keep popping by for a look for all your jewellery making  inspiration.

Wholesale Bead Department

April 2, 2011 at 12:43 pm | Beads, bluestreak beads

Hi All

Bulk Buy beads are now available on the site! All sorts of great beads in larger  packs including mixed packs and assortments.

Prices are about half of retail and include VAT.

Foiled Glass Heart Beads Multi pack

Foiled glass Beads

Acrylic Beads

Millifiore Beads

Visit the wholesale beads page for full details.

Millifiore Beads wholesale now available

March 31, 2011 at 7:21 am | Beads

We  are stocking up om new millifiore beads in many shapes and sizes.

Millifiore disc beads

These 12mm disc beads come in a variety of colours and prices start at only £1.80 a string.

These beads make pretty charms for vintage style bracelets and necklets.

New Vinyl Beads

March 28, 2011 at 9:08 am | Beads

We have just had an enourmous shipment of new beads into our warehouse! First on the bluestreak beads website are these gorgeous acrylic beads.

Acrylic Beads

We have them in large 30mm discs and cushion beads  in a couple of different sizes.

They are available in wholesale bead packs too!

Large Wooden Beads

March 2, 2011 at 12:59 pm | Beads

Large wooden beads are really handy when making the current big beaded necklaces. They are light, realtively cheap,  bright colourful  beads.

Wooden carved beads!

These new beads that we have just got in stock come in a variety of colours and patterns. Try them with glass beads or large plastic beads for a  fresh look in a spring beady  necklace.

The beads are 18mm across

happy beading

cathie

Beads

February 28, 2011 at 10:48 pm | Beads, bluestreak beads, Jewellery kits, Ready to Wear Jewellery

We sell beads with which to make necklaces, earrings and other jewellery items, but sometimes you don’t want to have to make it yourself.  For that we have our new range of ready to wear bead necklaces.

Aqua shell and bead necklace

They are made of shell, glass beads & seed beads  in a riot of pretty colours.  Prices for these beady necklaces start from only £7.99.

Some pieces in this range are also available as bead kits.

Bird Cage Pendants ~ add beads

February 28, 2011 at 10:35 am | Beads, bluestreak beads, Charms Bracelets

With the birds singing their heads off most evenings we’ve added some charms with a birdy theme for early spring, use them with aother beads and charms for necklace and bracelet making.

Bird and cage antique style charm

The one illustrated here is a bird and cage set in Antique Gold Finish

The little cage has a loop on top, and the bird has one at the back. They  look really pretty with a few added beads on a suede thong or string of seed beads.

A bonus is the FREE chain they come with measuring 70cm.

We have key charms, hearts and others in the antique gold and silver fiinishes. From £2.50 per set.

There are filigree earrings too and lots more new beads to come.