Famous Jewelry Collections: THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Saturday, May 21, 2011

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Posted: 21 May 2011 04:00 AM PDT

Image by Lisa Lehman

We in the jewelry making community know and understand considerable time, effort and skill go into creating designs you don't see in shops. But do you find many people still do not appreciate hand made crafts?

One artisan said in one of my Linkedin groups said, "It's interesting to me how some people will drop $200 every 8 weeks to cut and color their hair, and yet balk at a $100 piece of handcrafted jewelry that is one-of-a-kind, made of valuable semi-precious gemstones and high quality sterling silver, and with care, will last a lifetime."

Some artisans defend their work and prices at craft shows with standard comeback lines like "It's not for everyone." There is clearly a need to educate people.

Well, Lisa Lehman over at the Studio Jewel blog actually took the trouble to show how she made her recent creation, a lovely sterling silver and copper necklace. With the exception of the silver chain and clasp, she made the other components by hand. As you can see from her tutorial, there are many steps including cutting the rings, soldering, pickling (acid bath treatment to remove surface impurities), sawing metal, wire work and so on. The resulting aesthetic styled necklace is well made - it has solid silver closed jump rings which will not open - and exudes quality as she has made a pendant from sterling silver sheet.

Here are some excellent selling features to consider when promoting hand made jewelry :

Unique - Unlike mass-produced items, the chances of seeing someone else wear the same piece is pretty slim even if the artisan made more than 1 of the same design. One customer who bought one of my designs for a wedding was horrified to find another guest wearing an identical dress. But her jewelry was different!
Not Mass Produced Factories sometimes churn out large quantities of low cost jewelry which are not durable. The reverse is true for hand made - quality over quantity.
Well Made - It's in the interest of the artisan to make sure of high quality and lasting designs if there are to be future customers!
Custom designs - Jewelry can be made to order and fit.
Supporting a Community - Buying from local artisans supports the local economy because they probably will spend what they earn in their community.
Eco Fashion - People are now shying away from raw consumerism and waste. There is a huge trend for environmentally friendly jewelry made from recycled materials. So if you do make eco jewelry, it's a great selling point!