Featured Opportunities
Handmade Jewelry Business
The first thing to consider when thinking about starting a home based handmade jewelry business is whether or not you know how to make jewelry. Sure most people can string a few beads on a cord and add a clasp and have a beautiful necklace. But that is just the problem, most people can. If you want your jewelry making business to sell then your work has to be exceptional. The quality of work has to be good and the components have to be good quality also. Your designs have to be pleasing to the eye; the colors and textures have to be balanced and complimentary. Your jewelry has to stand out in a crowd and be unique.
One painful lesson I learned years ago when I tried to sell some craft projects at a little craft mall was that your work has to be better quality and more difficult to make than what the average shopper can produce themselves. How many times have you walked through a craft mall or bazaar and thought “I can make that”? The average person can, and probably already has, strung a few beads on a wire and added a clasp.
If you want to sell handmade jewelry then you need to make it in a way that the average person can’t. The difference can be a more complicated design, unique components, more expensive components or what ever you can think of to make your work special.
Wire sculpting can be a fantastic way to make your handmade jewelry different than every one else’s. “Wire sculpting” is a form of jewelry making using different kinds of wire wrapped around a bead or gemstone. Designs can be very simple or very complicated. Either way, it does take some practice, but it is so worth it. You can take a 2 or 3-dollar gemstone, wrap 2 or 3 dollars worth of wire round it to form a pendent and sell it for $25 or more dollars, easily.
Another unique thing you can do is to use photos. All you have to do is put a photo in a little frame and put it on a chain or cord, you can use stock photos or custom photos. It would be a fantastic item to sell to grandmothers!!!
Start-Up Equipment
Starting a home based jewelry business does not have to take up a lot of space in your house nor does it require a lot of equipment.
For starters all you need are a few different pairs of pliers, wire cutters, ruler, and polishing cloth.
You will need a round nose pliers for making loops and wire wrapping, bent nose pliers for all kind of things, chain nose pliers for opening jump rings and things like that, crimping pliers for closing crimp beads, and nylon flat nosed pliers for straightening out bent wire.
These are just the basics, as you go along you can add more to your arsenal.
Wire jigs are a lot of fun to use and very necessary if you want to make the same wire shape over and over again. It is a flat board with holes in it. You stick pegs in the wholes and the wrap your wire around it to from a shape. You can make fancy shapes to use as links or as focal points or frames for special beads. They are great for making chandelier earrings!
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