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Jewelry Tools and Jewelry Supplies

What you will need to get started.

Supplies

The first thing you need to know about buying jewelry supplies is that you need to buy your jewelry supplies and equipment at wholesale cost. You won’t make much profit if you buy all beads and wire at the local craft chain store. You need to get a sales authorization certificate or a tax ID number so you can buy at wholesale and not have to pay taxes until you resell it. Check with your state regulations.

Some stores, both online and off, will give you discounts dependent on how much you buy. For example (just off the top of my head), if you buy 50 items they give you 10% off, if you buy 51 to 100 then you get 30% off and if you buy over 200 then you get 50%. So what I do is wait until I am out of a lot of supplies and have the chance to save up some spending money then make a large order. Which means I have to keep careful records of my supplies and my money.

The Jewelry Designer Manager™ and Craft Manager™ software programs let you keep track of parts and vendors, calculate costs and pricing, create bills of material, print invoices, price lists, catalogs and more. Whether you sell to wholesalers, craft-fairs, home parties or retailers these software programs can help you get organized so you can spend more time making jewelry and crafts. http://www.jewelrydesignermanager.com/

Sometimes though you will have to buy special items like focal beads or components at regular retail cost. Which is OK as long as you buy the bulk of your supplies at wholesale.

Tools

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 kinds 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 holes and then 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!