After being in the jewelry biz for a little over 10 years, I’ve discovered a few things that give jewelry that ‘up a notch’ look. Read on to find out how.
1. Experiment and Play.
This is so important! Try something new. Got a crazy ass idea? Go for it! Try it out using less expensive materials at first. You can use base metal wire from the hardware store for trying out designs and glass or even plastic beads. That way if you don’t love it, you didn’t just burn through all your priciest materials. Be brave. You will have to venture onto the good stuff at some point.
2. Give it a Test Drive
After you’ve taken a leap and created some new pieces using your crazy awesome ideas, wear what you’ve created and enlist friends to try them on too. I have learned more from doing this and listening to their feed back that most anything else I do. How does it lay? Is it easy to wear? Can it be worn in ways that are different than you imagined? Listen to all of their feedback and take good notes. This is also a form of marketing research.
Most of my friends know that I have a drawer with all the pieces I experimented with and they make a beeline for my studio every time they come over.
3. Use the right tool for the job.
Using the right tool for the job seems obvious but I know all about some of you people with your chewed up flush cutters and bent needle nose pliers. Learn about which tools to use with which materials and think of them as an investment. Shop for tools that feel good in your hands to avoid stress and fatigue, which may show in your jewelry. Take good care of them! No cutting through 14 gauge or Beadalon wire with those little cutters!
4. Use the best quality materials you can afford.
Find the materials that make your heart sing and then get the very best of those things that you can afford. You will feel so much happier about using them in your jewelry. The one most important thing about hand made jewelry is that the maker has handled every component of that piece, each wire wrap you make and every bead you string passes through your hands before it makes a connection with another person. There is a connection there, something people can feel, make it count. If you aren’t happy with your materials, someone will be able to see it. It will be reflected in how you present your work.
Consider raising your prices so you can work with materials you love. Hold high standards for your own work and the materials you use. Work on improving your skills and offer your very best every time. ‘Good enough’ never is.
5. Learn to make your own findings.
Learning to make your own unique head pins, clasps and earring findings will always set your jewelry apart. Creating your own findings shows you’ve thought about the piece and care about it enough that you want to make sure that even the clasp or finding is hand made by you especially for that piece. It’s another way to infuse your work with your own personality and it saves you some cash at the same time. It also shows off your skills as a jewelry maker. It is true, that “God is in the details’” (Gustave Flaubert (1821-80)
Got any questions or tips you’d like to share? Leave a comment below.
