When Rachel made a very interesting comment on my post about whether formal education or self teaching is important I became most intrigued and wanted to find out more! She has kindly answered my questions so if you’re interested in jewellery making as a business or metalsmithing read on for priceless information and advice. […]

My thoughts on modern jewellery display:

Bad Ideas:

-Crushed Velvet
-Mug Trees
-Wine Glasses/ Vases
-Cork Pin Boards
-No Light/Poor Light
-A distracting array of irrelevant items
-No price tags
-No mirror
-Unsightly structural aids like duct tape or staples
-Everything laid flat

Good Ideas:

-Glass shelves/ sheets
-Dichroic lighting/bright natural light
-Pale woods
-Light materials in plain, subtle colours
-A colour scheme with a theme (eg. pale blue and white with […]

Beautiful jewellery isn’t essential, it isn’t a dull necessity. It is only to be admired. It can change a plain black outfit into a chic masterpiece, draw attention to something or subtlety add a certain something effortlessly.

Making jewellery suddenly makes these pleasures accessible and plausible. Making up a pair of earrings for you friend’s […]

I got to thinking today when I was at work about all the little repairs I do and how there may be some money to be made from it! Here are my ideas I jotted down about it…

You can easily subsidise your jewellery sales by doing repairs. You won’t believe the simple repairs people don’t […]

Here are some points on the issues of customer relations and your policies:

Returns
If the item in question is obviously faulty and has not been badly treated, replace it or offer a refund. If it has been longer than two months since purchase or has been damaged through obvious neglect - charge a fee for […]

As a jewellery designer buying your materials wholesale may enable you to lower your prices to retailers or simply gain more profit from your current prices!

Firstly you need to think about your current collection and if it will lend itself to being repeated. If it can’t be (which let’s face it; as a somebody […]

Writing a reply to Kalicat today has got me thinking about wholesalers. What if that shop you approach asks about your wholesale prices? It’s something to consider if you are serious about your jewellery.
If your jewellery takes a long time to make I wouldn’t even think about wholesale. Your piece is priced to reflect […]

Web Programmer/Designer Mark Hughes kindly agreed to answer my questions about setting up your website from scratch.
The information here is priceless. There are secrets that the web companies won’t tell you.
Mark covers areas such as SEO, web design, stock photography, creating a banner and your first steps to starting a website from […]

Here is a tour of a fantastic hidden gem of a bead shop out in the Dorset countryside. You can imagine my delight when I entered the barn to see trays of beads and findings displayed in front of me see www.thebeadster.com for their actual site which they will be uploading with plenty of […]

I went to check out Etsy.com today, I have to say I am so impressed.
Etsy is an American website where one can buy and sell anything that’s been handcrafted. It’s not just American sellers though, there are sellers from all over the world producing a whole selection of items from handbags, to art, to […]