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rec.crafts.jewelry
H i g h l i g h t s
Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Techniques
November 2, 1997 Issue #1
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Highlights Editor:
~ Dr. E Aspler <service AT ganoksin.com>
rec.crafts.jewelry newsgroup modarator:
~ Peter Rowe <PWRowe AT ix.netcom.com>
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Introducing Highlights
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From: Peter Rowe <PWRowe AT ix.netcom.com>
Attached are a number of recent messages sent to the usenet
newsgroup, rec.crafts.jewelry. This group is a moderated
newsgroup, and as such will be found to be pleasantly free of off
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messages, please. A monthly FAQ, detailing acceptable posting
guidelines, is sent the beginning of each month, or may be found
in the dejanews archeives at http://www.dejanews.com .
Not-for-publication contact with the moderator can be sent to
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thanks.
Peter Rowe
moderator
rec.craft.jewelry
.....IN THIS DIGEST.....
// -- N-E-W -- //
"Where to sell jewelry"
~ slbailey AT bu.edu (Sherry Bailey)
~ joyreside AT aol.com (JoyReside)
"Babul (pointy granulation)"
~ sabuk AT aol.com (SabuK)
"Bead tips-findings help"
~ joyreside AT aol.com (JoyReside)
"Silver hallmarks on internet"
~ janjaap.luijt AT wxs.nl
// -- B-U-L-L-E-T-I-N B-O-A-R-D --//
"Annealing wire?"
~ slbailey AT bu.edu (Sherry Bailey)
// -- H-E-L-P --//
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Orchid D - I - G - E - S - T
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// -- N-E-W -- //
Where to sell jewelry
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From: slbailey AT bu.edu (Sherry Bailey)
There are lots of good books out on selling crafts. Wendy
Rosen's "Selling your Crafts" (I think) is popular these days, for
one. Basically there is no one "best" place to sell, and anyway if
there was, why would those who know about it ruin THEIR sales by
telling the world about it!?
You have to find the places that work FOR YOU. I, for one,
refuse to do "mass production" work -- I have nothing against
those who do, I just can't stand repeating designs like that. So
the wholesale options that production craftsmen use are not
appropriate for me. I won't ever sell to store chains, etc. that
order by the item number. Production craftsmen can make a living
doing that exact thing, though, if they have the psychology to
make things in multiples. (Good quality things, of course!) You
have to figure out how much time and money you want to put into
marketing, and how much time and effort into your work, and what
you need to do to make a profit. (WAY too many hobby crafters seem
to think making back the materials costs is good enough -- these
guys are the ones who make it harder for people who know you also
have to get paid a reasonable wage for your time and all the
overhead costs, as well.)
This is going to sound like I'm sneering, and I'm NOT -- but
bead jewelry is a tricky area. A lot of it all looks alike, no
matter who makes it, and there isn't a huge market for that stuff
anywhere, especially since 3rd world countries assemble (for
example) bead earrings and sell them wholesale to discount stores
(and others -- flea marketers, for example) for pennies... why
would anybody pay ten dollars a pair for your bead earrings when
they can get a pair for a dollar in the mall? So with beads you
really have to struggle to make your work differentiated.
Fabricate settings, make your own beads, sell vintage beads that
simply LOOK better, whatever it takes -- but if your stuff doesn't
have special appeal, you are in direct competition with people who
work for 50 cents a day with beads bought by the millions at rock
bottom prices. No way you can succeed that way. Good luck Sherry
From: joyreside AT aol.com (JoyReside)
I did a country craft show in the beginning of my business and
sold 1 pair of $13.00 earrings. It was the fastest lesson I ever
learned. Call or write your State Arts Council,(Illinois has a
great one!) many publish listing of fine art/crafts shows to jury
into. Next spend as much as you can afford to get HIGH QUALITY
slides of your pieces made. They need to be a good representation
of your work. It is from these slides you will be juried into
shows. (Slides... I can write a book about that subject). As far
as competitive, you will have jewelry at ALL fine craft fairs.
What makes you a high seller is not necessarily the price, but
your individuallity, creativity and quality. Joy
Babul (pointy granulation)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: sabuk AT aol.com (SabuK)
I think I asked if anyone knew about this technique a while ago in
this newsgroup, and I just found out about it myself so I thought
I would answer here. I had seen a pair of antique (marked English)
earrings that where three spheres covered in tiny tiny pointed
conical shapes so that touching one was like picking up a
miniature sycamore ball. The earrings were very gold colored.
People I asked about it usually said it was granulation, but it
did not look like the granulation I had seen because the
"granules" were pointed. In turns out, as documented in Oppi
Untracht's Traditional Jewelry of India (Abrams 1997) that this
work was done in India to look like an acacia flower. It is
usually done on spherical or semicircular domes to imitate the
flower's form, and the "granules" are made by pressing high carat
metal into some kind of mold to make the pointy granules. They are
connected to the metal the same way as granulation. Then, the
whole thing is washed in acid to give it a matte surface. The
technique was especially used to decorate traditional Indian
earrings of one, two or three balls. The example I saw was truly
spectacular. Unfortunately, I couldn't buy them, but at least I
know how they were made. I hope I didn't condense the explanation
too much. If anyone wants the verbatim text, I'll e-mail it. Judy
Geib
Bead tips-findings help
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: joyreside AT aol.com (JoyReside)
I bought my first ounce of PMC in Sept and had some fun. My
best products included pressing some fresh leaves into the clay,
baking then antique and polish. Because of the porosity, you
must burnish the area you wish to solder findings or the solder
will be literally sucked into your piece. (this was very
flustrating in the beginning)... Anyway, public response was
positive. Of the 6 pieces produced sold 3 at first show. I also
did a thin basketweave pin but found it to be to thin and ends
broke easily. My solution was to run it through the rolling mill
to flatten the design and solder to a piece of 24 gauge. I am
glad I experimented but I am not sure I will reorder. Anyone
else?????? Joy
Silver hallmarks on internet
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: janjaap.luijt AT wxs.nl
Want to find silver hallmarks on the Internet try:
http://home.wxs.nl/~luijt005/hallm.html
Good luck, Janjaap Luijt
// -- B-U-L-L-E-T-I-N B-O-A-R-D --//
Annealing wire?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
From: slbailey AT bu.edu (Sherry Bailey)
I am wondering what you folks would recommend for someone who
wants to do some one-step-above-basic wire work with annealed
sterling, copper, and brass wire. I don't have a gas range (which
I know can be used for annealing) and don't really want to invest
the $100-150 in a little kiln for this purpose. I have seen small
gas (propane, I think) "hot plates" which might work, although I
have no idea how fast you'd use up the little cartridges. Are
there any other options that will get the metal hot enough?
(Eventually I hope to gear up to a more serious level, and
refresh the skills I learned 20 years ago in jewelry classes in
college, but at the moment I will be happy to soften some wire so
I can hammer it!)
Sherry
----- End of rec.crafts.jewelry Highlights Digest ---------
// -- H-E-L-P -- //
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