Now that you have your tools, the next step is to purchase some of the essentials to creating your jewelry. The initial investment can be quite low, if you show thrifty and watch sales. Most of the local craft stores have these essentials and with a few coupons and some shopping around, you can be on your way to having your own jewelry started immediately.
Keep in mind that jewelry items are most often small and can be easily dropped and lost. Carpeting under your work space can be a problem if you drop small beads or findings. The best flooring is a tight, no pile carpet or rubber matting. Items will hit and stop without rolling far away. Pets and small children may also be attracted to sparkling items such as beads so be sure to keep them out of your work space.
FINDINGS: These are essential items known in the jewelry world that form the foundation of your items. They can be hooks for earrings to bails for pendants. "Findings" is a general term meaning, component parts. When you go into a store and look in this section, there are hundreds of choices. Keep in mind, the kind of pieces you want to create and search for matching findings. For example: Earrings will require some kind of hook or wire to hang the design from. Earring backs are necessary in most earring designs that are of a post nature.
The findings are generally broken up by metal color: golden, silver tone, copper and gun-metal. It is sometimes helpful to buy a larger package that offers a variety of these so that you can choose when making your pieces.
The next essential items are the fun part... the BEADS. With thousands of them to choose from, the choices are up to you and can be very overwhelming. Keep your ideas in mind and stick to that for now. You can increase your reserves later but as you are getting started, try to focus on your ideas for your creations before branching out. I like to peruse the craft stores for my beads but I often stop at garage sales and antique stores for that one-of-a-kind item that would really make my necklace or accessory POP! Some of the best places to find beads are in antique stores or a grandparents attic. Old necklaces and clothing can have some of the most beautiful things on them. WARNING: don't throw out the other items if you take something apart. These pieces get put into my reserves so that I can use them on something else I create.
Lastly, some WIRE. Wire, wire wire! I love wire! No artist is without it. Select a material that favors your design, to start with. Do go to far out getting tons of different kinds. You may find that a certain style and gauge are your favorite and never use anything else. Keep it simple. Buy just enough to cover your needs. An easy gauge is 20 and is fairly pliable without breaking. It is a bit thicker and offers fingers some grip for those of you just starting out. Later, you may want to graduate to different sizes and hard vs soft inside metals. We will touch on that later. For now, pick something esthetically pleasing to your design.
With a few simple pieces, you can be off and running.
Here are some great sites to help you get started:
http://www.guyotbrothers.com/jewelry-findings-glossary.htm
http://www.jewelrysupply.com/
http://www.ninadesigns.com/articles/wholesale-jewelry-findings.html
Thanks for visiting. Please be sure to add your comments and check
back. I will be posting more tips shortly. Thank you - Donna
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