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Blizzard!

It is cold and yucky and starting to snow. I thought Spring was here! The weatherman says we are in for a blizzard that will rage from 1 PM today through 7PM tomorrow night. 

Weather like this can be very depressing or occasionally inspiring. Who hasn't looked out at softly falling snow and enjoyed the beauty of the snowflakes? 

On one one such day during the winter months I designed the bead weaving pattern called snowflakes. Here is a bracelet made in the snowflake pattern. I chose the red color to cheer up the dark dreary days of winter as well as to contrast with the white snowflakes. 

Do colors influence your mood?

How Much to Charge?

Making jewelry is fun but selling it is a different kettle of fish all together. Figuring out a system of pricing is tricky. How much is too much? What is a fair wage for your time? How do you figure in overhead, packaging, tools, etc. There are many formulas that jewelry designers use. 

There is a very nice price calculator developed by Eni Oken for Microsoft Exel users. You can purchase it here: http://www.enioken.com/jewelry/pricecalc.html

One factor to consider is your market. If you live in a major city you have many more options than you do if you live in a rural area as I do. In a city, selling a necklace for $200-$300 might be very reasonable but in the rural areas $50-$60 is about as much as people are willing to spend.

My formula is 2.5 x materials plus labor. You determine how much your time is worth and add that, per hour, to the materials cost. Some artists just multiply materials by 3, 4, or 5 times and figure the labor will be covered. Whatever formula you use, be consistent so that your prices won't fluctuate wildly. 

I must admit that I still struggle with pricing. It is my least favorite part of selling jewelry. 

The perfect clasp

Following up on my thoughts about finding the right clasp, today I'm posting a new bracelet I just finished called Chantilly. The bracelet is absolutely gorgeous and I didn't want to add a clasp that wasn't as beautiful as the bracelet itself. Pulling out my stash of Sterling clasps I began to try various shapes and sizes. 

The slide clasp was taller than the width of the bracelet so that was eliminated. The spring ring and lobster claws were too small.  I didn't have any Sterling barrel clasps at all. That left me with toggle clasps to sort  through. There were several that were OK but when I got to this beautiful, simple, geometric Saki clasp I knew I'd found the perfect clasp. 

Do you think I've made the right choice?

Picking the right clasp

Picking the right clasp for your necklaces and bracelets is so important. You should consider two things when choosing the clasp for any piece of jewelry, function and style. Will it do the job and how well does it compliment the piece.

A small spring ring type clasp will be secure and while it is not obtrusive, it doesn't add any interest to the piece. These are the most common clasps found on costume jewelry.

Barrel clasps screw tightly together and work well for both necklaces and bracelets. If you have trouble with your hands this is probably not a good clasp for you.

Toggle clasps are much prettier and can even be the focal point of your necklace or bracelet but they need to be tight enough not to fall off, without being so tight you have to struggle to attach them.

Magnetic clasps are easy to get on and a favorite for necklaces with my older customers. Bracelets can also be made with magnetic clasps but they attach themselves to anything metallic such as metal desks, file cabinets, railings, even silverware, so beware!

Safety clasps are another good option for all types of jewelry. The classic pearl clasp stays on but can be hard to attach until you get the hang of the turning around the "u" shaped hook. Adding a chain to each side of the closure is a good way to make sure you don't lose your necklace or bracelet.

S-hooks look wonderful on necklaces and are easy to attach but aren't usually a good option for bracelets since the motion of your hands can make them come apart. 

Hook and eye clasps are another good clasp for necklaces but not quite a good for bracelets. Some hook and eyes have a very small or curved opening and these will work better for bracelets.

Of course there are no set rules about clasps. It is a matter of taste and preference. If one of my customers prefers a different clasp, I'm always happy to make the change for them. It's a good idea to shake your hand when trying a bracelet to see if it stays on. I test all of the bracelets I make to see if I can shake them off. If I can, I change the clasp.

I think Spring is finally here!

I thought Spring had arrived but then we had another 5-6 inches of snow last Monday. Yesterday I noticed that the wind felt softer and no longer chills the bones. My honeysuckle vine has a few green leaves peaking out so it won't be long until the grass greens up and the flowers start poking their heads out after the long winter.

I love this bracelet because the African turquoise beads look like new leaves poking out from under the snow. The freshwater pearls remind me of snowdrops in the Spring.

Chunky is in for summer

After looking at several catalogues recently, I've decided that chunky jewelry is the new in thing for summer. The necklace I just finished fits the bill perfectly for summer jewelry and the red color will even move into fall styles. 

I call this necklace Red Mesa since it reminds me of the red rock formations in the southwest.

Beading for a cause

Breast Cancer

I sometimes wish I was extremely wealthy so that I could donate a bizillion dollars to find a cure for cancer or heart disease. Thinking about what I could do to help various causes led to the creation of my awareness bracelets. For every bracelet sold, $10 is donated to the cause. The list of possible causes is endless. 

I have created both beaded bracelets and chainmaille bracelets for various causes. I also make custom bracelets for people who have a particular cause they would like to support. You can find a list of awareness cause/colors online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awareness_ribbons

HIV/AIDs

Autism

Support our troops

What are some of the ways you offer support to others through your art?

Badge Holders

Are you required to wear a badge at work? If so, there is no need to wear it on those ugly shoelace type cords. Why not wear it as a piece of jewelry instead? Fancy badge holders may include gemstone beads, Sterling or gold filled accents and lovely Swarovski crystals.

The badge holder shown here is made using carnelian beads, a lovely handcrafted focal, jasper, and glass accent beads. I've also used Sterling daisy spacers to add a little bling. This beautiful badge holder is not only utilitarian but a lovely piece of jewelry.

Badge holders need not be expensive in order to be beautiful. This one is made using acrylic beads with glass spacers. It is a fraction of the cost of the first one but still has a nice sense of style.

Process of creating the Art Deco Bracelet

Today I thought I'd tell you about how I designed my new bracelet. I started out making my Rondo chainmaille weave according to the instructions. I used bronze and stainless steel rings. When I got to step 4, I noticed that the central part of the weave had a nice art deco look when the rings were pushed toward the ends. 

Then the experimentation began to keep the rings in that position. I decided that the best way to "hold" them in place was to add more rings along the sides so that they couldn't shift too much. Adding too many rings made the bracelet too stiff so I compromised by adding enough rings to keep the pattern going but still allowing the rings to shift a bit for flexibility. 

The Art Deco bracelet was born.

For more images and a close-up, visit my etsy shop: http://www.BeadedBaubles.etsy.com