Okay, so you’ve mastered the arts of making your own bead jewelry. You’ve sold some pieces, you have your business established, you visit the local craft shows and flea markets and you might even have your own jewelry website (or Etsy site) and maybe even a few regular customers. Formal advertising can be expensive and the effectiveness can obviously vary. What you need to kick start your jewelry business may be some public relations tricks that don’t cost you very much at all. What your jewelry business may need the most is some free publicity.

There are lots of great publicity and marketing books available.

There are plenty of ways to get free publicity (in fact, there are entire books written about getting free marketing for your business) but if you’re a struggling jewelry maker or designer who is just starting out then you probably want to try some local methods without spending a lot of money. Here are a few marketing ideas that I’ve actually seen results from:

Local Newspapers: I have at least three local community newspapers that are delivered to my home over the course of any given month. Some are a little better than others, but they all love to feature stories about local artists and business people. Ideally you’ll want to write up a one or two page bio about you and your jewelry business and then submit it to the newspaper with a cover letter and maybe some photos of your jewelry. Depending on the general reading audience of the local paper you can give your biography a business tilt or a local flavor tilt.

Local TV Newscasters: If you have a local (or even not so local) television news station, you can consider two different ways of getting free publicity. First, you can do the same as with a local newspaper by sending them a letter and photos of your jewelry. But what you may also want to do is make or two jewelry pieces that you think one of your local newscasters might wear on TV and send that along as well. I had a friend whose jewelry was mentioned by the hostess for just a few seconds on a local morning show and she said that within a week she had three calls from shop owners to sell her jewelry in their stores! You may want to have a website up and ready before you do this because most TV people will be more open to tossing out a website on the air than actually giving out a phone number or address.

Donate Your Jewelry To Charity Auctions: This is one tried and true method that I’ve seen work with handmade jewelry, photographs and just about anything else that an artist can make. Ideally you should donate a jewelry set like a matching necklace, bracelet and earrings and provide it all with presentation in mind, so you may want to include a jewelry box or satin back or even a small jewelry display stand. Most charity auctions will display your items for a period of time and lots of people will walk past your item and see it. By displaying your business card (and website address) prominently you stand a good chance of getting some good exposure and maybe even some new customers!

There are, of course, plenty of other great ways to promote your home run jewelry business for almost no costs at all. If you’re a little unsure about how to start, you might want to check out some home-business marketing books as well. Heck, even wearing your jewelry around town and simply mentioning that you make jewelry are both good conversation starters and excellent ways to make friends while building a customer base!

Summer is here and it has me thinking about all sorts of beach jewelry! One of the most popular types of “summer” jewelry that jewelry maker thinks about at one time or another is seashell jewelry. Making jewelry out of seashells is some that’s so natural that some scientists think the first jewelry ever made was created out of seashells!

Almost any type of seashell can be used for jewelry.

If you’re lucky enough to live near a beach that’s clean and easily accessible then you may be able to get most, if not all, of the seashells you use for your jewelry for free. If not, then you can actually buy seashells online without spending much money. By buying your own shells you will most likely end up with some really nice shells as well as a few shells that are simply not suitable for jewelry.

Making jewelry out of seashells can be challenging because most shells are fragile and often sharp, which means that you sometimes have to be selective in exactly what shells you decide to use. You’re really only limited by your imagination when it comes to making jewelry with seashells and there are actually some jewelry makers out there who specialize in making nothing but seashell and beach-oriented jewelry. I’ve made a few pieces of seashell jewelry in the past, but a few recent trips to the beach with my toddler has yielded me a lot more seashells then I ever thought I’d have at home, so I’ve begun working with them again. Here are some of the tips I’ve learned for making seashell jewelry:

Drilling Holes in Seashells

This is by far one of the most challenging parts of making seashell jewelry. First, you’ll want to be sure that your shell is strong enough to be used for jewelry. Different shells warrant different testing methods, but I first visually inspect a shell and then I do a sort of “drop” test where I drop the shell from about a foot in the air to my desktop. If it doesn’t completely shatter or crack, then I figure it’s at least worth trying to drill a hole.

Now comes the cleaning. You can soak your shells for a few minutes in cold water and then use an old toothbrush to clean off any dirt or sand that might be caked on them. After your shell is clean you can pat it dry with a towel and then mark with a pencil or fine tip marker where you’re going to drill your hole.

You’ll want to stabilize your shell as your drilling and there are a few different ways to do this. Larger, flatter shells may sit fine on a table, but one good trick is to use a large, stiff piece of modeling clay. Stick the shell into the clay and push on it a little bit until it’s secure. Some people suggest drilling shells when they are filled with water or underwater because the claim is they won’t crack when they’re in water.

A small jewelry drill like this might work well for seashell jewelry.

Now you can drill one or two holes, depending upon what you need. Again, there are lots of different tools you can use to drill holes, but many jewelry makers prefer manual methods over mechanical methods. I have a little manual hand drill that I use for a variety of things, but it works pretty well with drilling holes in seashells because I can vary the speed, angle and pressure that I use on the shell. I also picked up a small set of jewelry drill bits a while ago that I use to create some remarkably small holes. The size of the holes you need to drill will obviously depend upon your stringing material and the shell you’re using, but we’ll get to that.

Drill slowly and carefully. When you drill something you’re not “pushing” the bit into the shell. Instead, you’re actually using that sharp point to grind away at the shell, leaving a hole. You should apply very little pressure and be patient. This won’t be like punching holes in paper.

Once you’ve drilled a whole in your shell you still want to inspect the shell with a jewelry magnifier for any cracks or sharp edges you may have introduced. You can use a little bead hole bore or even a little metal file to smooth out any rough edges.

If you have a Dremel tool then you could also use that, though I’ve found that Dremels are often too fast and too powerful for drilling tiny holes in fragile shells. If you use a Dremel or a power drill then you might want to try to find a tiny drill bit that’s meant for drilling through stone or ceremics such a tiny diamond tipped bit. Depending on your application, you may also want to start out drilling a small hole and then use a slightly larger bit each time, slowly increasing the size of your hole until it’s the size you need. Any sort of mechanical drill will make your drill bits very hot very quickly, so you may want to drill for a moment, pull back and let things cool and then drill again for a few seconds.

You’ll also want to be very careful not to breath in the dust from drilling seashells. This is where drilling holes in shells under water could definitely help: you won’t breathe in any toxic dust and if you happen to break something pieces won’t go flying all over the room.

If you want to make the holes you drill into shells a little stronger for your jewelry, you can glue or epoxy down seed beads with the same diamater hole on either side of the holes on your seashell. This will give your hole a little more surface area for the string and may prevent it from rubbing against a sharp edge.

Coating Seashells

While some seashell jewelry is composed of seashells without any sort of protective coating or paint at all, you should remember that shells are fragile and can chip or break if you’re not careful. Likewise, seashells are porous and can stain if they happen to have something spilled on them and the shells absorb it. Again, this is largely dependent on the type of seashell you’re using.

Some people like to paint the seashells they use in jewelry. I’m not a big fan of putting artifical colors on seashells, but I’m also not a very good painter! LOL! If you paint your shells then you’ll almost definitely want to coat them as well to be sure the paint doesn’t get chipped or crack over time.

I personally feel better coating seashells with a clear coat of an acrylic or resin craft spray. Whatever you use, you’ll want to be sure it’s approved for porous materials like tile or ceramics. If it’s okay to use on those things, then it’s probably okay for seashells (just test on a similar type of shell if you’re not sure). Others have suggested using clear nail polish, which I’m sure would work, but it seems that it might be easier to spray on a sealant coat instead of painting it on with a little nail polish brush.

Attaching and Stringing Seashells Together

The easiest part of making jewelry from seashsells is stringing them together, though there are some things you need to watch out for when you’re doing this.

First, you’ll want to pick out a good stringing material, but just about anything will work as long as the holes you drilled in your shells are large enough. I’ve seen seashell jewelry strung together with fishing line (invisible and strong), Beadalong bead stringing wire, black silk rope and even ribbons. If you’re good at wirework (which I’m not) you could wrap wire around smaller shells and make a pendant, essentially hanging and wearing the seashell in the same way one might wrap a gemstone in wire.

Second, you’ll want to be sure the holes in your seashells don’t wear at the stringing material excessively, which could cause your jewelry to break rather quickly. Again, you can round the edges of your drilled holes or you can glue on some seed beads or, if you’re really worried about it and you have a steady hand you can glue little couplings in the holes you drilled, but this takes some planning ahead to make sure everything fits together well.

Lastly, you’ll need to check your jewelry to make sure there is some play, but not too much, between your seashells. Too much movement could cause your seashells to smash together and crack or break if they are fragile, while not enough could make the jewelry piece too rigid for any sort of flexing or turning.

Conclusion

Attach some clasps, double-check everything to make sure it looks and feels good and that’s it! Now you can show off your jewelry at the beach, on vacation or wherever you’re going this summer.

I began making bead jewelry years ago because at the time it was the most approachable and easiest way to begin making jewelry. While it takes plenty of practice to actually get good at making beautiful jewelry with beads, the basic idea of stringing beads together and attaching clasps is a fairly easy one to grasp. Many accomplished jewelry artists will tell you the same thing: they began with bead jewelry because it was the easiest type of jewelry to begin making.

But lately I’ve been wanting to expand my skills into other areas and I keep gravitating towards metal work and, especially, making silver jewelry! I actually have a fair number of silver jewelry pieces that I’ve bought over the years and I almost never wear gold anymore… I guess I’m just a silver jewelry gal!

And while I’m not yet making my own silver jewelry (I’m going to try to find a class) I have been looking to other jewelry artists who specialize in silver to get some inspiration. I can’t list everything I’ve been finding, but here are two great silver jewelry makers I’ve run across who all have a great sense of style and cool websites:

Beth Millner Silversmith and Jewelry Artist – Michigan-based Beth Millner’s handmade silver jewelry has fascinated me for a while. She works with silver a lot, but she also uses mixes of copper and brass in earrings, pendants and rings. I love the simplistic beauty of silver silhouettes and I’m always astounded by the detail and precision she’s able to squeeze into a tiny handmade silver pendant or ring! Her jewelry blog is filled with great information about making silver jewelry and the projects she’s working on from one week to the next and she has a link to her Etsy jewelry store.

TinyShiny – I think the quirkiness of the design of the TinyShiny website is what first caught my eye, but they have some wonderful silver earrings, rings, pendants and bracelets. They TinyShiny site is fun to visit and they a few different types of crafts and jewelry on their site, including origami jewelry!

I’ve been having a difficult time finding a jewelry silver making class that’s local and will fit my admittedly cramped schedule, but when I do I’ll let you know how I’m doing with it. I’ll even show you my first attempts at making silver jewelry if I get a chance to try it out myself!

Sherri Haab has a new book out called Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations: Techniques and Designs from the Artist’s Studio and it looks to be a winner!

Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations: Techniques and Designs from the Artist’s Studio

This isn’t your typical “how-to” or “instruction” book for how to build certain jewelry pieces step-by-step, though it does walk you through most of what you need to do. Instead, Sherri Haab’s book tries to look at the entire process of making jewelry, from the very beginnings of inspiration right through to the finished piece of art. She has a great section in her book about how she organizes her studio, her beading and jewelry making supplies and even her inspirational ideas. For example, she keeps a large file box filled with “craft idea” clippings from various magazines and newspaper articles she’s found over the past 30 years. When she needs some inspiration she’ll sometimes go browsing through her clippings!

She also covers a lot of the basic techniques of jewelry making including a quick rundown of working with wire, resin clay, metal clay and image transfers. There are lots of photos and the writing is as clear as can be, which actually makes this a pretty good book for the beginner who is looking to make jewelry for the first time or the more advanced beader who is simply searching for better ways to do things. This is not a comprehensive book of every single jewelry making technique, but it’s not trying to be. She simply gives you a working overview of how to do certain things with jewelry in case the reader isn’t familiar with some of these techniques. A complete beginner could almost definitely pick up this book and create some pretty darn good jewelry with just a few hours of practice.

There are over 20 different jewelry projects in this book and it doesn’t stick to one specific theme or even material. Again, this isn’t a strict “how-to” book but rather a “how-I-do-it-and-you-can-too” sort of book She actually wants you to take her ideas and her techniques, mix them up, and make something new of your own! In a way this book serves as a personal tour through Sherri’s studio, her thought process when creating jewelry and her life.

For those of you unfamiliar with Sherri Haab she’s a very talented craft instructor who has written over 20 different craft and jewelry books over the years and has released her own instructional DVDs. She’s also appeared on HGTV, the DIY Network and Martha Stewart Living Radio! Oh and she blogs and cooks and has all sorts of great ideas on her website over at http://www.sherrihaab.com/. She’s written a lot of books, and Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations: Techniques and Designs from the Artist’s Studio is already looking to be one of her best!

My husband has been asking me to write about “steampunk” jewelry because it’s a popular style of homemade jewelry and even though it doesn’t usually involve beads, it does require a lot of different jewelry making skills and talents. Steampunk jewelry is one of the most popular types of handmade jewelry on Etsy (searching for it yields over 29,000 results) and it’s one of the few types of jewelry truly “unisex” jewelry which can almost always be worn by men and women.

Steampunk Style Jewelry: Victorian, Fantasy, and Mechanical Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earrings

Steampunk is a type of science fiction and artistic genre which mixes Victorian styles with a fantasy element of past technological history that never really existed. To get a feel for the steampunk style you might want to look at some of the more popular steampunk movies out there or even just browse through some steampunk images via Google.

Skills Needed to Make Steampunk Jewelry

If you’re going to make steampunk jewelry then you’ll want to have some basic jewelry making skills and know how to use standard jewelry making tools. You might want to pick up a simple jewelry making tool kit to get started if you don’t already have one. Here are some of the real skills you’ll want to learn or have if you really want to make some outstanding jewelry in the steampunk theme:

Traditional Beading Skills: Knowing how to work with wire, string and tie beads (or other hardware pieces) and understanding the basics of making rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings are all useful skills to have. Being able to attach clasps and work with bindings is essential and you may need to be a little creative in exactly how you attach different materials to different connectors. Knowing how to wrap and tie things with wire couldn’t hurt. Remember that steampunk jewelry sometimes uses some pretty non-traditional pieces such as gears and watchparts, so think outside the box a little bit.

Metalsmith and Wire Skills: Most steampunk jewelry has a lot of metal elements, from used hardware to newer jewelry pieces that look as though they are old. You’ll want to be able to mesh all those recycled parts and metal tools together with something more than super glue (though I’ve seen that used!). You may want to practice soldering pieces together neatly before venturing into any complex jewelry pieces and you’ll more than likely need to learn how to safely cut and grind metal properly to avoid having any sharp edges. -metal skills (soldering, grinding, cutting)

Mechanical Skills: Here’s a skill that’s not emphasized quite so much in traditional jewelry making. You’ll want to understand how to take apart old watches, junk, gadgets and other metal things without destroying the mechanical bits inside. It helps if you have some idea of how mechanisms and gears fit together to help make your steampunk jewelry look slightly more realistic and functional. Remember: steampunk jewelry is supposed to convey technology from a past time, so it has to look as though it might do something and not just be a bunch of random metal pieces tied together.

Steampunk Jewelry Elements

When you’re making your steampunk jewelry you’ll want to probably stick with some general themes and patterns. Here are some stylistic elements to think about:

Metals Mechanical Parts and Gears: You’ll want to keep the feel of old technology in your steampunk jewelry and one of the easiest ways to do that is to incorporate old watch parts, gears and and even little pits and pieces of locks or other hardware pieces. Old luggage locks, manual typewriter parts and washers and screws can be used to build unique looking steampunk style rings and necklaces.

Brass, Copper and Silver: A lot of the steampunk jewelry I’ve seen sticks with more “industrial” type of metals which looks as though they’ve been designed for real use rather than their decorative properties. A lot of steampunk jewelry artists mix old costume jewelry metal gears and other pieces to bring in the Victorian elements to your jewelry.

Glass, Not Gems: While some steampunk jewelry will feature small gemstones, you’ll generally want to stick to glass and crystal beads and decorations to accent your metal pieces. Large shiny gems or gemstones would look out of place next to gears and springs and sprockets, but small glass or crystal beads could add some shimmer and accent a mechanical looking piece quite well.

Useful, Not Gaudy: A lot of steampunk art and jewelry takes old pieces of mechanical technology and tries to make them look like they actually do something. So while form is important, people tend to really like the steampunk rings and necklaces and even braceless that look as though they could move or operate or actually serve some sort of purpose!

Aged Well: Part of the fun of steampunk is that it’s meant to look like old jewelry from the 1800′s or early 1900′s, so it’s okay to look a bit old, used and aged. I would stay away from making your jewelry look too shiny or new and even if you put your steampunk jewelry together with new parts you might want to scuff them up, ding them or even given them a little bit of an aged finish if you can.

Leather, Ribbon and Chains: When you’re making steampunk necklaces, steampunk bracelets or even steampunk earrings you’ll want to tie things together with a material that might be appropriate for Victorian jewelry. For more feminine jewelry pieces you could use ribbon, for more masculine jewelry pieces you may want to use brown or black leather and I’ve seen different types of large link chain used for nearly everything else! Stay away from any sort of modern or synthetic material if you can and instead try to use materials from “the period” even though it’s all fantasy

Steampunk Jewelry Supplies

A few years ago you’d be hard-pressed to find any craft store or jewelry supply store selling many beads or other supplies that could be used for steampunk jewelry. Today that’s changed a lot. Many stores will now have a fairly good selection of Victorian type clasps, chains, beads, connectors and everything else under the sun that might even be marketed as “steampunk” in one form or another.

Online Jewlry Supplies Stores: If you’re using an online craft store like Artbeads.com, then you might want to search for possible new steampunk jewelry supplies by searching with words like “antique”, “victorian” or even “brass.” All of those should give you plenty of results and things which will often fit in perfectly with the look and feel of steampunk.

Flea Markets and Yard Sales: One of the best ways to give your steampunk jewelry an authentic feel is to actually use authentic jewelry and pieces from long ago. Don’t limit yourself to buying 100 year old jewelry and watches, though. Look for any sort of old metal object that is small or has small parts. Again, a lot of steampunk jewelry is made out of old springs, gears, sprockets, hooks and all sorts of other non-working “junk” that many people may be looking to sell or just throw away.

Ebay: There are lots and lots of people selling all sorts of steampunk jewelry supplies on eBay. A lot of people actually scour yard sales and flea markets just to find boxes of old mechanical supplies and broken watches which can then be sold on eBay for steampunk art projects and jewelry! The great thing about eBay is that the selection is ever-changing and varied, so you never know what you’ll find.

It’s definitely not as easy as it seems to make steampunk-themed jewelry but it is a lot of fun to try to make fantasy jewelry that actually looks as though it might have a purpose. You’ll still be making jewelry, but you’ll be making jewelry that has a few “rules” tied to it, which can really make it quite challenging and exciting to make! Good luck!