Gifts for Jewelry Makers

It’s the holiday season already and it’s time to start gift shopping for everyone on your list. Some artists and crafts people are very specific about the tools they use or the materials they work with, so you may want to look for gifts that are a little more helpful or fun instead of necessary. Obviously beginning jewelry makers will have different wants than professional jewelry makers, but there are some things that everyone appreciates. So here are some great gifts and gift ideas for jewelry makers:

Gift the Gift of Sparkle, with Jewelry Cleaners – The one thing every jewelry artist has is lots of jewelry! A jewelry cleaner will help keep her own jewelry dazzling and may also brighten up any jewelry she’s trying to sell, especially if she has a lot of stock. There are several different types of jewelry cleaners. The ultrasonic jewelry cleaners are inexpensive and work well for most general cleaning. The semi-professional steam jewelry cleaners are a little more expensive but they are also what many professionals use. These cleaners may not be safe to use for some costume jewelry, but for the higher end handcrafted jewelry made with real gemstones they should work well.

Gift the Gift of Display, with a Jewelry Tree – Decorative jewelry trees have been around for several years, but now they’re really “branching” out and getting more and more elaborate and beautiful! LOL! A decorative jewelry tree is the perfect place for your special jewelry maker to display her earrings, bracelets and even necklaces in her own home or at her sale table. I know several jewelry artists who use their tree for a dual purpose: they display their own jewelry at home, but then they pack up the tree and use it on the road to display the pieces they made and want to sell. Some jewelry trees are small and relatively simple, but others have gotten quite large and can be considered art objects in their own right!

Give the Gift of Inspiration, with Jewelry Magazines – I like to browse through all sorts of jewelry making and bead magazines just to get some inspiration for my own projects and to see what other people are doing. And unlike other magazines, jewelry magazines can be saved and read and referenced again and again. Sure, the styles change from year to year but the basic skills and tutorials don’t and sometimes you come across pieces that you didn’t have the skill to try the first time you read the article. Here are just some of the jewelry and bead magazines you can buy subscriptions to:

Jewelry Artist
Art Jewelry
Metalsmith
Bead & Button
Simply Beads
Step By Step Beads
Bead Unique

Give the Gift of Sight, with a Jewelry Making Light or Magnifier – This might fall under the category of “jewelry making tools” but giving someone a better lamp or some sort of special magnifying glass could be a very thoughtful gift. Some people I wrote an article about some of the lights and magnifying glasses and can be used for making jewelry recently, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. A decorative or inscribed magnifying glass could make a wonderful gift that has the chance to be cherished for many years.

Give the Gift of Organization, with the Bead Manager Pro Jewelry Inventory Program – If you’re shopping for the jewelry maker who is serious about turning her hobby into a business, then you may want to consider this affordable program for the MAC or PC which will allow her to keep track of all of her jewelry supply inventory, as well as customers and jewelry pieces she’s made and sold. I’ve written about different jewelry making programs before. Bead Manager Pro is affordable, easy to learn has lots of great jewelry and business management features!

Gift the Gift of Surprise, with Mixes Beads and Gemstones – When all else fails, you could always surprise that jewelry maker or bead lover with a big box of beads and gemstones of every sort! Now I’m not saying blow your budget and give her a box full of rubies (though I wouldn’t complain! LOL!) but you can get some great mixes of beads and stones for a relatively good price online. Another option is to hit some yard sales and buy up old jewelry pieces and combine them with a good mix of beads. For most jewelry makers being given a box filled with beads and jewelry for plundering is like being given a treasure chest of possibilities! You could even get clever and hide a little gift card to her favorite bead store or jewelry website at the bottom of the box!

Give the Gift of Fun, with the Nintendo DS game Style Lab: Jewelry Design – This one isn’t just for the kids! If you have a Nintendo DS (I know a few moms who have one for themselves!) then you can use this fun game to design your jewelry online the screen and then order real jewelry that’s made according to your virtual design specifications! Pretty neat! This is a great way to introduce jewelry design to beginners or just give the kids (or you, Mom!) something to do when you’re waiting somewhere and can’t pull out all your boxes of beads and jewelry supplies!

Give the Gift of Learning, with the 2010 Bead-A-Day Calendar – My husband got me one of these a few years ago and now I ask for one every Christmas (that’s how I know he reads my blog!) It’s basically 365 days of great bead jewelry making tips and tricks. Some tips are for beginners, some are more advanced, but like the jewelry magazines you can go back to them year after year and still learn something new each time!

Want even more great gift ideas for bead lovers and jewelry makers? Check out some of these gift lists from previous years:

More Gift Ideas for Beaders and Jewelry Makers
Even More Gifts for Jewelry Designers and Makers
Yet More Ideas for Bead Jewelry Makers

Yep, some gift ideas even show up on different lists year after year! There are lots of great things you can give that special jewelry maker in your life. If you share a home with a jewelry maker then sometimes one of the most precious things you can give is just a little time to let her be creative! Offer to take the kids out for an afternoon and let her blast her music and make some jewelry!

Whatever you do, I hope you and yours a Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas!

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