Building Your Inventory

The statement has been made to me, "your lucky, you have all those beads to play with." I owned an online bead store and a physical bead store so I technically had tens of thousands of dollars worth of beads at my disposal.

There was a time though when I didn't have so many beads to work with. When I started making electroform jewelry in the early '90's, I used whatever little bit of money that I had and looked for the best deals that I could find on supplies. Over time as I sold jewelry, I purchased more supplies to make more jewelry. We didn't buy new furniture, housewares, cars, or other goodies, I bought more beads and supplies to work with. Building the business was top priority.

If you want to get to the point where you can have lots of supplies to play with, just start small and keep building as best you can. When I started, we had to travel to shows, to sell our jewelry. Now you can sell your handmade items without leaving home by using the internet. Ebay was never a very good place to sell handmade items, but places like Artfire are.

The internet is a fabulous place to get more for your money when you buy supplies too. At liquidation sites like foxyfindings you get your supplies at prices that I used to pay when I bought large quantities from direct importers. Now it's like having the importers sell directly to you without buying large quantities.

It take a little time but if you start building your inventory of supplies a little at at time, you will find that one day, you will have a lot of The conclusion is that you can build your inventory and business without leaving home and paying a lot of money to be seen any more. It is a great day to start your business at home!

Work at home Motivation

It can be fun and rewarding to work from home. I have worked at home for many years. For some people it is hard to work at home. There are so many distraction that they just can't seem to get anything done. They find themselves doing dishes, washing cloths, talking on the phone, drinking tea, or numerous other things that can distract you at home.

There are a few things that you can do to be more productive when working at home.

First, be sure that you have a place that is specially designated to do your work. Preferably this place is not the kitchen table. The best situation is if you have your own room in which to work. I have always had my own room (studio) designated as my work room.

Second, if you have a problem with motivation, you may not be hungry enough. Seriously, if you need to make extra money, that is a great motivation to be in your studio. If you just want to work more in your studio but don't have to, schedule curtain hours each day to work there. Soon, others will realize that these are the hours that you work and they will leave you alone during that time. It has been said that it takes 21 days to make a habit, so schedule that time and stick to it.

Finally, make your studio a pleasant place to be. Be sure there is plenty of light, heating and cooling, comfortable office type chairs and plenty of work areas. Take time to clean and organize your work area often. This may seen like a waist of time but it will make things easier and you will feel better about working there. Lastly, set the mood in your room with music. Some people need fast music to stimulate them, others want soothing music when they work. Whatever you prefer. The goal is to make your studio an inviting place to be.

So, designate a work area, schedule a time to work in your studio, and make your studio a pleasant place to work. These things will all help you to work at home more productively.

Oh, bye the way, you can't make great jewelry without great supplies. Check out foxyfindings.com

Adding beads to a single strand necklace

Question:
On Kay’s necklaces, how does she string loops of beads to the main strand?

Answer:
I string the main part of the necklace with stranded beading wire. To make the loops that hang off of the main strand I use solid sterling silver or gold filled wire to string the beads that dangle in loops from the main necklace. The ends of the solid wire are usually double looped. It is easiest to make these loops first and string them onto the main stranded wire when you are beading the necklace.

DKay

News Flash: Todays hottest beads are Crystal Beads.

What I want to accomplish

My intent is to discriminate good information about making beaded jewelry, buying jewelry supplies, and selling your beaded jewelry.