2009 Jewelry Making Demonstrations

People love to watch jewelry-making demonstrations. They're fascinated with your tools and how you use them - and how your raw materials evolve into a finished piece of jewelry. "Demonstrating your craft can be very rewarding. Not only will you be sharing your love of jewelry making, you will also be promoting your business and gaining valuable exposure," says Mary Harvey in her recent jewelry business newsletter article, Demonstrating Your Craft (scroll down the newsletter issue slightly to see the article) I've discovered that having a "work in progress" the people can watch me work on boosts my sales tremendously at shows.

(Of course, if I'm demonstrating, it's best if I have someone helping me out at my booth.) If you can't do a live demonstration at a jewelry show or party, consider creating a slideshow you can display in an electronic picture frame, so people can still see the process from the tools-and-supplies stage step by step until the finished piece is created. You can learn more ways to demonstrate your jewelry making and educate customers on your work in my archived newsletter article, "Sell More Jewelry by Educating Customers about Your Art" - go to Issue #34 of my newsletter, and scroll down to the bottom half of the issue for the article.

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Cheap Jewelry Photography Tips 2009

Are you looking for a way to get bracelets, rings, and other pieces of jewelry to stand up when you photograph them? Patti of Fire and Ice recommends an unusual adhesive. She says, "Buy Wicked Sticky wax to hold pieces of jewelry upright for shooting. It's awesome. Patti also shares more great jewelry photography tips: To set up a shot using Wicked Sticky, please note that the Wicked Sticky is just that - really, really sticky - and therefore it only requires an amount equal to what it would take to cover the head of a straight pin to hold a heavy ring upright for shooting.

Here's another fun tip for shooting with Wicked Sticky (or without): Mount the ring or whatever piece of jewelry on a smaller piece of paper, so that you can adjust it and move it around inside the shot instead of adjusting the camera. If you are shooting for a website, be consistent in positioning pieces, because this lends itself to a more professional appearance. You can have all the great jewelry in the world, but if the sight is sloppy looking people will NOT trust you.

Look at our site and you will see exceptional photography. It time-consuming, but there are no fingerprints on the pieces and NO Wicked Sticky showing. Believe me when I say this was a time-consuming process and it took our photographer hours to achieve these collections. He typically takes 2 hours to shoot half a dozen pieces - NO kidding! Also, be certain you are consistent in your background color - most jewelry looks best against an off-white. This is because it bounces light back onto the piece. If your site has varying background colors it may make the site look amatuerish.

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Spring 2009 Jewelry Trends The Jewelry Designer's Guide

Here are some hot jewelry design tips for Spring 2009 - courtesy of Anne Rush, a professional designer and director in the fashion jewelry industry:

Spring 2009 is in the air. So for all you who are extremely busy with your own home jewellery businesses I thought some hints on the key trends might be helpful. As always we must begin with color. There are three important color stories for the season. The first is black and white. The new take for this graphic combo is floral. Pretty all over large flowers. What's really fresh for black and white is taking it in a less slick direction and adding a more textural attitude.

I believe using fabric wrapped beads, printed ceramic, and glass beads from India that are imperfect is a great way to achieve a crisp but natural look for this palette. Coral and yellow is the warm palette this spring/summer. Look to the continent of India for inspiration. Use patterned beaded and etched metals to compliment your colors. Antique finished on metal, and rose gold platings can really make this theme a bit more directional. Amazonite greens and translucent turquoise look great for a cool spring palette. Try mixing matte and shiny beads for a beachy feeling. Touches of raffia for texture make a nice contrast, and using a brown or natural material to ground the colors is a new way to do blue.

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2009 Silver Jewelry and Chlorine

You take pride in your jewelry and wear it every time you go out. Nevertheless did you know that you should take it off when entering your pool and especially a public pool? If not, you should! I know, I know, a pain to have to take it off, make sure its safe and ensure that you don't lose the clasps. Nevertheless it is worth it.

Silver and chlorine just do not mix. The chlorine would in fact damage it as it is acidic, same goes for bleach. For that matter, silver also reacts to just being exposed to oxygen and will tarnish over time. It tarnish resistant however. Some tips to keep your jewelry looking good are: When not wearing your silver keep it in an air tight lock box. This will extend the life of your jewelry and prevent it from getting lost. Just be sure to remember where you PUT the box. Don't laugh, this happens more often than we realize!

Never store your silver next to necklaces or beads as it is very easily scratched. Use a good quality, liquid polish and use a polishing cloth for your precious silver jewelry. One great tip for protecting sterling silver necklaces is to glaze them with a fine coat of Egyptian lacquer. One of the best and most economical methods for cleaning your sterling silver necklace is to make a solution of mild dish washing liquid and water. Finally, remember to keep all traces of moisture from your jewelry pieces by drying them thoroughly.

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