When I first started making fashion jewelry, I was interested in quickly learning a few basic techniques that would enable me to make great looking jewelry, that could be sold for profit, to make an income. I was disappointed to find that the thing I really wanted to be able to do simply wasn’t available in the area where I lived.
I’ve always loved figner rings, and this love has turned into my dream career – my own successful handcrafted jewelry business.Several years ago, after two decades of buying rings such as heart shaped ring ,castle ring and leaf ring everywhere I went, I received a birthday gift that changed my life – a book called “You Can Make Your Own Rings”.
Well, I basically just jumped in and experimented with selling jewelry via all these methods and many more. I decided the only way to find out what direction to go with my jewelry business was to try everything.I made a lot of mistakes, but I also had enough success to keep me motivated. And most importantly, I learned a LOT about what worked for me and what didn’t.
1. My First Jewelry Business Lessons: One of the first things I learned was that if you want to sell a lot of jewelry, you have to make what people want to buy, not just what you like to make!I found that I could sell a lot more jewelry by offering other pieces of jewelry to match my earrings, so I diversified and began designing bracelets, necklaces, and pendants too.
2 Creating a Great Jewelry Display:I entered a few craft shows – and although it sounds like a no-brainer now, I learned that a professional looking display can sell ten times more jewelry than just a scattering of earrings on a table cloth.I also discovered that elaborate jewelry displays are a pain to set up and take down, and require a lot of closet space to store at home. I began to evolve my jewelry booth to my current setup, which looks professional, is lightweight and compact to store and transport, and stays loaded with my inventory and ready to go at all times.
3. Figuring Out How to Photograph Jewelry:In fact, great photos are essential to any method of selling jewelry online. I learned through a great deal of trial and error how to photograph jewelry and get professional-looking results.It’s actually not that hard if you have the right equipment and spend some time experimenting with it. Then write down the settings, lighting, etc. that gave you the best results so you don’t have to re-invent the wheel every time you need to photograph jewelry.