Chapter 12: Expanding Your Horizons
You are now familiar with the most common beginning-level methods, techniques, and styles of jewelry making and beading. You can continue this journey by choosing a specialty, learning from and exchanging ideas with other artisans, or even by starting a business. This chapter provides some ideas on how you might take your hobby to the next level.
Find Advanced Help and Training
Turn Your Hobby into a Business
Choose a Specialized Path
As you work through this book, you will find that certain methods and styles of jewelry making and beading appeal to you more than others. Over time, you may want to expand your skills in those areas or narrow your focus to even more specialized themes. Here’s a look at some of the more advanced jewelry making and beading niches that you can explore.
Advanced Bead Weaving
There are limitless creative possibilities to explore in the area of bead weaving. You can learn more complex weaves and create designs with complicated shapes, textures, and color patterns. Many beadwork artists incorporate dimensionality into their designs to make beaded objects and vessels. If you decide to become an advanced bead weaver, you can even take your skills beyond jewelry making to create unique, quality pieces of artwork.
Wire Sculpture
Wire sculpture is a specialized style of wirework that involves multiple strands of wire and elaborate, flowing wire embellishments. You can create ornate, sturdy bracelets and rings, or wrap beads and stones to make eye-catching pendants, drops, and settings. Just like the wirework techniques covered in Chapters 6, 7, and 8, these methods do not require solder. Some appear to hold shape almost by magic.
Jewelry by Preston Reuther
Wire Knitting and Crochet
You can knit and crochet with very small-gauge wire to produce beautiful mesh-like wire fabric. These techniques are especially popular for making wide-band or rope-shaped bracelets and chokers. It’s good to have some basic yarn-knitting and crochet skills before you give these methods a try with wire.
Wire Weaving
Wire weaving, as its name indicates, is the process of weaving with wire. You can learn to weave wires around, over, and across one another to create dense, textural designs. If you enjoy wrapping beads into a framework (see “Wrap Beads within a Framework” in Chapter 7), then you might also like this technique.
Jewelry by Linda Chandler
Maille Weaving
Maille (or chain maille) was a popular metal fabric used in suits of armor during the Middle Ages. You can make maille-inspired jewelry by weaving together jump rings in various three-dimensional configurations. Some weaves result in chains similar to the Byzantine chain in Chapter 7. Others form slinky, tactile sheets of metal fabric.
Advanced Cord Work
Chapter 9 covered some of the most basic macramé knotting and braiding techniques. If you enjoy working with cord, you can learn more advanced knots and complex ways of arranging them. You might also try cord weaving, where you weave together multiple strands of cord to create wide bands of fabric. Many fiber artists combine weaving with macramé and beads, and even set stones, to create amazing, artistic jewelry designs.
Jewelry by Sherri Haab
Polymer Clay
Polymer clay is a soft, malleable material made from a type of plastic. It contains special ingredients that allow it to permanently harden in a regular kitchen oven. You can use polymer clay to create beads, pendants, and other jewelry components. By layering colors and manipulating textures, you can mimic the look of elaborate glass work and natural materials like bone and wood. Polymer clay is relatively inexpensive, and it’s easy to get started and experiment with at home.
Pendants by Lisa Shea
Metal Fabrication
Metal fabrication is the process of cutting, bending, hammering, shaping, and connecting metal to create original jewelry and jewelry components. Most of these methods are traditional techniques for making jewelry. Today, metal fabrication is used to create artistic one-of-a-kind or limited-edition jewelry. Some beaders and wirework artisans use basic metal fabrication techniques, like sawing and torch soldering, to expand their design possibilities.
Glass and Ceramic Bead Making
If you love beads and aren’t afraid to work with advanced equipment, then you can learn to make your own beads out of glass or ceramic clay. Lampworking is one of the most popular methods for making artistic glass beads. It involves using a torch to melt glass on metal rods, and then allowing the glass pieces to cool very slowly (or anneal) in a kiln. If you prefer the look of ceramics, you can learn to make beads and other components using ceramic clays, which you fire in a kiln to harden.
Lampwork beads by Sarah Moran
Wax Carving and Casting
Much of the mass-produced jewelry that you see at retail stores was made by casting, or molding, metal. However, you can also use casting to create artistic, one-of-a-kind or limited-edition jewelry. Lost wax casting is a popular casting method. To begin, you carve a design into special wax (or form a wax copy of a finished piece), which is then used to create a mold. Molten metal is poured into the mold and specially processed to harden in the shape of the design. Because this requires working with very hot materials and specialized equipment, casting is not a practical technique for most home studios. However, you can contract an outside casting company to have your wax or fabricated designs cast offsite.
Metal Clay
Metal clay contains precious metal, like silver or gold, combined with an ingredient that keeps it soft until it’s heated to a very high temperature, or fired. You can use metal clay to create all kinds of jewelry and components that look like they might have been fabricated or cast. Metal clay is relatively expensive, but many artists find that its special attributes are worth the investment.
Jewelry by Sherri Haab
Jewelry Design
Technically, you are acting as a jewelry designer any time you devise and create a new piece of jewelry. If you enjoy the design phase of this process more than the craft phase, you might consider making design your primary focus. Designers typically compose their designs manually on paper or by using special computer programs. The results can be fabricated or converted to wax models and then cast.
Find Advanced Help and Training
If you have access to the Internet or a local library, it’s easy to find resources to help you advance your skills. There are three general categories of learning opportunities that you can pursue: self-learning, local classes and workshops, and professional training programs.
Self-Learning
Many jewelry artisans are completely self-taught, and others started out learning on their own before exploring more structured options. You have already begun self-learning by reading this book. Here are some other resources that you can investigate.
Specialty Books
Search online or at your local library or bookstore for more printed books on jewelry making. You can find books devoted to each of the specialized paths described in this chapter. The major booksellers’ Web sites typically offer detailed book descriptions, reviews, and topical lists of titles to help you find what you need. For a short list of recommended titles to start with, see the Appendix.
E-Books and E-Courses
Some jewelry making teachers offer e-books that you can download from the Internet to your computer, or distance-learning courses that you can take online. If you enjoy working at the computer, these can be convenient options. To find them, run some searches online or post queries about your interests in topical Web site forums.
Magazines
There are a number of printed magazines devoted to beading and jewelry making. Most are published monthly or bi-monthly, and each issue contains new projects, instructions, and tips. You can find them at bead shops or hobby stores, and you can subscribe to them for home delivery. See "Community and Educational Resources" for a listing of the most popular publications.
Topical Web Sites
Some Web sites offer free information, projects, newsletters, and even forums where you can post questions and comments for other jewelry artisans. These are great opportunities to continue learning while networking with people from all over the world who share your interests. For a listing of recommended jewelry making Web sites, see Web Sites.
Local Classes and Workshops
Hands-on jewelry making classes and workshops are available in most communities. Beading, bead weaving, and wirework classes are offered at many bead shops and at some craft stores. You can often find metalworking courses offered by community colleges or local parks and recreation departments. To find private offerings at studios or institutions, check your phone book or ask for references at a bead shop or art gallery.
Professional Training Programs
If you’re interested in a full-time jewelry making career, consider investing in a professional training program. These programs are offered by both public and private institutions, and they have structured curricula to help you achieve specific career goals. Most schools award certificates or degrees after the completion of the required coursework. See "Schools and Programs" for a list of schools and program directories.
Turn Your Hobby into a Business
As your jewelry making skills develop, you may begin to receive requests for jewelry from family and friends. For some crafters, these personal transactions eventually develop into jewelry selling businesses. There are many potential venues for selling handcrafted jewelry, from outdoor markets to the Internet. Here are some guidelines to help you decide whether a jewelry business is right for you.
Do a lot of Research
Before you get started, you should spend many hours researching all aspects of your business idea. Learn how small businesses work and what it takes to operate one. Investigate other similar businesses. Are they succeeding? Why or why not? Determine how much of a time and financial commitment your business would require in order for you to reach your goals. The resources on page 285 are good places to get started.
Formulate a Plan
Take the time to develop a written business plan that organizes and applies the information that you discovered during your research. If you would like to borrow money to start your business, potential lenders will probably want to see this plan when you apply for a loan. Even if you don’t borrow money, the business plan will help you make informed business decisions and give you a better sense of control during challenging times.
Develop Your Skills
Most artisans start out making jewelry that is of lower quality, but still fun to wear and experiment with. Give yourself enough time to fully develop your skills before you begin selling jewelry. The jewelry that you sell needs to be of professional quality in every way: it must be sturdy, wearable, secure, and made with quality materials. Over time, you will see your designs improve. You can build an excellent reputation for your business by offering top-notch work from the very start.
Define Your Style
There will be many other artisans making and selling jewelry that is similar to yours. To succeed in this crowded market, and to avoid violating other artisans’ copyrights (see the FAQ on page 34), you need to discover ways to set your designs apart from the rest. This doesn’t mean you must invent a completely new jewelry idea. Simple, unique touches that you develop through experimentation can make your work more recognizable and increase its appeal.
Network with Other Artisans
Take every opportunity you can to communicate with other jewelry artisans and to become involved in the jewelry making community. There are aspects of the business and craft that you can only learn from experience—or from someone else who has experienced them. You’ll find that many artisans are happy to share their knowledge and offer support and encouragement. See "Community and Educational Resources" for some good ways to find them.
Set Reasonable Expectations
Unfortunately, most small jewelry businesses have difficulty succeeding. Competition from importers who sell similar, inexpensive jewelry is one challenge. Additionally, many artisans have trouble reaching enough target customers. To avoid frustration, try to set reasonable expectations. (You know that saying, “Don’t quit your day job.”) This may mean allowing your business to begin small and to evolve very slowly. As your knowledge, skills, and reputation grow, your chances of success will become increasingly better.