Let Business Concerns Influence Your Artistic Choices
To what extent do (and should) business concerns influence the artistic choices bead and jewelry artists make?
If you want to be in business, then I’d say, “A Lot!” But this isn’t what a lot of designers like to hear. Success in business takes something besides being an excellent jewelry designer.
Jewelry making is not a passive art. You make jewelry for others to wear and buy, and you have to anticipate how they will assess your work and recognize your artistry. It is not the same as painting a painting or sculpting a sculpture in the sense that with paintings or sculptures, the artist does not need to communicate interactively with the viewer in order to create the product and be deemed successful. Jewelry making, instead, is more an interactive art. It is like architecture, where success can only be created through some kind of dialectic with others, and only be defined as successful as the product is introduced publicly and understood by others as finished and successful.
Selling your pieces is merely another phase of this interactive art, but sometimes forces upon you some more limits and refinements. You have to market to audiences. You may have to standardize things to be able to make the same thing over and over again. You may have to work in a production mode and repeat making certain designs, rather than freely creating and designing anew each time. You have to price things so that they will sell, and you have to price things so that you can make a sufficient profit. You do not (which translates as never) undersell yourself, like offering discounts to family, friends and co-workers.
You have to conform to prevalent styles and colors and forms. You have to make things which will photograph well for sale online. You have to make things that local stores want and are willing to buy or put on consignment. You may end up with a lot of “one size fits all,” because producing too much variety in sizes, shapes, colors and sizes could overwhelm you financially.
You find that if you want to make your jewelry design into a successful business, you may have to compromise with yourself, your artistic drives and sensibilities. You may have to limit what you offer. In order to make that sale. In order to make a profit. In order to establish your brand and how it is recognized. And stay in business.
As You Get Started, Ask Yourself These Questions
1. After honestly evaluating my hard and soft skills, am I business-ready?
2. Are there potential customers who will want, need and demand the kinds of jewelry I design?
3. Can I price my products competitively?
4. Where do I want to sell my pieces?
5. Can I get my pieces the visibility and opportunities to get purchased, given where I want to sell my pieces?
6. What are my competitive advantages? How do my works and my business strategies differentiate myself from my competition?
7. Are my pieces consistent and coherent enough to be recognized and understood as a brand, and as a brand designed by me?
8. Do I feel I can organize, manage, control and keep updated all the business functions – Design, Financial Management, Production and Distribution, Marketing and Branding, and Selling, Feedback and Evaluation?
Many people learn beadwork and jewelry-making in order to sell the pieces they make. Based both on the creation and development of my own jewelry design business, as well as teaching countless students over the past 35+ years about business and craft, I want to address what should be some of your key concerns and uncertainties. I want to share with you the kinds of things (specifically, a business mindset and confidence) it takes to start your own jewelry business, run it, anticipate risks and rewards, and lead it to a level of success you feel is right for you. I want to help you plan your road map.
I will explore answers to such questions as: How does someone get started marketing and selling their pieces? What business fundamentals need to be brought to the fore? How do you measure risk and return on investment? How does the creative person develop and maintain a passion for business? To what extent should business decisions affect artistic choices? What similar traits to successful jewelry designers do those in business share? How do you protect your intellectual property?
The major topics covered include,
1. Integrating Business With Design
2. Getting Started
3. Financial Management
4. Product Development, Creating Your Line, and Pricing
5. Marketing, Promotion, Branding
6. Selling
7. Professional Responsibilities and Strategic Planning
8. Professional Responsibilities and Gallery / Boutique Representation
9. Professional Responsibilities and Creating Your Necessary Written Documents
Some Updates and Things Happening. (Please share this newsletter)
In this Issue: 1. Some highlights from the recent ORNAMENT magazine 2. Mastering the art of talking about your jewelry in public 3. Some advice about self promotion 4. Smithsonian Craft2Wear Show, September 26–28, 2025, APPLY NOW 5. What does it mean to foster a Growth Mindset? 6. Are the days of men’s jewelry worn solely as symbol of power and wealth gone for good? 7. Call for entries: Richmond CRAFT+DESIGN 8. Clever phrases/aphorisms/memes for artists of all kinds Some articles you may have missed
I received my most recent issue of one of my favorite magazines — ORNAMENT. Here are some highlights.
New books:
Articles:
Ancient Craft Skills and the Contemporary Craftsperson
Nikki Couppee Showcase
There are many other jewelry designers highlighted, as is New York City Jewelry Week.
2. Mastering the art of talking about your jewelry in public
Speaking about your work publicly can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. Here are some key tips to confidently and effectively share your work:
a. Know Your Story (Inspirations, getting started, techniques and materials)
b. Develop a Clear 30 second Elevator Pitch (engage in 30 seconds; focus on what makes your jewelry unique)
c. Speak with Passion and Confidence (enthusiasm is contagious; take your time and speak clearly, even if you are nervous)
d. Adapt to your Audience (what do you think your audience wants to hear? focus on process and inspiration; highlight your brand and craftsmanship; be conversational and authentic; tell stories and anecdotes and don’t lecture)
e. Prepare a Narrative (focus on crafting a story that encapsulates your artistic journey, the challenges, triumphs, pivotal moments, struggles, doubts you’ve overcome, mishaps, recurring themes in your work, how your themes relate to your personal story; a compelling narrative evokes emotion)
f. Show and Tell (be prepared to show and tell, whether you have your jewelry with you at the moment, or you share images or your portfolio on your cellphone)
g. Engage, Don’t Just Talk (be interactive; encourage questions; ask what people think, invite them to share their opinions or what they think; get their reactions to a piece of jewelry before you begin to talk about it; style preferences; be conversational; show genuine interest in their responses and respond with some detail to what they say; be patient with responses and allow your audience time to formulate and articulate their thoughts; resist the urge to fill silences too quickly; you can always start the conversation by talking about a question you get asked a lot)
h. Practice, Practice, Practice (outline your remarks or write it out like a script for a play; rehearse in front of a mirror or with a friend; record yourself and refine your delivery; I use a desktop/mobile app called LOOM, which has a free subscription option)
i. Be Ready For Questions (why use these, do this, not do this?; what do you like?; how long does this take?)
j. Provide Takeaways (at the end of your talk, summarize the key ‘learnings’; provide a brochure or postcard or business card that your audience can take with them, as a physical reminder of your work; provide an avenue for them to explore your work further or contact you for potential opportunities, purchases, collaborations)
k. End With A Call To Action (extend the conversation beyond the event; always end with a call to action: visit website; sign up for newsletter; take them on a tour)
l. Follow-Up (you want to build lasting relationships (invite audience to stay connected and give you their email addresses, other contact information; send a personalized thank you note or email shortly after event; repeat highlights of your talk, links to your work, information about where to find you next)
m. Reflect and Adapt (review the event/encounter; what resonated best/least; what feedback did the audience present; adjust previous steps accordingly)
n. Network and Connect (expand your professional circle and foster meaningful relationships with other jewelry designers as well as your client base; engage in one-on-one conversations with clients who seemed interested in your work; exchange contact information with fellow designers and any boutiques, galleries or other businesses that seemed interested in your work; discover new opportunities to keep you and your work visible)
3. I was reading this article about self promotion, and wanted to share this with you. Good stuff.
The Power of Being Yourself Self-promotion often feels like an uncomfortable task for artists, but my first rule is simple: be yourself. There is no one way to self-promote, and the key is to find an approach that aligns with your personality. Authenticity is what draws people in — it’s not about forcing a persona but rather amplifying what makes you unique.
Let’s address social media, the most obvious self-promotional tool. Over the past half-decade, its impact has declined as big businesses have taken over. That doesn’t mean it’s useless — it just means you must use it wisely. Instead of treating social media as an advertising outlet, think of it as a storytelling tool. Show your process, your inspirations, and the personal side of your work. People connect with authenticity, not just finished products.
[His stated philosophy: Art is not something we create, it is who we are.]
4. Smithsonian Craft2Wear Show, September 26–28, 2025, APPLY NOW
The 2025 Smithsonian Craft2Wear Show is an exhibition and sale of wearable contemporary American craft (clothing, accessories and jewelry) held in Washington, DC at the beautiful Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building (AIB) on the National Mall.
Electronic applications are due by Tuesday, April 15, 2025. A non-refundable fee of $30 must accompany each application.
Failure is uncomfortable. Disconcerting. Too often, we do everything we can to keep ourselves out of situations where we might fail. We focus on what could go wrong, instead of what could go right. We think we don’t have the abilities to do the task. We get paralyzed. We do nothing. Or we keep repeating ourselves, producing the same-ole, same-ole, whether there is a continued market for these items, or not. Or we begin to visualize any risk as insurmountable, way bigger than it really is.
But allowing any fear of failure to become some kind of insurmountable wall works against us. If we are trying to make a go of it by selling our jewelry, we can’t build these kinds of walls. Successful business people and successful businesses need to foster a culture which promotes a growth mindset. Simply, a growth mindset is a culture where you have permission and encouragement and confidence to take risks.
Risks are OK because they bring rewards. Rewards allow the business to maintain itself, sustain itself, grow and expand.
Failures are OK, as well, as long as they become learning experiences.
Doubt and self-doubt are OK only if they are used to trigger reflection and new ideas to overcome them.
Not having the skills requisite for the moment is OK because we are all capable of continual learning.
Temporary setbacks are OK because you have had them before and overcame them.
Carol Dweck wrote the seminal book on growth mindsets called Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006), with a series of related books to follow. People have either a growth-mindset or a fixed-mindset.
Those with a growth-mindset believe their abilities are developed through continual learning and hard work. They are more willing to experiment and try new things, and see failures as opportunities rather than setbacks.
Those with a fixed-mindset believe that abilities are innate — you’re born with talents or not. They seek out opportunities where specific talents, rather than effort, leads to success. They prefer to repeat tasks and apply skills they are already familiar with.
Developing a growth mindset means such things as…
1. Understanding the power of “Not Yet”.
2. Setting learning and continual learning goals
3. Being deliberate and constantly challenging yourself
4. Asking for honest feedback and criticism
5. Always reflecting on and being very metacognitive about your thoughts and actions, successes and failures
6. Recognizing if you are stuck in a fixed-mindset, and acknowledging your weaknesses
7. Focusing on the process, and less-so on the result
8. Getting comfortable with self-affirmation, rather than needing the affirmation and approval of others
6. Are the days of men’s jewelry worn solely as symbol of power and wealth gone for good?
A look at men’s jewellery at GemGenève
The rebirth of jewellery for men since the 2010s is actually due to another factor altogether: men have changed the way they relate to jewels and jewellery in general, argues GemGenève co-founder Ronny Totah. Today, men account for up to 30% of jewellery purchases from certain collections by brands and independent craftsmen and women.
8. Clever phrases/aphorisms/memes for artists of all kinds
I am a member of the Columbia Arts Council. For an event, we are going to pass out stickers. I generated a sampling of sayings that could go on the stickers, and I’m sharing them with you. Thought you’d get a chuckle out of these.
General Creativity & Art
Create like nobody’s watching.
Messy hands, brilliant mind.
Art: cheaper than therapy.
Make art, not excuses.
Doubt kills more art than failure ever will.
Every artist was first an amateur.
Creativity is intelligence having fun.
I speak fluent paint splatter.
Art is my love language.
Reality is overrated — paint me another one.
The world is my canvas, and I’m out of control.
Perfectly imperfect — just like my art.
Stay weird, stay creative.
Warning: Contains excessive imagination.
Creativity takes courage — and a lot of snacks.
Makers & Hands-On Artists
Handmade with sarcasm and love.
Makers gonna make.
I make things. What’s your superpower?
Handcrafted with reckless precision.
This is what ‘made with love’ looks like.
I turn coffee into art.
Saw dust is my glitter.
I make because I must.
Perfection is boring. Make something weird.
Measure twice, cut once, cry anyway.
My blood type is glue and glitter.
I can’t. I have a project.
Made by hand, heart, and a little bit of chaos.
Mistakes are just creative detours.
Cut. Sew. Cry. Repeat.
Painting & Drawing
Watercolor outside the lines.
Oil paint runs in my veins.
Sketch today, masterpiece tomorrow.
More paint, less perfection.
I draw, therefore I am.
Happy little accidents happen daily.
Smudges are just love marks from my art.
Inking my way through life.
My brush dances to its own tune.
If you see me clean, I’m out of paint.
Jewelry Making & Beading
Bead it like you mean it.
I like big beads and I cannot lie.
Stringing together happiness, one bead at a time.
Jewelry is art you can wear.
Beading: because therapy is expensive.
If lost, check the bead store.
Some collect memories; I collect beads.
Beading is my cardio.
Life is too short for boring jewelry.
More beads, less stress.
Creative Process & Inspiration
Inspiration hits at inconvenient times.
Chaos is just creativity’s warm-up.
Creativity is a work in progress.
Start before you’re ready.
Don’t wait for inspiration — just start.
Creativity thrives in the mess.
Done is better than perfect.
There’s no such thing as too many ideas.
Creativity: where the fun begins and logic ends.
You can’t rush art — but you can procrastinate it.
Art & Business
Starving artist? No, thriving artist.
Yes, it’s handmade. No, it’s not cheaper.
Support artists — buy art, not mass production.
Art is work. Pay accordingly.
Artists don’t work for exposure.
Yes, I make art. No, I won’t do it for free.
DIY: Because hiring professionals costs money.
Just because I enjoy it doesn’t mean I’ll do it for free.
I create. You buy. Everyone’s happy.
Respect the artist. Respect the craft.
Music & Performing Arts
Life’s better with a soundtrack.
Dancers don’t sweat, they sparkle.
Sing like you mean it.
Break a leg — but not my instruments.
Music is what feelings sound like.
The stage is my happy place.
Dance first, think later.
Creativity has no volume control.
When in doubt, just improvise.
Make music, not noise.
Writing & Literature
Write your own story.
Plot twist: I need more coffee.
My brain is 90% plot ideas and 10% snacks.
Poetic soul, chaotic mind.
Editing is just rewriting with regret.
Too many tabs open — some are story ideas.
I write. What’s your superpower?
Procrastinating? No, I’m world-building.
My characters made me do it.
Caution: Writer at work — approach with snacks.
Quirky & Funny
Oops, I arted.
Eat. Sleep. Create. Repeat.
More glue, less stress.
Why fit in when you can stand out?
I make, therefore I am.
Art teachers gave up on me; now they buy my work.
Creativity: The only mess that’s worth it.
Not all who wander are lost… some are just looking for inspiration.
This shirt contains 100% recycled creative energy.
The best ideas come at 2 AM and disappear by 7 AM.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS by Warren Feld
Sat, 4/12, 2–3, LET’S MAKE EARRINGS, Maury County Library, 211 W 8th St, Columbia, TN Register: Call (931) 375–6502
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on my Patreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
People have different motivations and ambitions when making jewelry. These can be as simple as an avocation or hobby, or more involved as a business or career. Jewelry making is an investment in time and materials. It requires, not only strong creativity skills, but also persistence and perseverance to take a project from inspiration to aspiration to implementation. A lot of the success in this pursuit comes down to an ability to make and follow through on many artistic and design decisions. Developing this ability — a fluency, flexibility and originality in design — means that the designer has become empowered to answer these 5 essential questions: (1) Is jewelry making a craft, an art or design? (2) How do you think creatively? (3) How do you leverage the strengths of various materials and techniques, and minimize weaknesses? (4) How do the choices you make in any one jewelry design evoke emotions and resonate? and, (5) How do you know your piece is finished and successful?
5 Essential Questions Every Jewelry Designer Should Have An Answer For
Interested in trying your hand at jewelry design?
Before you begin, consider the following 5 questions I pose for you…
1. Is what you do Art, Craft or Design? 2. How do you decide what you want to create? 3. What materials (or techniques) work well together, and which do not? 4. What things do you do so that your finished piece evokes an emotional response? 5. How do you know when your piece is done?
People have different motivations and ambitions when making jewelry. These can be as simple as an avocation or hobby, or more involved as a business or career. Jewelry making is an investment in time and materials. It requires, not only strong creativity skills, but also persistence and perseverance to take a project from inspiration to aspiration to implementation.It means understanding that jewelry can only be judged as finished and successful as the piece is worn. Jewelry design is more than the application of a set of techniques; it is a mind-set, as well. It is a way of thinking like a designer.
A lot of the achievement and accomplishment in this pursuit of jewelry design comes down to an ability to make and follow through on many artistic and design decisions. Some have to do with managing a process, which can take an extended period of time. It also comes down to being fluent, flexible and original in your thinking through design. The greater your disciplinary literacy, the more empowered and confident you become in your design work.
Susan is one example of what happens when uncertainty — that paralysis or deer-in-the-headlights feeling that we so often face — sets in. Susan felt very unsure of herself. And unsure of her jewelry. Would people like it? Was the color mix appropriate? Was the construction secure? Was the price smart and fair? She allowed all this uncertainty to affect her design work — she had difficulty finishing pieces she was working on, starting new projects, and getting her work out there.
Like many of my jewelry design and beadwork students, Susan needed to be fluent as a designer. With fluency comes empowerment, confidence and success.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: How Do You Start and Run A Business Selling Hand Made Products?
Between Commerce and Art
Many people learn beadwork and jewelry-making in order to sell the pieces they make. In today’s world, people who sell their pieces must become savvy in both regular retail, as well as internet retail. This does not have to be too complex. Nor too overwhelming. Too impossible. Too boring. There are a lot of tensions here between commerce and art. Production and creativity. They parallel the tensions between the creative act and having to introduce your jewelry publicly. But all are manageable.
Conquering The Creative Marketplace is a comprehensive guide for you — someone who wants to start and run a business selling handmade products you love to make. The chapters in this book focus on developing and implementing your road map. This map helps show you how to better understand and relate to the creative marketplace, eventually earning money from your jewelry designs (or other art or craft projects). I go into detail about the things you have to do to start and run a business selling handmade products. I talk about the things you will want to do to manage, evolve and expand your business. These have to do with general accounting and setting up a general ledger. They include things like inventory management, pricing formulas, marketing and branding strategies. Also important is the protection of your designs — your intellectual property. I also discuss in detail key concepts like risk, return on investment, legitimacy, effectiveness, efficiency, consumption, influence, persuasion, coherence and contagion.
Based both on the creation and development of my own jewelry design business, as well as teaching countless students over the past 38+ years about business and craft, I want to address what should be some of your key concerns and uncertainties. I want to share with you the kinds of things (specifically, a business mindset and confidence) it takes to start your own jewelry business, run it, and lead it to a level of success you feel is right for you. Right for you will mean different things to different designers, from a hobbyist selling some pieces to a full-fledged operation. Whatever, your goals and ambitions, you will need to follow a basic road map. I want to help you plan your road map.
I explore answers to such questions as: How does someone get started selling their pieces? What business fundamentals need to be brought to the fore? How do you measure risk and return on investment? How does the creative person develop and maintain a passion for business? To what extent should business decisions affect artistic choices? What similar traits do successful jewelry designers share with those in business? How do you protect your intellectual property? What is your competitive advantage?
The next few chapters are descriptions of the kinds of things it takes for successfully integrating commerce with art. There are literally many full books written on each topic and subtopic, which you can easily access in bookstores or online. This book should be considered a comprehensive introduction to these topics. While all the information in this book is pertinent and necessary for you, it is not a substitute for talking with an accountant and business lawyer familiar with you and the locality, state/province and country you are doing business in.
The advice in these sections is useful for any jewelry designer who wants to sell their pieces. It is useful for the jewelry designer who occasionally wants to sell a few pieces. It is useful for the jewelry designer who wants to supplement their income. It is useful, as well, for the jewelry designer who wants to develop a fully, financially secure jewelry design business.
Many people learn beadwork and jewelry-making in order to sell the pieces they make. Based both on the creation and development of my own jewelry design business, as well as teaching countless students over the past 35+ years about business and craft, I want to address what should be some of your key concerns and uncertainties. I want to share with you the kinds of things (specifically, a business mindset and confidence) it takes to start your own jewelry business, run it, anticipate risks and rewards, and lead it to a level of success you feel is right for you. I want to help you plan your road map.
I will explore answers to such questions as: How does someone get started marketing and selling their pieces? What business fundamentals need to be brought to the fore? How do you measure risk and return on investment? How does the creative person develop and maintain a passion for business? To what extent should business decisions affect artistic choices? What similar traits to successful jewelry designers do those in business share? How do you protect your intellectual property?
The major topics covered include,
1. Integrating Business With Design
2. Getting Started
3. Financial Management
4. Product Development, Creating Your Line, and Pricing
5. Marketing, Promotion, Branding
6. Selling
7. Professional Responsibilities and Strategic Planning
8. Professional Responsibilities and Gallery / Boutique Representation
9. Professional Responsibilities and Creating Your Necessary Written Documents
Some Bottom-Line Advice For The Newly Emerging Jewelry Designer
Always keep working and working hard. Set up a routine, and do at least one thing every day.
Find a comfortable place to work in your home or apartment. If at all possible, find separate spaces for creative work, business stuff, and reflection.
Develop strategies for organizing your projects, your supplies and your tools, and for keeping things generally organized over time. But don’t overdue the organizing thing. A little chaos can be OK, and even, sometimes, trigger new ideas.
Give yourself permission to play, experiment, go down many paths. Everything you work on doesn’t have to meet the criterion of perfection, be cool, or become the next Rembrandt. A key part of the learning process is trial and error, hypothesis, test, and conclusion. This helps you develop fix-it strategies so that you can overcome unfamiliar or problematic situations, enhancing your skills as a designer.
Don’t let self-doubt and any sense of impending failure take over you, and paralyze you. Designer’s block, while it may happen occasionally, should be temporary. Jewelry projects usually evolve, and involve some give and take, change and rearrangement. Often the time to complete a project can be lengthy, and you have to maintain your interest and inspiration over this extended time period.
Don’t get stuck in a rut. Try new materials. Try new colors. Try new designs. Try new styles. Try to add variation, new arrangements, smart embellishments. Learn new techniques and technologies.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
It is very feasible to start and run a successful business selling handmade products. This series of articles based on my book introduces you to the things you will need to do along the way as you develop your business road map. You need to embrace the idea that you are in business. You have to understand how the creative marketplace works. You have to understand, as well, what business fundamentals need to be brought to the fore. You have to be comfortable with money, documentation and production. You want to approach going into business with a clear vision of its challenges as well as its rewards.
Business involves creating sustainable income strategies. These includes things like:
1. Putting your jewelry designs on a sound cost/revenue footing,
2. Developing market-driven strategies (as opposed to product-driven ones),
3. Pricing your pieces for sale,
4. Implementing various selling strategies, and
5. Resolving artistic and design choices and tensions, in the interest of the business.
It is important to understand why designers fail at business so as not to repeat their mistakes. It is important to develop a management mindset where you are balancing creativity and business.
For more articles about Conquering The Creative Marketplace, click over to our Jewelry Designers’ Hub
Many people learn beadwork and jewelry-making in order to sell the pieces they make. Based both on the creation and development of my own jewelry design business, as well as teaching countless students over the past 35+ years about business and craft, I want to address what should be some of your key concerns and uncertainties. I want to share with you the kinds of things (specifically, a business mindset and confidence) it takes to start your own jewelry business, run it, anticipate risks and rewards, and lead it to a level of success you feel is right for you. I want to help you plan your road map.
I will explore answers to such questions as: How does someone get started marketing and selling their pieces? What business fundamentals need to be brought to the fore? How do you measure risk and return on investment? How does the creative person develop and maintain a passion for business? To what extent should business decisions affect artistic choices? What similar traits to successful jewelry designers do those in business share? How do you protect your intellectual property?
The major topics covered include,
1. Integrating Business With Design
2. Getting Started
3. Financial Management
4. Product Development, Creating Your Line, and Pricing
5. Marketing, Promotion, Branding
6. Selling
7. Professional Responsibilities and Strategic Planning
8. Professional Responsibilities and Gallery / Boutique Representation
9. Professional Responsibilities and Creating Your Necessary Written Documents
Developing yourself as a jewelry designer has several challenging moments. Learning. Recognizing. Getting Inspired. Creating. Organizing. Constructing. Managing. Presenting. Marketing. Selling. You want to maintain high expectations and goals for yourself, and see these all these challenging moments through.
Some challenging moments include the following:
1. Learning your craft and continually growing and developing within your profession
2. Recognizing how jewelry design goes beyond basic mechanics and aesthetics, thus, differs from craft and differs from art, and then learning and working accordingly.
3. Getting Inspired
4. Translating Inspiration into a design
5. Implementing that design both artistically and architecturally by finding that balance between beauty (must look good) and functionality (must wear well)
6. Organizing your work space and all your stuff
7. Managing a design process
8. Introducing your pieces publicly, and anticipating how others (wearer, viewer, seller, marketer, exhibitor, collector, teacher, student, for example) will desire your pieces, as well as judge your pieces as finished (parsimonious) and successful (resonant)
9. Infusing your pieces with a sense of yourself, your values, your aesthetics, your originality
10. Developing a fluency and flexibility when working with new materials, new techniques and technologies, and new design expectations, including well-established ideas about fix-it strategies when confronted with unfamiliar situations
11. Differentiating your jewelry and yourself from other jewelry designers
12. If selling your pieces, then linking up to and connecting with those who will market and buy your pieces
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
Some Updates and Things Happening. (Please share this newsletter)
In this Issue: 1. HANDWORK & DESIGN 2025 in Munich this March — take a look! 2. I recently was a guest on a webinar sponsored by the Bead Society of Northern California 3. Clamshells fascinate a Greek jeweler 4. Aging new beads to match old beads 5. To keep your artist statement evolving as you evolve 6. Art Blend — a community of creatives in Columbia, TN 7. Find a great source of bead weaving tutorials from Jill Wiseman 8. Some jewelry galleries of note — must sees on your travels Some articles you may have missed Featured
1. HANDWORK & DESIGN 2025 in Munich this March — take a look!
HANDWORK & DESIGN is an annual international trade fair for crafts of all kinds. It highlights new techniques, award winning designs and new designers.
At the event, masterful technical execution meets a pronounced awareness of good design. Individually, and sustainably produced in local small businesses, the artisanal products incorporate the latest ideas and innovations. Here you can discover things that are not found in any catalogue.
Humans are makers: we have always designed our environment according to our own needs and it is never solely about functionality, it is always equally about beautyorg. The focus of «Handwerk & Design» is entirely on this creative aspect of craftsmanship. Once a year, creators from Germany and abroad showcase their art here. Metal-free unique furniture that relies entirely on centuries-old wood joints, handmade lamps made of glass, fountain pens made of wood, headdresses made of straw or “Suiddys” made of high-quality woollen fabrics, a mixture of jacket and hoody for men: «Handwerk & Design» offers 11,000 square metres full of perfection in craftsmanship and design!
Jewellery is traditionally particularly well represented at «Handwerk & Design». Whether unusual one-off pieces for everyday wear, jewellery made of precious metals and precious stones, or artistic jewellery that tells stories. From personal memories to political statements: there is nothing that cannot be expressed with jewellery. Traditional and contemporary techniques and materials go hand in hand. Unk Kraus makes colourful brooches out of corn starch, Christine Demmel creates delicate flowers out of hand-painted parchment, and Christoph Straube’s illusionist enamel painting is so deceptively real that you can hardly believe your eyes.
GOALS: Understanding the differences between traditional jewelry and contemporary jewelry. Exploring why people feel connected to traditional jewelry. Comparing a traditional Etruscan necklace design with my attempts to contemporize it. Discussing why developing skills for “contemporizing” is important for jewelry designers.
Guiding Questions (1) How do you marry personal artistic intent with traditional ideas, keeping the jewelry design essential and alive for today’s audience? (2) Why do so many people draw inspiration from traditional pieces? (3) How is contemporary jewelry different from traditional jewelry? (4) To what degree should the contemporary piece reference the traditional piece which inspired it? (5) If the wearer does not feel a connection between the jewelry and society, culture or history, can the piece of jewelry still be successful? (6) What would be considered “good” contemporary jewelry design, and does this conflict with ideas and goals for contemporizing traditional jewelry?
ABSTRACT: Many people, jewelry designers among them, draw inspirations from traditional jewelry styles. One thing they seek to create through jewelry is a feeling of connectedness, coupled with a desire to feel connected. Traditional jewelry provides clear clues about what society and culture consider appropriate, good and even necessary ideas about connectedness.
But the core issue for jewelry designers today is how to achieve jewelry design which is more contemporary than merely a replay or reworking of traditional preferences and styles, that is, how to contemporize it. How to construct ideas into objects, challenge history and culture, produce that which typically ignores (or even is in opposition to) socio-cultural norms, standardization and monotony.
Contemporizing Traditional Jewelry has to do with how designers take these particular traditional forms and techniques, and by substituting their personal values for traditional socio-cultural ones, bring into being jewelry more connected and relevant to today’s sense of fashion, style, individuality and personal expression. The challenge for the designer, when contemporizing traditional jewelry, is how to marry personal artistic intent with traditional ideas, keeping jewelry design essential and alive for today’s audience. What helps here is understanding contemporary jewelry as a way of thinking through the design process, rather than something representative of a particular look.
The purplish shells of quahogs, treasured in the past by Native Americans, now appear alongside gold, mother-of-pearl and onyx.
“For centuries Native Americans treasured quahog shells, the purplish hard coverings of clams found along North Atlantic shores, which they fashioned into beads called wampum to adorn ceremonial garments and, later, to use as currency.
Today, however, quahogs are primarily a food source, often found in clam chowders, and their shells are discarded.
Melanie Georgacopoulos, a jewelry designer known for her unconventional use of pearls and shells, had never even heard of quahogs before she began work on her new Katina collection.
“When I saw them, I fell in love with the shells,” said Ms. Georgacopoulos, who was born in Greece and now works in London and Hamburg, Germany. “At first, I was drawn to its beautiful purple color, but after researching, I realized it has a significant history and carries a people’s culture.”
She learned about them when Brendan Breen, an entrepreneur in Boston who has had a lifelong fascination with quahogs, asked if she wanted to buy some shells.”
4. Over the years, I have gotten asked about aging new beads to look like old beads.
Often, someone has an old beaded dress or wedding dress, with a lot of beads missing. Usually these beads are crystal silver lined. The older beads have faded and darkened somewhat. The new beads are very shiny.
Here are some things that you can do: The goal is to slightly darken or tarnish the silver lining inside the beads without damaging the glass exterior.
1. Ammonia Vapor Method (I always try this first. Darkens things slowly).
Spray the beads with Windex with ammonia
Place the beads in a small, sealed container with a few drops of ammonia on a cotton ball (do not let them touch).
Leave them for a few hours or overnight, checking periodically.
This method can give a slightly aged, yellowed effect without darkening too much.
2. Sulfur Exposure (Safe Patina) (Can darken things too quickly).
Place the new beads in a sealed container with a hard-boiled egg (shell removed and mashed) for 24–48 hours. The sulfur in the egg will oxidize the silver lining and darken it. If resorting to sulfur, I’d start with the hard boiled eggs before going to liquid of sulfur.
Check periodically to avoid over-darkening.
Rinse the beads thoroughly and dry them completely before use. You can stop the darkening process at any point by dumping the beads into a bowl of water that has 1 tbsp baking soda in it. But then immediately was the beads in regular water.
3. Liver of Sulfur (Stronger Patina)
Mix a very diluted solution of liver of sulfur (LOS) with warm water. You can used a Liver of Sulfur gel. Put the solution in the microwave for 1 minute. You want the temperature of the solution to be different than the temperature of the beads. The greater the difference, the faster the darkening.
Submerge the beads briefly (10–30 seconds), then rinse immediately. I actually like to put them into a solution of water and 1 tbsp baking soda. This stops the darkening process, and then rinse them in plain water.
If necessary, repeat for a deeper patina.
Buff the exterior glass gently with a soft cloth to remove any residue. You can use a paper towel or 0000 steel wool.
4. Tea or Coffee Staining (Subtle Tinting)
Soak the beads in strongly brewed black tea or coffee for a few hours to add a slight antique warmth.
This won’t tarnish the silver lining but may subtly warm the color of the glass. The resulting color is pretty but brownish, so probably won’t match the older beads in the dress.
5. Diluted Paint or Ink Wash (For Controlled Aging)
Mix a very diluted wash of brown, black, or sepia acrylic paint or alcohol ink.
Apply lightly with a fine brush or dip quickly and wipe off excess.
This can create an aged appearance without chemical reactions.
I have never tried this, but I’m thinking, but do not know, that this will leave a glossy finish on the outside glass of the beads, as if they were painted with clear nail polish.
5. To keep your artist statement evolving as you evolve
📝 To keep your artist statement clear and relevant…
Your statement should evolve alongside your artistic practice. Review it periodically to ensure it reflects your current work.
Even if you’ve explored different mediums, highlight what connects your past work to your present practice. Ex.: “My past work with acrylics taught me blending techniques that I now apply in my current series.”
Keep your biography separate — your statement focuses on your work and process, while your bio should include education and background details.
Review and Revise to keep your content clear, concise and consistent…
Focus on clarity and intentionality. Every sentence should serve a purpose, whether describing your artistic process, inspirations, or themes.
Reinforce a central thread throughout your statement. If you begin with a theme, weave it into the conclusion to create cohesion.
If a word is commonly used in an artistic context, consider if it truly adds value or if a more precise term would be better. Be mindful of overused words.
If your statement already feels focused and intentional, small edits — such as removing a concluding sentence that doesn’t add depth — can make it even more powerful.
Keep the focus on YOU and not your Viewer…
Keep the focus on your experience and process — avoid phrases like “I hope the viewer will feel.” Allow the viewer to find their own connection to your pieces.
Highlight tangible aspects (e.g., techniques, materials) to create a connection between words and visuals.
Maintain a concise and engaging statement; quality matters more than length.
Expand only if something essential feels missing, not just for comparison to others.
6. Art Blend — a community of creatives in Columbia, TN
I had the recent opportunity to attend the monthly get-together of Art Blend — a community, grass-roots group of creatives in Columbia, TN. It was exciting. Lots of synergy in the room.
First, they define ARTISTS very broadly to include all creatives. Visual artists, theater folks, crafters, jewelry designers, wood workers, cake decorators, writers, interior designers, musicians.
They hold their events at local coffee shops, restaurants, and pubs. The first part of the mixer was open-ended. Then, the core of their program was show-and-tell. Visual artists presented one or more of their works and talked about their inspirations, their journey as an artist, their hopes and fears. Musicians and song writers sang songs their wrote. Writers read from pieces they were working on.
The broad representation put an emphasis on commonalities, particularly in terms of the prospects and struggles of tapping into your personal creative spark and translating that into something creative to share with others. It also clearly was a significant support system.
The last part of the evening was time to walk around and view many of the works close-up and talking with each creative. Getting more of the story. Learning more of the insights. Feeling a part of someone’s journey.
7. Find a great source of bead weaving video tutorials from Jill Wiseman
Jill wiseman is a prominent bead weaving author and instructor. On her YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@JillWisemanDesigns) , you will find many free instructional videos on how-to do various bead weaving techniques. She has many free pattern tutorials for projects you can work on. You even documents some of her bead weaving experiences and travels.
8. Some jewelry galleries of note — must sees on your travels
Pistachios is a contemporary art jewelry and objects gallery in downtown Chicago, curating the most talented and cutting edge artists from around the world.
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on my Patreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I began making jewelry 35+ years ago, my only interest was in making money. Concerns about design and art, construction and appeal, functionality and emotional engagement were superficial. Probably non-existent is a better word. And yes, this meant I did not care about what any piece of jewelry I made might mean for the person buying it. Or wearing it. Or otherwise putting it on display. There was no consequence for my actions in making jewelry. Except making money. There was a hollowness here which I was, at the time, totally unaware of.
That was a shame.
I missed out on a lot of excitement that emerges from the design process and that special relationship between designer and client.
As I became more proficient in making jewelry, I questioned more and more of myself about what I was doing. Why were some pieces of jewelry I made more successful than others? Why did some sell better than others? Why were some received more warmly than others? Why did some hold up much better from wear than others?
I had had to place a value on the pieces I made. Initially I used a simple pricing formula which related the costs of parts and the costs of labor and the costs of overhead to the price set. But over time, I noticed that some of my pieces were more resonant than others. More desirable. More intriguing. Sexier. Should I increase my prices to reflect these greater, though more difficult to measure, kinds of things? I didn’t know. But I was thinking about it.
Over the years, I thought more and more about what made jewelry more or less successful. How to know when a piece was finished. How to know that I made the best tradeoffs between beauty and functionality. How to know what my jewelry was worth. How to market jewelry. How to sell it. How to sell it in a store. How to sell it at a craft show. How to sell it online. How to organize it into a coherent line of jewelry. How to measure and assess costs, revenues and returns-on-investment.
I share part of my developing knowledge in my book SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER (https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?EenmVM2NMYJGNKaAzr68kaH6GGGSPuNIkGCP1Hfzm3N). In this book, I go over the many hard and soft skills required to become fluent, flexible and original in jewelry design. It is important to understand what jewelry is, how design elements are selected, arranged, constructed and manipulated, how to manage the design process, and how to introduce your designs publicly.
In this book, which is the focus of this series of articles, CONQUERING THE CREATIVE MARKETPLACE, I focus on strategies for integrating business practices with the creative design process — things which can make balancing the creative self with the productive self easier and more fluid. I talk about how dreams are made between the fickleness of business and the pursuit of design.
I go into great detail about all the things you need to think about, know and do when getting started. This begins with basic bookkeeping and accounting as well as developing a business model and also understanding how to protect your intellectual property.
I discuss briefly about how the more literate jewelry designer is more successful in business. Disciplinary literacy involves a set of skills which enable the designer to best relate the jewelry design to client understandings and desires. These skills influence how the client interacts with the piece of jewelry, seeing relevance, value, usefulness, and the designer’s intent.
It is important to understand some basic concepts — Competitive Advantage,Risk, Rewards and Return-On-Investment, and how these play out in all aspects of your business. Also critical is to recognize how what you do in business and what you do creatively affect the Efficiency and Effectiveness of both your design process as well as your business operations.
I have several chapters devoted to product design and development. These range from product goal setting to needs assessment to product distribution, pricing and promotion to managing product launch.
Another section focuses on marketing and branding. You need to create an identify for your business, one that people become aware of and feel positively towards.
This leads to the next section on selling. I review selling strategies important in different settings from retail to craft shows to home shows to online.
I talk about resiliency in business. What kinds of things — emotional, administrative, creative — lead to a greater level of resilience in your business as you face growth, market ups and downs and fashion and taste changes.
Last, I review and present advice for creating the kinds of documents you will need to complement your business goals. These include a creative resume; portfolio; artist statement, biographical sketch, certificate of authenticity and the like.
Many people learn beadwork and jewelry-making in order to sell the pieces they make. Based both on the creation and development of my own jewelry design business, as well as teaching countless students over the past 35+ years about business and craft, I want to address what should be some of your key concerns and uncertainties. I want to share with you the kinds of things (specifically, a business mindset and confidence) it takes to start your own jewelry business, run it, anticipate risks and rewards, and lead it to a level of success you feel is right for you. I want to help you plan your road map.
I will explore answers to such questions as: How does someone get started marketing and selling their pieces? What business fundamentals need to be brought to the fore? How do you measure risk and return on investment? How does the creative person develop and maintain a passion for business? To what extent should business decisions affect artistic choices? What similar traits to successful jewelry designers do those in business share? How do you protect your intellectual property?
The major topics covered include,
1. Integrating Business With Design
2. Getting Started
3. Financial Management
4. Product Development, Creating Your Line, and Pricing
5. Marketing, Promotion, Branding
6. Selling
7. Professional Responsibilities and Strategic Planning
8. Professional Responsibilities and Gallery / Boutique Representation
9. Professional Responsibilities and Creating Your Necessary Written Documents
It is important up front to ask yourself, as a jewelry artist, what is more important to you: the piece of jewelry itself, or the reason why it was made? The material object? Or the idea?
The idea is about cause and effect. How the inspiration resulted in choices about colors, materials and techniques. How the artist’s intent is revealed through choices about composition, arrangements and manipulation of design elements. How the jewelry relates to the person and to the body? How the artist anticipates how others will understand whether a piece is finished and successful, and whether the piece incorporates these shared understandings into the choices made about design.
As solely a material object, the jewelry so designed shies away from resonance. It becomes something to be judged apart from the wearer. It too often gets co-opted by global forces tending towards standardization and same-old-same-old designs. The designer’s mastery is barely referenced or attended to. The designers voice is reduced to noise. The very real fear is that, with globalization, advances in technology, and standardization, the designer’s voice will no longer be needed.
Jewelry as idea fosters communication and connection between the artist and his or her various audiences. It bridges thinking. It bridges emotion. It bridges social, cultural and/or situational ties. It goes beyond simple adornment and ornamentation. It becomes interactive, and emerges from a co-dependency between artist and audience, reflective and indicative of both.
Analyzing reasons, finding connections, and conceptualizing forms, components and arrangements are the primary functions of jewelry designer survival.
Otherwise, why make jewelry? Why make something so permanent to reflect your inner motivations, efforts, even struggles, to translate inspiration into this object? Why make something wearable, especially when each piece is usually not worn all the time? Why make something that might have such an intimate relationship with the body and mind? Why make something that can have real consequences for the wearer as the jewelry is worn in social, cultural or specific situational settings?
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
Some Updates and Things Happening. (Please share this newsletter)
In this Issue: 1. Juried Art Services — You Should Be Registered Here! 2. To Keep People On Your Website, Follow These Tips 3. Extraordinary price increases on gold seed beads! +85%! 4. Film and photograph your design process, suggested once every hour! 5. Humanae — A pantone map of skin tones 6. Tips for balancing portfolios for retail and gallery shops vs. online sales 7. Is it jewelry or sculpture? 8. 3 Austrian crystal bead and rhinestone colors have been discontinued Some articles you may have missed Featured
Juried Art Services is a comprehensive online application and jurying system for art shows, galleries, and museums. We provide a seamless and efficient platform for managing your art show, gallery, or museum. We have been in business for over 20 years and have worked with some of the largest art shows in the world.
Here is a central place to create a “portfolio” for yourself, and find out about and submit applications to various art and craft shows. Each show has its own special requirements and fees, and this site structures each application accordingly.
VIDEO LINK Creating an application has never been easier. With Juried Art Services, you have tons of creative options for uploading and editing your artworks. Get started with this quick tutorial video on how to create your first application.
2. To keep people on your website, I suggest you follow these tips:
When your website gets ranked by search engines, one of the key things they measure is how long visitors who have clicked over to your site remain on your site. The longer you keep them there, the higher your rank.
To keep people on your website, improve readability & contrast:
Avoid light-colored text on light backgrounds — it reduces readability.
Use a background effect or contrast to make text stand out.
Increase font size for key text to ensure easy reading.
Keep design consistent — spacing and formatting should be uniform.
Prioritize clear, high-contrast text for a polished and professional look.
By enhancing contrast and legibility, visitors will have a better browsing experience.
Simplify your website’s navigation to improve user experience.
Shorten menu titles — use single words like “Teaching” instead of “Workshops & Classes.”
Group similar pages — place sales and classes together for logical flow.
Move secondary pages (About, Contact) to the right side of the menu.
Reduce menu clutter — only include essential categories to avoid overwhelming visitors.
Keep navigation intuitive so users can find what they need quickly.
A cleaner menu layout makes browsing effortless and keeps visitors engaged.
Showing visuals of your work/classes can help you sell more.
Show images of students making jewelry in workshops or displaying their finished pieces. Feature completed commissions to help potential clients imagine their own.
Capture behind-the-scenes moments of your creative process, from sketch to final piece. Include action shots of yourself making jewelry to add a personal and engaging touch.
Make the experience feel real so visitors can clearly see what they’ll gain.
By integrating more visuals, your site will feel more immersive and persuasive.
3. Price increases, some extraordinary (+85%) on Miyuki seed beads
First, expect at least 6% increase in prices on all Miyuki seed and delica beads.
Second, can be a 85% increase on beads with gold plating or with colors that use gold to make the colors
From the US distributor: :Over the last year and a bit, Miyuki has charged a surcharge on beads which contain gold. This means not just gold-plated beads, but any bead which has gold in the glass-making process. Gold is extra expensive right now, and the additional fee is to cover the materials cost for making those beads. The surcharge is currently hovering about 85% and has been in that vicinity for about a year.
Until now we have dragged our feet on re-ordering these items because the cost is almost doubled, but we’ve decided to simply re-price them because the cost doesn’t seem to be going down. If it does go down, we’ll redo our prices on these beads and you’ll be the first to know!
Here is the long list of items that are affected:”
4. Film and photograph your design process, I suggest once every hour!
Always have your cell phone handy.
Anticipate the kinds of image and video materials you might need for any marketing you will do once you have completed your project. It is important to recognize up front that “sharing your process” is one of the strongest marketing messages you can develop.
Do you forget to film/photograph your process often? Set an alarm.
I recommend filming yourself working once an hour (for about 5 seconds). If you get very into your work/forget, set an alarm or timer when you start.
You can decide whether you set just one, or several (if you plan on working for a while). For example: if you’ll be painting from 5 pm to 8 pm, set alarms at:
6:00 pm
7:00 pm
8:00 pm
This way you can fully focus on your work and still get the footage you need.
Store your images and videos in a place you can easily find them again after you finish your project.
5. I found this extraordinary project called Humanae which is photographically documenting skin tones and relating each to pantone colors
Humanæ is a photographic work in progress by artist Angélica Dass, an unusually direct reflection on the color of the skin, attempting to document humanity’s true colors rather than the untrue labels “white”, “red”, “black” and “yellow” associated with race. It’s a project in constant evolution seeking to demonstrate that what defines the human being is its inescapably uniqueness and, therefore, its diversity. The background for each portrait is tinted with a color tone identical to a sample of 11 x 11 pixels taken from the nose of the subject and matched with the industrial pallet Pantone®, which, in its neutrality, calls into question the contradictions and stereotypes related to the race issue.
More than just faces and colors in the project there are almost 4,000 volunteers, with portraits made in 20 different countries and 36 different cities around the world, thanks to the support of cultural institutions, political subjects, governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations. The direct and personal dialogue with the public and the absolute spontaneity of participation are fundamental values of the project and connote it with a strong vein of activism.
Currently more than 4000 images exist in the project. They have been taken in 36 cities, in 20 different countries: Arteixo, Madrid, Barcelona, Getxo, Bilbao and Valencia (Spain), Paris (France), Bergen (Norway), Winterthur, Chiasso (Switzerland), Groningen, The Hague (Netherlands), Dublin (Ireland), London (UK), Tyumen (Russia), Gibellina and Vita (Italy), Vancouver, Montreal (Canada), New York, San Francisco, Gambier, Pittsburgh and Chicago (USA), Quito (Ecuador), Valparaíso (Chile), Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Córdoba (Argentina), New Delhi (India), Daegu (South Korea) Wenzhou and Shanghai (China), Ciudad de México, Oaxaca (Mexico) and Addis Abeba (Ethiopia).
6. Tips for balancing portfolios for retail and gallery shops vs. online sales
To balance your website for store/gallery vs. online sales…
Use a digital portfolio to showcase your work professionally — galleries especially expect a polished presentation.
If adding an online store, ensure pricing matches what stores/galleries display to avoid conflicts.
Communicate openly with stores/galleries — let them know you prioritize selling through them and will refer clients back.
Focus on store/gallery relationships first — building online sales takes time, so establish a strong presence before investing heavily in ecommerce.
If you enable an online shop, manage it carefully and address concerns with transparency to maintain good store/gallery partnerships
You should correctly assume that potential clients will, after seeing your physical store/gallery representation, then go online to check you and your jewelry out as well
The question of whether jewelry is sculpture has been debated for over a century. The key distinction often comes down to context. An unknown sculptor attempting to position their jewelry as sculpture faces a challenge. Likewise, an unknown jeweler claiming to be a sculptor must overcome substantial hurdles.
However, when an artist deliberately blurs these lines, the results can be extraordinary. Many Patina Gallery exhibitions began as And & Both ideas — concepts that walked the lines of nuance and risked failure but ultimately thrived. Ivy Ross has built her career on this delicate balance. She consistently reminded me that the story must always support the idea.
Most people know my thinking: Jewelry is only art as it is worn. It is not sculpture.
8. 3 Austrian crystal bead and rhinestone colors have been discontinued
Swarovski has shared some unforeseen news regarding three colors in their crystal line:
Smoked Amber
Light Amber
Golden Topaz
Due to technical difficulties, they can no longer be produced and have been discontinued.
While Swarovski no longer distributes directly to the general public, they are the manufacturing source of distributors that handle their products. The distributor I use is call Star Bright.
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on my Patreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey there! Check out my book about Pearl knotting.
My name is Warren Feld. I am a jewelry designer with 40+ years of experience. In my book, I teach you the basic steps in Pearl Knotting. I’ll walk you through how to start your piece, tie knots between pearls, and how to end your piece. Simple instructions. Lots of diagrams and images.
What you will learn
In this book, i teach a non-traditional pearl knotting technique which is very easy for people to learn and do, does not use special tools, includes step-by-step instructions, a simple way to tie knots, shows clearly how to attach your clasp and finish off your cords, and achieves that architectural perfection we want in our pearl strung pieces,
Why This Class Is Important
There are many, many variations in technique.
They all work.
Yet most are very difficult for the beginner — especially those traditional techniques which rely on tools for making and positioning the knots.
Over the years, Ihave seen how students, when following traditional pearl knotting methods, or methods which utilize some more traditional techniques and approaches, become dissatisfied with their results.
And give up.
Pearl knotting doesn’t need to be this hard.
Warren’s Way
After many, many years, enduring many concerns, debates, demonstrations and arguments about which way is best, I came up with my own preferences —
o Using ideas, goals and parts of techniques from several established methods o Adjusting them, based on my experiences with students and teachers o And my knowledge of good design o And how to balance artistic concerns with functional ones.
The Book
I used these ideas and techniques, which I reached and put them to many test, to create a non-traditional pearl knotting technique which i call “Warren’s Way”.
4 variations
The book covers 4 different variations for starting and finishing your piece, including 1. Attaching directly to the clasp 2. Using French wire bullion 3. Using clam shell bead tips 4. Making a continuous piece without a clasp
I also present the steps for adding cord.
Kit and Supplies, Tools
You may purchase an accompanying PEARL KNOTTING KIT, as well as supplies and tools, at www.landofodds.com
At the heart of this question is whether we are paid and rewarded either solely for the number of jewelry pieces which we make, or rather for the skill, knowledge and intent underlying our jewelry designs.
If the former, we do not need much training. Entry into the activity of jewelry design would be very open, with a low bar. Our responsibility would be to turn out pieces of jewelry. We would not encumber ourselves too much with art theory or design theory. We would not concern ourselves, in any great depth, and certainly not struggle with jewelry’s psycho-socio-cultural impacts.
If the latter, we would need a lot of specialized training and experience. Entry into the activity of jewelry design would be more controlled, most likely staged from novice to master. Our responsibility would be to translate our inspirations into aspirations into designs. It would also be to influence others viewing our work to be inspired to think about and reflect and emote those things which have excited the designer, as represented by the jewelry itself. And it would also be to enable others to find personal, and even social and cultural, success and satisfaction when wearing or purchasing this piece of jewelry.
To become a professional jewelry designer is to learn, apply and experience a way of thinking like a designer. Fluent in terms about materials, techniques and technologies. Flexible in the applications of techniques and the organizing of design elements into compositions which excite people. Able to develop workable design strategies in unfamiliar or difficult situations. Communicative about intent, desire, purpose, no matter the context or situation within which the designer and their various audiences find themselves. Original in how concepts are introduced, organized and manipulated, and in how the designer differentiates themselves from other designers.
The designs of artisans who make jewelry reflect and refract cultural norms, as well as such things as societal expectations, historical explanations and justifications, and those psychological precepts which individuals apply to make sense of themselves and for themselves within a larger setting. As such, the jewelry designer has a major responsibility, both to the individual client, as well as to the larger social setting or society, to foster that the ability for the client to fulfill that hierarchy of needs, and to foster the coherency and rationality of the community-at-large and his or her fit within it.
All this can happen in a very small, narrow way, or a very large and profound way. In either case, the professional roles of the jewelry designer remain the same. Successfully learning how to play these roles — fluency, flexibility, communication, originality — becomes the basis for how the jewelry designer is judged and the extent of his or her recognition and success.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
JEWELRY DESIGN: An Occupation In Search Of Professionalization
Jewelry design is an activity which occupies your time.
How the world understands what you do when you occupy that time, however, is in a state of flux and confusion, and which often can be puzzling or disorienting for the jewelry artist, as well.
Is what you are doing merely a hobby or an avocation? Is it something anyone can do, anytime they want, without much preparation and learning? Is it something primarily done by hand or by machine?
Is what you do an occupation? Does it require learning specialized technical skills? Is it something that involves your interaction with others? Is it something you are paid to do?
Or is what you do a profession? Is there a specialized body of knowledge, perspectives and values, not just mechanical skills, to learn and apply? Do you provide a service to the public? Do you need to learn and acquire certain insights which enable you to serve the needs of others?
Are you part of another occupation or profession, or do you have your own? Is jewelry design merely a craft, where you make things by following sets of steps?
Is jewelry design an art, where your personal inspirations and artistic sense is employed to create things of aesthetic beauty for others to admire, as if they were sculptures? Is the jewelry you create to be judged as something separate and apart from the person wearing it?
Or is jewelry design its own thing. Is it a design activity where you learn specialized knowledge, skills and understandings in how to integrate aesthetics and functionality, and where your success can only be judged at the boundary between jewelry and person — that is, only as the jewelry is introduced publicly and is worn?
The line of demarcation between occupation and profession is thin, often blurred, but for the jewelry designer, this distinction is very important. It feeds into our sense of self and self-esteem. It guides us in the choices we make to become better and better at our craft, art and trade. It influences how we introduce our jewelry to the public, and how we influence the public to view, wear, exhibit, purchase or collect the things we make.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
There is so much to know, and so many types of choices to make. Which clasp? Which stringing material? Which technique? Which beads, findings and components? Which strategy of construction? Which silhouette? What aesthetic you want to achieve? How you want to achieve it? Drape, movement, context, durability? How to organize and manage the design process?
And this is the essence of this book — a way to learn all the kinds of things you need to bring to bear, in order to create a wonderful and functional piece of jewelry. Whether you are just beginning your beading or jewelry making avocation, or have been beading and making jewelry awhile — time spent with the material in these segments will be very useful. You’ll learn the critical skills and ideas. You’ll learn how these inter-relate. And you’ll learn how to make better choices.
We want to gauge how the designer grows within the craft, and takes on the challenges during their professional lives. This involves an ongoing effort to merge voice and inspiration with form. Often this effort is challenging. Sometimes paralyzing. Always fulfilling and rewarding.
Jewelry design is a conversation. The conversation is ongoing, perhaps never-ending. The conversation is partly internal and partly external. The conversation is partly a reflection about process, refinement, questioning, translating feelings into form, impressions into arrangements, life influences into choice. It touches on desire. It reflects value and values. Aesthetics matter. Architecture and function matters. People matter. Context and situation matter.
Jewelry focuses attention. Inward for the artist. Outward for the wearer and viewer. In many directions socially and culturally and situationally. Jewelry is a voice which must be expressed and heard, and hopefully, responded to.
At first that voice might not find that exact fit with its audience. There is some back and forth in expression, as the jewelry is designed, refined, redesigned, and re-introduced publicly. But jewelry, and its design, have great power. They have the power to synthesize a great many voices and expectations into something exciting and resonant.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
