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Trendspotting

The price of amethyst, and how to benefit from it

May 13, 2009

A showroom customer asked about the price of amethyst, particularly the “A” grade amethyst we carry. We had not noticed the recent price of this, so we asked our supplier who specializes in amethyst.

a-grade_amethyst

A-grade amethyst beads from Rings & Things…an investment?

She told us,

“Yes, Amethyst rough has kept increasing for the last two-three years. For the same price, we won’t be able to get the same quality rough. Since last year, I notice vendors in [market shops] are now selling the “A” grade amethyst by grams, just like peridot and aqua.”

So take a tip:

FYI for all birthstone / purple lovers. Don’t wait till you’re old to get hold of genuine amethyst beads, if they’re your thing!

Have more insider gemstone tips? You can share them with enthusiastic readers right here, in a comment!

May giveaway:
* You enter by leaving comments this month
* At the end of May, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*So read the blog regularly, to enter a lot & to see if you won!

Multi-purposing your art beads: Beadable pen findings (& more)

March 27, 2009

Rings & Things has introduced a popular line of beadable-pen findings, perfect for displaying art beads!

These pens are the perfect partner for any bead artisan’s wares. (Lampwork? Clay? The possibilities go on…) They’re also a great way of showing customers that they can “multi-purpose” any beads they buy from you.

beadable_normal_dotted_line_pen1

Artists can set off the charms of their glass, ceramic, metal or other bead creations to maximum advantage by pairing them with a choice of pen colors. A range of seven hues, from pearl white or matte silver to burgundy or copper, is on hand.

Made of genuine brass alloy, these blue-ink beadable ballpoints have an anodized finish. Each pen is 6″ long with a 2.5″ beadable section (adjustable by 0.125″). The pen nib retracts with a twist. The rod (mandrel) is 3/32″, perfect for showing off lampwork beads with 2.5mm holes or greater. The metal casing has good heft, unlike plastic varieties. The shorter threads of the rod screw into the base of the pen.

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These pens become even more of a permanent treasure with the addition of optional ink refills. Refills are offered separately in either black or blue ink.

We carry an ever-growing line of ‘beadable’ specialty findings, from magnifying glasses to lighter covers to bookmarks. Keep an eye on our site for more new items that you can bead in various ways!

Have a favorite beadable finding? Looking for one but haven’t found just the right thing yet? Leave a comment below to talk about it!

March news: New monthly lottery, right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it works:
* You enter by leaving comments. Comment on any March post(s).
* At the end of March, I’ll randomly draw 2 winners of surprise goodie packs! …So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

Another use for: African & trade beads

March 23, 2009

Love the Earth? Love trade beads, and looking for more ways to use them? Breathe a new spirit into your rosaries!

We found a great blog post by Anne of Atelier-Beads, about two sorts of multipurposed jewelry in one. She writes about “Rosaries that Care: Recycled Glass Beads from Africa.” (You’ve got to click through so you’ll see a great photo of one of these rosaries!)

Anne sums up well when she says, “Ghana recycled glass is a wonderful rosary application. Not only is it innovative and beautiful, but it also promotes good stewardship both in the re-use of manmade materials and in the provision of employment and income to the artisans who create the beads.”

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She’s writing about traditional-style powdered-glass beads, made by recycling modern materials from medicine bottles to TV screens. Africans have been crushing old glass into powder for centuries, though, to make these beads (also called “sand beads” sometimes). You can buy a good selection of older powdered-glass beads in our online store; we don’t have information at this time to suggest any of these are more recent.

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The great-looking rosary shown in Anne’s blog post makes use of an Ethiopian cross pendant. These reflect a unique, ancient Christian style that many North Americans are unfamiliar with (Legend has it that Christianity came to Ethiopia quite early, around AD 300, but the country was not in close contact with other Christian nations.) So these cross pendants add a fascinating bit of history, and a beautiful style, to any rosary that you make.

Did you know Rings & Things sells many other Ethiopian beads and pendants? We’re also known for our extensive line of African & trade beads in glass (some even have “cross” designs), metal and natural materials. And don’t miss out on our many other recycled-material beads!

March news: New monthly lottery, right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it works:
* You enter by leaving comments. Comment on any March post(s).
* At the end of March, I’ll randomly draw 2 winners of surprise goodie packs! …So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

More uses for choker forms

March 17, 2009

In the spirit of multipurposing that our “grow your business” project often mentions, we’d like to report on some great uses people have recently invented for Rings & Things’ chokers.

We’ve been seeing some brilliant applications of wire-wrapping to our choker forms. A number of ideas involve wrapping part or all of the form itself. This turquoisey design is from Tish:

justatish_r_tchoker_zoom

Another take by Tish on the wrapped-choker idea:

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Dawno combined an inspiration from abstract artist Piet Mondrian with choker wrapping:

dawno_red-choker-form-with-dangles

Melanie at Earthenwood Studios found our choker blank provided a good structure to express her ongoing steampunk inspiration:

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At her “A Bead A Day” blog, Lisa wrapped the entire choker form and added a pendant and coordinating bead accents:

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In a similar vein, Tish went for a softer feel, designing a loosely ribbon-wrapped choker:

justatish_img_8742 (Tish provides a full, excellent tutorial on making this one!)

How about wrapping wire on some other element of your design? Dawno beaded the choker form itself, but wrapped the great dangles in this design:

cathedral-cut-magnetic-clasp-choker-bust

And Lisa made a stunning wire-wrapped focal piece in this choker design:

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Another wire-wrapping idea for a focal is this stunning bit of sculpture by Dawno:

dawno_silver-and-botmo-purple-swirly-choker

Somewhat more minimal wire work is involved in the hammered tendrils dangling from this “Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright” choker by Margot Potter, a.k.a. The Impatient Crafter:

margot_tiger-tiger-burning-bright

What’s your inpiration for using choker forms? Share a comment–or even a picture!

March news: New monthly lottery, right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it works:
* You enter by leaving comments. Comment on any March post(s).
* At the end of March, I’ll randomly draw 2 winners of surprise goodie packs! …So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

Brand your jewelry: custom metal tags

March 3, 2009

Rena Klingenberg mentioned a great idea in her “Jewelry Business Blog” (link removed 2019 because the original site no longer exists and now goes somewhere bad). Here’s a pretty artistic way to grow your business:

normal_upcycling_bracelet

There’s more than one way to use metal stamping!

Brand your jewelry! Now, Rings & Things is in the western USA. But I’m no iron-brandishing cowboy. I’m talking about a kinder, gentler way of making a lasting impression on your customers.

Mark your jewelry with small custom metal tags. They’re durable, they show that you care about the quality of the items you make, and they can coordinate with your designs.

  • There are companies who will sell you pre-made tags in the shape you like: hearts, ovals, diamonds and more.
    By shopping around, you can find these in sterling, gold fill, copper or other metals.
  • Just add your business name or logo to the tag — you can also get a metal stamp (die) custom-made with your design.
  • You can personalize the tags even more. How about enameling the stamped design? Or a quick bit of antiquing solution?

If you get tags in some quantity, you should be able to do all this for several cents to a dollar per tag. But there’s a way to lower the cost even more! Consider using metal-stamping tools, for a very quick and simple “logo”. Why not overlap stamped letters on each other for a monogram (or cattle-brand) look? And most metal stamp sets include one more more dies for symbols like &, @, or ?… With a bit of your creativity, you’ll have a memorable logo in no time at all. (Just think how recognizable the Calvin Klein “cK” logo is.)

Attach your snazzy metal tag to each jewelry item with a matching jump ring. You’ll be amazed how sharp and professional the results can look!

A side benefit: metal stamping jewelry keeps growing in popularity. You can use the same tools to create focal pendants and more…

Have you discovered other useful ways to “brand” your line of jewelry? Share them in a comment!

March news: New monthly drawing, right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it works:
* You enter by leaving comments. Comment on any March post(s).
* At the end of March, I’ll randomly draw 2 winners of surprise goodie packs!

Books on wire wrapping

February 23, 2009

All around the world of handmade jewelry, we’ve been seeing quite a bit of wire.* This style has enjoyed sterling* popularity for several years. You can grow your business by making sure you have the skill to incorporate custom-made wire findings and more into your creations. How? Just wrap* your head around some of these fine* wire books, and make wire work* for you!

Choose from our large selection of wire wrapping and wire working books, including basic wire-wrapping instructions, volumes on a variety of wirewrapping techniques and hints, and advanced books on wire wrapped jewelry how-to’s. Because these are such popular resources, here’s a quick tour through the library.

“Findings & Finishings” by Sharon Bateman is a Rings & Things staff choice. This glossy, full-color how-to book, appropriate for novice through intermediate beaders, begins with a brief overview of findings and finishings through history. It continues with descriptions of materials and tools, and detailed step-by-step guides that progress from wireworking basics to seed bead caps and bails, clasps, edging and even fringe.

“Jewelry Making & Beading for Dummies” by Heather Dismore and Tammy Powley is a best seller at Rings & Things. This easy-to-follow guide gives lots of hands-on instruction in making simple fabulous jewelry. It includes chapters on throwing jewelry-making parties, turning a hobby into a business and making money. From wire wrapping and knotting to weaving and polishing, you’ll get all the skills you need to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, pins, key chains and more.

“All Wired Up” by Mark Lareau is another best seller. Recommended by pro wire artists, this handbook is based on a series of classes Lareau teaches. It provides excellent tips on everything from making fancy head pins to avoiding “Quasimodo Syndrome.” Learn to make clasps, mounts, findings, chains and embellishments. This book features a gallery of contemporary pieces to get your creativity all wired up.

For many more exciting titles, check out our full selection of great wireworking books. You may find yourself getting into one of the great jewelry fashions of our time! When you’ve got the guidance of great wire-wrapping books like these from Rings & Things, wire jewelry is nothing to get bent out of shape* about!

*For some reason I just had to hammer* away at the wire puns in this post. A t least I marked them with warning asterisks, but… Sorry!! 🙂

Trendspotting: Inspired by fine art

February 20, 2009

Here’s a bit of a trend lately: Jewelry inspired by fine art. Now that’s a natural fit!

impressionist_jewelry_book

Have you spotted more jewelry (or other crafts) inspired by fine art? Share your sightings here–leave a comment!

Exciting news: every month, we’re going to hold a lottery right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it will work:
*At the beginning of each month, I’ll announce a new lottery.
*You enter by leaving Replies, also known as blog comments. Comment on any post(s) this month.
*At the end of the month, I’ll randomly draw 2 names to receive surprise goodie packs!

Bead news, good news: RSS

February 17, 2009

Yes, I said bead news. ?

A secret of many thriving Internet jewelry and craft sellers is called RSS. Use it to keep up on trends and grow your business!

RSS means “really simple syndication”. Actually, that doesn’t mean very much, does it… It boils down to getting news sent straight to your computer desktop. With RSS, you don’t have to remember all those websites that you like, or fumble through a huge Bookmarks or Favorites list.

Instead, at a website that offers RSS, you just click on the snazzy orange icon…

…and it installs a news folder right on your browser’s toolbar. Now, every time you sit down at your computer, you can just click on that toolbar folder to see the newest headlines pop out. Here’s what that looks like (*if you’re a maniac like me, who has dozens of feeds) :

Each of these headlines is clickable, and takes you into that website for full information. Why is this a competitive edge for your craft jewelry business?

Because RSS is such an easy way to keep up with multiple sites and pages. Especially ones that are updated a lot. Sites like Rings & Things provide several examples of this “newsy” material (you can click “RSS” here to check out our news feeds):

If you’re on Twitter, you can use the Search feature to locate favorite artisans or suppliers, and set up a custom RSS feed of their “tweets”. And if you blog, you might even provide an RSS feed for your readers. These are just a sampling of the possiblities!

You’ll figure out for yourself which RSS feeds are the most useful. You may be amazed how much you’ll start relying on them to point out great new beads and findings, styles, and more.

How do you use RSS? Share your experiences by posting a Reply!

Exciting news: every month, we’re going to hold a lottery right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it will work:
*At the beginning of each month, I’ll announce a new lottery.
*You enter by leaving Replies, also known as blog comments. Comment on any post(s) this month.
*At the end of the month, I’ll randomly draw 2 names to receive surprise goodie packs!

Design idea: book thongs

February 4, 2009

The word “thong” has a funny recent history. When I was a kid in the ’70s, we wore thongs on our feet. Times changed, thongs migrated upwards a bit, and now we wear flip-flops. Or “foot thongs”.

Always on the go, thongs have also moved along to the world of bookmarks. Beautiful book thongs have been a trend lately, but you may have seen something like them before. Think of those fancy ribbons built into old, important books to help readers keep their place.

bookthong_heavymetal

This trend has a couple of nice side effects:

  • Expanding your product line of beaded bookmarks beyond metallic findings.
  • Multi-purposing (re-branding) a piece of jewelry that could also function as wrist wear.

The basic component is a length of cording, for example the flat suede lace that Liz at The Crimson Moon uses. Other approaches to book-thong cording include beading (necklace-style) on Beadalon or other stringing material. Finish the suede cord with a leather crimp end; other stringing materials can be finished effectively like a necklace but leaving off the clasp. The important thing is to have loops at the ends, because…

Your creativity really comes out in decorating the ends, attaching a dangle to each. This can be a focal piece like a lampwork art bead, a seed-bead creation, a pendant, a crystal, some charms… It’s a good idea to make the weight on the two ends pretty equal, so the thong doesn’t fly out of the book like Wile E. Coyote on a pulley.

bookthong_calypso2

Why not display your book thongs for sale “in action” in an artful stack of books? Or, because the thongs are long, wrap them around a paper card with your business information on it. If you make handcrafted paper products like diaries, or know someone who does, you could offer a package deal with a bookthong.

Have more book thong or bookmark ideas? Share them by leaving a Reply! ☻☺

Exciting news: every month, we’re going to hold a lottery right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it will work:
*At the beginning of each month, I’ll announce a new lottery.
*You enter by leaving Replies, also known as blog comments. Comment on any post(s) this month.
*At the end of the month, I’ll randomly draw 2 names to receive surprise goodie packs!

Kill 'em dead, copper!

January 19, 2009

(I was thinking of 1930s gangsters when I wrote this.) 🙂

So it’s official: copper kills germs. Some folks have been touting the health benefits of copper for years. It’s a folk remedy for arthritis, among other things.
(Ever notice those Arnold Palmer ads?)

Now,
scientists are reporting that copper actually kills germs and they’re even bringing it
into hospitals to fight against patient infections.


I love our solid-copper components even more now!
They’re beautiful and stylish, and now they look like some of the healthiest jewelry parts around. Craft soapmakers, this is a natural idea for a package deal to sell to your customers!