If this newsletter is difficult to read as an e-mail:

Read this issue online.

Welcome!

In today's issue we dip into creative ideas for making and selling jewelry that run from the 16th century (millefiori glass artists evolving their craft) to the present day (more ways to use your camera phone as a jewelry business tool).

The common thread is that jewelry artists use whatever we have available to create beauty and fulfill visions.

Sometimes people ask me what I like best about my jewelry business, and I always say truthfully that it's having the freedom to create every single aspect of it - from the jewelry itself, to the ways I sell my work, reach my customers, and display and package everything.

I love being in the creative zone where I'm so intensely absorbed that somehow two hours fly past in the space of a few moments!

I think that zone is what Danica Losich refers to in her article below, "Making Jewelry Saved My Life".

Thank you to all for sharing your creativity here - your ideas, tips, and photos of your lovely work!

~ Rena

If you like this newsletter, please forward it to your friends.

If you received this issue from a friend, please subscribe so you won't miss any upcoming issues.

In this Issue of
Jewelry Business Success News:

1. Quick Tip: Springtime Jewelry Display Idea



2. New Jewelry Business Ideas and Techniques:
   - 5 new jewelry business ideas
   - 2 new jewelry display / packaging ideas
   - 5 new jewelry making ideas
   - 9 new highlights from the handmade jewelry gallery



3. Your Profitable Jewelry Business:
   More Clever Ways to Use Your Camera Phone as a Jewelry Business Tool



4. Neat Jewelry-Related Website:
   Veronica Stewart Designs

Quick Tip:
Springtime Jewelry Display Idea

Tabletop-size Easter ornament trees have become increasingly popular for hanging decorated eggs and other Easter items.

However, jewelry artists may be interested in one of these artifical mini-trees for another reason:

They can be wonderful jewelry displays! Most of them are anywhere from 1 to 3 feet tall - the perfect size to set on a jewelry display table.

They are usually white, so jewelry shows up well against them. Earrings and other jewelry can be hung very eye-catchingly from the branches, all year round.

I've been seeing Easter trees in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of branch styles.

If you're interested in one of these as a jewelry display, you'll probably have the biggest selection between now and Easter (April 4) - but if you wait till after Easter, you can likely score a great clearance bargain on one of them!

Sell Your Jewelry Like Crazy
at Shows, Fairs, and Festivals
This Year

Discover hundreds of things you can do to sell more of your handmade jewelry at shows, in my book Ultimate Guide to Your Profitable Jewelry Booth.

Get this 176-page, step-by-step resource before your next show.

Help Other Jewelry Artists

If you find my jewelry websites helpful, please help other jewelry artists find out about them.

Near the bottom of every page on my sites is a box that says "Share This Page", which makes it easy for you to link to that page or share it around the Web.

Thank you for spreading the word! :o)

New Jewelry Business
Ideas and Techniques
from My Websites and Blog:

Jewelry Business Ideas:

1. Jewelry Marketing: Try Everything at Least Once!
   Paige shares how her jewelry business took an upswing when she followed a friend's simple advice.



2. List of Things to Bring to Art and Craft Shows
   See Sheri Stroop's list of things to bring when selling jewelry at shows - and add your own items to the list.



3. Making Jewelry Saved My Life
   Danica Losich's story of how she began making jewelry - and how it helped her emerge from anxiety and depression.



4. Descriptions and Promotions
   The information you include in your online jewelry listings can make or break a sale. Jennifer Linardi shares the success elements she's discovered in selling her jewelry online.



5. Hot Seller - Hand Stamped Initial Necklaces
   Melissa Subatch says, "The first time I wore it could not stop the flow of requests for them."

Jewelry Display and Packaging Ideas:

1. Bottle Cap Necklace Display Trees
   See how Paula uses soda bottles and wire to create her own groovy "trees" for hanging her necklaces on display.



2. Homemade Gift Tags
   Gift tags are a lovely touch for your jewelry packaging. Can you guess what these little gift tags are made from? By Rena Klingenberg.

Jewelry Making Ideas:

1. Etching Your Designs into Metal Jewelry
   In part 1 of her 4-part series, Virginia Vivier demonstrates her easy method for transferring your own design onto brass, copper, or silver, in preparation for etching.



2. Charmed Affections - Personalized Charm Bracelets
   Dianne Culbertson shares the process of creating this lovely bracelet as a memento of her daughter's experiences in the U.S. Navy.



3. Millefiori Glass
   The fascinating history of millefiori glass and what to look for when buying authentic Murano millefiori pieces. By Julia Grinberg.



4. Jewelry Supplies Storage
   Normadelle's solution for bead storage that lets her see her stash while keeping it organized.



5. What Are These Stones?
   Can you help Joan Williams decide what these stones are in her bracelet?

Highlights from the Handmade Jewelry Gallery:

See many more wonderful new jewelry designs in the Handcrafted Jewelry Designers' Gallery! There are too many to list here - so these are just a few of the most unique new submissions:

1. Donut Days Bracelet
   by Ashley.



2. Filigree Ring
   by Joan Williams.



3. Night Out - Necklace, Bracelet and Earrings Set
   by Olga MacAfee.



4. Purple Abstraction
   by Olga MacAfee.



5. Turquoise Maze Pendant
   by Sandi Shannon.



6. Blue Lava Bracelet
   by Michelle Buettner.



7. Charming Charm Bracelets
   by Melissa Subatch.



8. Roman Holiday Layered Pearl Necklace
   by Terri Wlaschin.



9. China Blossoms Bracelet
   by Joan Williams.

Share Your Jewelry Content
and Get Great Exposure

I invite you to share your jewelry photos, tips, stories, tutorials, etc. - right here on my network of jewelry websites.

It's a friendly, creative atmosphere of ideas and networking.

You'll also receive links to your jewelry business, and gain exposure in the handmade jewelry community - and beyond.

Jewelry artists often tell me that the exposure they've received on my websites has brought them valuable new connections, opportunities, and traffic!

So come on in and take advantage of all these great opportunities for sharing:

Share Your Jewelry Content

(And of course, you always keep the copyright to all of your own content that you share on my network of jewelry websites.)

Sell Your Jewelry at Trunk Shows,
Private Showings,
and as Business Gifts

Learn how to sell your handmade jewelry to this HUGE untapped market, in my book Secrets of a Handcrafted Jewelry Shopping Service.

Get this 115-page, easy-to-read guide now, and make this your best jewelry selling year ever.

Your Profitable Jewelry Business:

More Clever Ways
to Use Your Camera Phone
as a Jewelry Business Tool

by Rena Klingenberg

A few weeks ago here I shared how I used my cell phone's camera to photograph the perfect color scheme I'd been looking for. (I saw my desired colors in the light and shadows on a store building while I was out running errands.)

Today I've got more ideas for using your camera phone in your jewelry business.

But first, why a camera phone instead of a regular digital camera?

It's because you're likely to nearly always have your cell phone with you - so it's on hand both for taking pictures and for viewing photos you've already taken with it.

However, if you're in the habit of having your digital camera along most of the time, then it's also a great tool for these ideas!

Now for more ways to use this device in your jewelry business:

Keep People's Contact Info Handy

Whenever you receive someone else's business card that you plan to keep, snap a photo of it with your camera phone.

That way you'll always have their info handy with you, on your camera phone, while leaving the business cards you've collected at home.

Keep a Photo Record of Your Booth Layout

It's incredibly handy to have photos of your jewelry displays and booth, completely set up. For example:

• When you set up a practice run of your jewelry displays at home, take a camera phone photo showing the way you've set up your entire booth, plus a photo of each table. That way, when you're setting up for real at the show you can refer to the photos on your cell phone to see exactly where you had everything.


• Also take photos of your booth at every show / jewelry party you do. This comes in handy when show promoters ask for a recent booth photo along with your application. And the photos are good content for your jewelry website or blog, enhancing your "street cred" with your customers.


• Have someone use your camera phone to take photos of you in action in your booth at each event you do.

Photograph Artistic Inspirations

Use your camera phone as a "design journal" to make a quick record of visual inspirations you see when you're out and about, such as:

• An inspiring way you see jewelry displayed in a store.


• New fashions such as clothes, shoes, purses, etc. that you'd like to design jewelry for.


• Any scene or setting that gives you a creative idea.

Photograph Documents

Use your camera phone as a sort of photocopier, to take pics of papers and documents such as:

• Application forms you've filled out for art shows.


• Your business license or reseller's license.


• Your notification of acceptance into an art show - and any other paperwork related to the show.

Use it as a Notepad

Save paper by taking a camera phone photo of information, instead of jotting down the info or printing it out from your computer. For example:

• Photograph your checklist of things to bring to jewelry shows / home parties.


• Instead of writing down the title and author of a jewelry-making book you're interested in, take a picture of the book's cover.


• Take a photo of your computer screen showing a Google-map or directions to the shop, show, jewelry party, or other venue you're driving to.


• Snap a photo of the front of a shop or gallery you'd like to contact about carrying your jewelry (be sure you get the store name in the photo).


• Take a pic of phone numbers, website URL's or email addresses you see that you'd like to remember for later.

Get Quick Shots of Your Charity / Community Events

It's good idea to have photos of any charity or community activities you and / or your jewelry business participate in.

These photos are valuable for use in your press releases, marketing materials, your "press page", your jewelry website / blog, etc.

Take Photos When You Teach Jewelry Workshops / Jewelry-Making Parties

These shots are a great record for yourself, as well as for content you can use in your marketing materials, website, and blog. Consider getting photos of:

• You actually teaching the jewelry class.


• Your students working on their projects.


• Your students' finished projects.


• At the end of beading birthday parties, take a photo of all the girls standing with their newly braceleted wrists together in a circle. This is a lovely shot to email to the birthday girl's parents!

Take Reference Photos

If you need to be able to see a specific grouping of jewelry or supplies later, take a quick shot of them with your camera phone. For example:

• A collection of jewelry supplies you'd like to match when you go to a bead / gem show.


• A batch of jewelry you're consigning to a shop or gallery.


• Photos of your happy customers wearing your creations (photographed with their permission, of course).

Ways You Might Use Some of These Photos

In addition to using some of these shots in your website / blog, marketing materials, etc. as mentioned above, you may want to use them:

• to post in your online social media pages (Facebook, Flickr, etc.)


• to make slideshows for your digital photo frame or online videos.

Best Practices for Camera Phone Photography

• Keep your camera lens clean. The lens on a camera phone gets a lot more grease, dirt, lint, etc. than the lens on a regular digital camera!


• Fill your viewfinder with the main item you want to photograph. Getting as close-up as reasonably possible tends to result in better photos.


• You definitely need pics of you, the jewelry artist, doing things! Don't hesitate to hand your camera to someone and ask them to take some photos that you'll be in.


• Always ask permission before taking photos of other people.


• Always get written permission before publishing photos of other people online or in your printed materials.


• Be careful to avoid violating anyone's copyrights, intellectual property, or privacy with your photos.

Neat Jewelry-Related Website

This week's neat site is Veronica Stewart Designs, a line of "truly original wearable art".

Currently many of her pieces are gorgeous crocheted wire designs.

Veronica's website is simple, beautiful, and easy to navigate. And I LOVE the subtle purple pattern on the background outside of her white pages - even although I'm usually not a fan of patterned backgrounds.

Be sure to see Veronica's Wedding Collar while you're visiting!

Sell Your Jewelry Online

Grow a solid base of online jewelry customers, using the step-by-step strategies you'll learn in my book Social Networking: Sell Your Jewelry Online the New Way.

Get this 192-page, step-by-step resource now, and start growing your customer base.

Network and Get Noticed
in the
Home Based Jeweler's Showcase

The Home Based Jeweler's Showcase blog is a free opportunity to promote your jewelry business and find other jewelry artists to network with.

It's published by Rita Juhlin of Private Stock Jewelry.

To add your jewelry business to the Showcase - please email Rita Juhlin, at HomeBasedJewelers @ gmail.com .

SURVEY:
How Can I Make This Newsletter
Better for You?

If you haven't yet responded to my quick survey, I welcome your input!

Please take the survey here to give me your suggestions and feedback so I can make this newsletter a better resource for you.

I grant as many wishes as possible! :o)

Thanks so much.

My Jewelry Business Websites
and RSS Feeds

This newsletter highlights some of the latest jewelry business tips and techniques from my websites:

Home Jewelry Business Success Tips

Jewelry Display Ideas

Making Jewelry Now

Jewelry Business Blog

Each of these sites also has its own RSS feed. Look for the orange RSS symbol on the left-hand column of each of these sites to get the feed.

Thanks so much for joining me
for this issue of
"Jewelry Business Success News"!

~ May your jewelry journey be fun and prosperous ~

Contact Rena