I continue to get emails from jewelry makers asking for advice about selling their jewelry, especially on-line. In fact, not that long ago, I published a blog post that addressed this issue and gave some advice. So, I thought it would be interesting now to also look around at other jewelry bloggers and see what kind of advice they have given on their blogs concerning this issue:

Jennifer Perkins from the Naughty Secretary's Club wrote a post about how she took her own jewelry and accessories site to a whole new level.

Elaine at All Things Metal Clay warns against the DIY attitude when it comes to selling on-line.

Lori Richardson has some brief advice about branding, a topic very important to anyone attempting to sell jewelry on-line.

Jewelry designer Peggy Li offers advice on how to drive traffic to your web site.

About.com's Guide to Model Trains has some advice for buying and selling on ebay, the largest on-line auction site on the web.

Esty.com suggests one way to sell every day of the year through the web.

The About.com Guide to Arts & Crafts Business has a list of resources for dealing with issues related to selling on-line.

Recently, a member posted a question concerning real numbers and the claims that some vendors make about how much they make at any given show. Most of us agree that it just isn't a good idea to give out specific information about how much you do or don't make selling jewelry at a show, but every once in awhile, you run into those who like to brag, and it gets you to wondering about all kinds of stuff:

So, to combat this problem, I started getting into the habit of make two pairs of earrings for every set. And, because I didn't like to make many duplicate pieces, I would often make two different earring designs but just to the same color and design concept so they both still went with the same necklace.

Though I'm not out there selling my jewelry wares any more, I had the urge recently to do the same thing - double up on my earring designs - when I made earrings to match my Raku Bead & Hemp Necklace. I ended up with two pair of earrings that both look great with the necklace:

Both pieces were made with teachers in mind by forum member KJ of Silver Parrot Designs.

Three reasons now come to mind: my three cats. One of my cats, in fact, reminded me the other day as one of the raku beads for a necklace I was making mysteriously vanished. Oh, yes, that's why I hadn't originally done this many years ago when we moved into this house! Now I remember. I'm still thinking of making the move, but this is going to take some major brainwork on my part, and of course, a lot of cleaning, lifting, moving, and reorganizing. Am I up for it?

It seems I am not alone when it comes to dreaming of the perfect place to make my jewelry. Right now we are having a similar discussion on the Jewelry Making Forum: Your Dream Studio.

Seriously, using fiber in your jewelry designs can be a great way to add texture and color. Also, most fibers like ribbon, hemp, and waxed cord are fairly inexpensive and are great for teaming up with beads. If you'd like to expand your feel for fiber, then consider some of these simple jewelry projects to get you started:

Jewelry & Beading A focal piece can be a brilliant way to inspire new designs!

Katie's Beading Blog
Looking for beachy jewelry ideas? Take a peek at Katie's June Triple Take project for Simly Beads.

Naughty Secretary Club
Looking for a new how-to jewelry book that uses vintage gnome cupcake toppers, children’s eye glasses, doll house furniture and the occasional bead? Good thing The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry is available for pre-order on Amazon!

Savvy Crafter
It's been a charming week over at Candie's blog---charming bracelets that is!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean goes on a bit about tree cutting, and then gets to the point: some cool earrings she made!

So, before I get too specific, the reason I bring this topic up on a jewelry making site is that I think social networks, when you pick the right ones and do the right thing with them, can add value to your jewelry designing, depending, of course, on your goals:

I've spent awhile now trying to understand different social networks (SN) and figuring out what, if anything, about them works for me both professionally and socially. Here is my opinion (so far)on some networks that I've joined:

Twitter: I'm totally loving Twitter. Twitter is sort of a super short blog network. You only can type in 140 characters per post, and you follow other members and they can follow you. It's really hard to explain if you haven't tried it, but what I like about it is that it's very fast (140 characters doesn't take long to type!), it's pretty easy to understand once you get going, it provides a way for me to post links about updates I've done on my site here, and it's a fun way to connect with people I know, but again, very quickly and briefly.

LinkedIn: I also like LinkedIn, though it seems to me to be more of a place to post your professional information and make professional contacts than to just socialize or promote your business. This is a network that makes sense to me because it is sort of like an on-line resume that anyone can view and if you are looking for work or looking for workers, you can post this to members of your LinkedIn group.

Facebook: Though I am a member of Facebook, I have to admit I still am not "getting" this one. People are writing on walls and sending me donuts. Huh? One nice thing about it, though, is that I have set it up to get my Twitter feeds, so I like that. Otherwise, if anyone can explain this social network to me, I'll listening.

MyCraftivity: This is another social network I'm enjoying. As a member of MyCraftivity, I can add links in the blog section to updates, much like Twitter, and I can chat with other crafters. Generally, I have found this SN pretty easy to navigate. It also allows you to post videos and pictures.

MySpace: Of course, who hasn't heard of MySpace? I also have a page there where I post links via the blog and generally try to include information about my jewelry making and writing. However, my computer doesn't seem to like this SN very much. Granted, it probably is time for an upgrade, but it's pretty annoying that it is so slow for me to move around over there. Plus, I just don't find it user friendly. I can't tell you how long it took me to set up my page over there! The up side is that, from what I've heard, it is a great way to bring in traffic. So, once I get a new computer, maybe I'll find out if this is really true or not.

GoodReads: This is another SN that may or may not be a good fit for the jewelry hobbyist, but considering all the great craft books out there, some of you may like it. I use it to help promote my writing as well as post links about what I'm reading and the book reviews I write for this site. It doesn't seem to have a very active community when it comes to forums, but it pretty easy to navigate, and if you are a book lover, then you'll like it.

CraftStylish: I have to admit, though I'm a member, that I haven't spent as much time on this network as I would like to. I like the concept a lot of connecting crafting to fashion. This SN seems to still be under construction a little, so that's why I haven't done a lot over there, but I think it has potential.

Shew! Okay, those are the social networks I've attempted to figure out. There are so many more out there, and there seem to be a lot for those of us who enjoy arts and crafts. So, let's here your thoughts on SNs. List your profile links to SNs in the comment section so we can all check them out, and feel free to make me your friend, tweet me, or send me a donut!

Being able to make loops in your wire is a crucial element to many jewelry designs if you are into wire and beads. I remember when I moved from doing basic bead stringing and learned some wire wrapping methods. It expanded my jewelry making ability by a zillion percent!

Two of the most important methods to learn are the wrapped loop method and the unwrapped or simple loop method:

The wrapped loop method is a staple in my designing and is helpful for making all kinds of jewelry such as bead and wire chains.

The simple loop, also called the unwrapped loop method, is a great way to connect small jewelry components together, such as pearl dangles for earrings.

But, they aren't necessarily earrings you could or would wear every day or even a few times a week unless you are living some kind of rock star life style.

For those of us who need every day jewelry that still has a little "zing" to it, I've created these scaled down chandlier earrings. I call them Triple "P" Earrings because they are petite have pearls and purple crystal dangles on them.