Tips and Tricks
Tips and Tricks when making Jewellery
Designing
• Colours and shapes that look good together in the palm of your hand will always be able to be made into a stylish jewellery design.
• Good quality jewellery wire and finishing products can sometimes be more important than the beads; a piece that sits well will always look better than a piece that doesn't.
• Compliment your jewellery design with a clasp that matches the shape of the bead for example; oval clasp with oval beads.
• If making a random jewellery design with lots of different beads, sometimes a bead board can be a waste of time. If it looks good as you thread it up, it will be great (check the design approx every 4cm if not confident).
• If you wish to design a jewellery item for a specific outfit always have the outfit with you; your bead shop should be able to help you with bead and colour choices.
• A good bead shop should always be able to recommend a cheaper alternative bead to use in your jewellery design (do not compromise on focal beads).
• If design is not your strong point, copy jewellery designs from your bead shop display, or draw jewellery designs when you see them in magazines, TV or movies.
Tools
• Keep all your tools together in a handy tool box.
• A good set of cutters can be your most important tool
• Bead mats are a great idea to stop beads sliding off your working surface.
Techniques
• Bead mats are a great idea to stop beads sliding off your working surface.
• Use a bust when making a complicated necklace; it will be much easier to get it to sit right.
• Check your length before finishing jewellery designs; it can be expensive to re-thread.
• Always remove open jump rings (where possible), and use permanent connectors (such as jumplocks or wire wrapped loop technique) to make your design more secure.
Sterling Silver or Gold Scraps
• Save all sterling silver or gold scraps as they can be melted down by a jeweller to create your own unique piece or sold to a metal merchant.
Left Over Stock
• Leave beads in packets or store in storage containers with price paid per bead and stockist code; it will make it easier to re-supply and if you are selling, makes pricing easier (pricing individual beads before cutting the strand will make it easier to calculate).
• Rather than throwing out damaged beads, they can still be used at the back of a jewellery design, or by concealing damage with a bead cap.