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Often people want to get into making and selling jewelry (and crafts), but do not know where to start. Here are some general “how to get started” tips.
1) Create A Business Plan
Before you invest a large amount of resources such as time and money in this type of endeavor, see if it has even a chance of being profitable! Our How to Make Money With Crafts page shows you a sample cost analysis of whether a project will be profitable. Use this using your own numbers. I see many starving artists out there since they did not run the numbers first.
2) Make Sure You Have Market
Make sure the jewelry you plan to make will sell. Here are some ideas to consider in your market research:
- If you make samples, you can go to stores to see if they would be willing to buy or sell your pieces.
- Ask friends for an honest opinion and if they have ideas for improvement.
- See if similar pieces are in stores and what price they are being sold at.
3) Get a Resale License
If you are just starting and are in the United States, you will want to get a resale license so you can buy your components at wholesale prices. This will help you be more competitive and save you money!
Most places (but not all) require you to have a resale
license (if you are in the US) to be able to buy wholesale. (As the name says, a resale license is for people who plan to resale their products - you can get one at your State Board of Equalization.) Others simply require a minimum purchase amount.
When looking for “jewelry settings” you may wish to search for “findings” as that is often the industry term for what you want. If you have a resale license, you could go to our Wholesale Jewelry Stores section. Alternately, there are also several retailers who give bulk discounts — or simply have really good prices under Jewelry Stores.
Often retail stores will help you with more detailed questions such as “I have a 4×4 cabachon I’d like mounted into a ring, what setting would you suggest?” Often they will ask what kind of stone you are mounting and tell you if the idea is practical, what care you wil l need to take care of the ring if using a soft stone such as lapis or opal when setting the stone. This advice is often very valuable and hard to find.
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