Jewelry Making

I got a note from Jeaneen Benson regarding an interesting online contest being held by independent crafters. The site is called “Seek Indie” and was created by bunch of the Switchboards community members as a way to promote the sites of independent craft peeps.

The idea is sorta neat… this is similar to a scavenger hunt online where you search the pages of participating sites in order to find special “heart banners”. Next to each of the banners is a specific number that you need to write down. Once you find five of these numbers, you can submit your entry for a chance to win prizes that are submitted by the indie crafters. (They select a set number out of all the correct entries who will receive the gifts.)

It’s a pretty simple concept, and we dig it because it helps these indie sites out. Seek Indie’s first contest was held earlier in the year and though it is now finished, they are going to keep having them periodically. Although, there weren’t too many jewelry designers featured in this earlier crop of indie businesses (14 in total participated), I’ve heard they are getting a ton more for the next one.

So if you’re a jewelry designer and are interested in getting some much needed PR, you might want to contact them to volunteer a prize for the next contest.

For more information, check out the Seek Indie website.

A quick note for jewelry makers who live up in the Bay Area in California. The well-known multi-city indie craft show Bazaar Bizarre has expanded to include San Francisco as a venue.

Originally started up in the Boston area back in 2001 by Greg Der Ananian, the Bazaar Bizarre was an attempt to share personal artsy creations with other like-minded folks who were into making crafts that weren’t typically sold at “your granny’s craft fair.”

The fair has had successful shows in Boston, Cleveland, and Los Angeles. We actually participated as Bellaceti at last year’s Bazaar Bizarre Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium, and although the sales didn’t exactly provide the windfall we had expected the show was a nice first experience as a vendor. There were quite a few jewelry makers as well, so there was some expected competition. But a ton of people attended the all day show.

The newest Bazaar location will actually be at the Maker Faire which takes place at the San Mateo Fairgrounds near SF. The event is taking place this Spring on April 22-23, 2006. Unlike the previous Bazaar Bizarres, this one is not going to be a standalone event; but the Maker Faire will definitely attract a similar clientele since it’s put on by Make Magazine. The fair will feature The Mythbusters and “all kinds of people who make amazing things in garages, basements, and backyards.”

I’m not sure how this Bazaar will differ from previous ones… one other thing to note is that it’s held over two days, whereas the normal Bazaars are usually just one day. If you should be interested in being a jewelry vendor, you should probably contact them to find out more.

The Bazaare Bizarre website is located at: http://bazaarbizarre.org/

Happy Hearts Day! Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I’m especially trying to get up to speed on featuring well-deserved DIY jewelry makers but it takes awhile to write these up. Anyhow, I realized I hadn’t changed out our Jewelry poll in quite awhile so here are the results of the last one which asked “Where Do You Buy Your Jewelry Supplies”?

I am actually quite surprised at these numbers… I had thought that they might be pretty equal across the board with perhaps some favoritism toward Jo-Ann’s stores. Also, I belatedly realized that it might be more interesting as a poll to lump Jo-Ann and Michaels together and call them “retail” and to add “wholesale jewelry suppliers” as a choice in the poll. I personally have not really bought “wholesale” jewelry in large bulk amounts from a bricks and mortar type place, but I think that quite a few online jewelry supply places have very similar pricing schemes.

And speaking of online jewelry supply stores, this was by far the highest vote getter in the polls with 170 votes. The internet has completed changed the rules of supply and demand and the need for a “real” store has been tossed out the window. I often think what it must have been like to have to buy ALL of your supplies in actual stores or through a print catalog. This must have been extremely time consuming and discouraging for part time jewelry makers.

Continue reading “Poll: Buying Jewelry Supplies” …

I was surfing around on Style Bakery and came across some pretty cool and unusual jewelry pieces over at Bonbon Oiseau yesterday. Many of the more interesting pieces of jewelry are hair clips and adornments, but they also have more traditional necklaces and earrings as well. “They” is Brooklyn’s Deborah Stein an artist/designer who makes limited-edition and one of a kind pieces that are often based on narrative “themes” (for instance her Winter 2005 Collection is based on the influence of seasons on nature and the world around us).

I think the Bonbon Oiseau name means “Candy Bird” or “Good Bird”… but anyhow, to call them bonbons might be an apt term, because her work often reminds me of tiny little artistic jewelry treats that are put together with care for people to enjoy.

A quote from Deborah’s website about her jewelry design philosophy:

“Designing jewelry is a natural extension of what I do and what excites me in painting: experimenting with materials and color, evoking a mood or essence of one and the challenge of telling a personal story with an ending open to interpretation. With jewelry as a medium, there’s an incredible sense of spirit and intimacy connecting me with my client, the client and her piece, her and the world.”

Continue reading “Bonbon Oiseau” …