At first, Marlene’s post sounds like a lesson in design composition: balance and color are key to catching the eye.  But then she dives into a couple of topics that will get you noticed by the magazines that you might want to submit to: originality, simplicity, and photography!  Whether or not you want to see your work in a magazine, these tips are worth reading through.

The second post that made me think was written by Jean Campbell, contributing editor to Beading Daily.  Jean discussed how to make your beadwork last.  It’s not good enough for people to fall in love with your necklace: your necklace must not let them down!    I’ve not yet been convinced to use Future floor polish on my pieces, but I’m starting to consider it

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Technology bypasses jewelry, but what if it didn’t? written by Jan Brassem.  Brassem notes that the gorgeous designs he sees designers coming up with are not making it into mainstream department and retail chain stores.   Unimaginative buyers?  Too hooked on using previous sales figures so that all their stock begins to look bland and unimaginative?  Too afraid (for their jobs) to take a chance?

Understandable, but sad.  “The computer always trumps beauty and appeal, “  Brassem writes.  But what if it could be different?  What if technology could be harnessed in the service of the jewelry industry to come up with new new applications for sales (like 3D web technology) and even brand new innovative categories of jewelry?

For the techno-saavy among us, I recommend reading Brassem’s article.    I’ve given you the direct link above, but I have had some difficulty in getting it to work each time.  If you have trouble with it, simply go to the home page and search on the article or author.  It’s worth reading!

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Warren writes:
Over the years, I’ve found that people who bead and make jewelry have not necessarily learned how to make the best choices, when it comes to decide what beads, clasps, other findings, and stringing materials to include, and what Not to include, in a piece. People do not understand quality issues. They are often uninformed about workable materials and strategies to make their pieces more durable, more drape-able, and better able to move with the person as the jewelry is worn.

At The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts and Land of Odds, we developed a curriculum that took a design approach concerned with teaching people how to make these kinds of choices. Everyone in our curriculum begins with this Orientation to Beads and Jewelry Findings class. We offer this opportunity for you, as well.

Please visit the link above to take advantage of the knowledge that Warren is offering.

Image: Land of Odds

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I came across BlogTalkRadio because I was doing a search on jewelry business topics, and the show 15 Minute Craft Website Tips came up.  Nicolette Tallmadge is the creator of this podcast series, and I definitely suggest that you give her a visit.  Some of her recent topics are comparingyour own website vs an online gallery site, getting more traffic, and using Facebook.  Good stuff here…check it out!

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They can also be an enormous time suck.

To make sure that your tweeting time is productive, Donna Scott on OnlineCollege has written an article called 100 Twitter Tips and Tools to Stay on Top of Your Field.

Nicolette Tallmadge has a audio program on BlogTalkRadio that covers Social Networking Tips for Artists too.

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Recently, I did exactly that!

Our town has been holding an arts fest for a couple of years now, called Art Smart. Local artists, musicians, teachers, and organizations are invited to participate. It’s the only “show” that I do anymore, and even though I sell very little (sometimes nothing) at it, I still like to get out there once a year and hear what people are thinking.

Why do a show that you know doesn’t cater to your target audience? I love my town and I love the people. Sometimes that’s good enough.

How about you?  If doing shows is important to your income, can you imagine doing one that you knew would be a selling bust?  You can leave your comments here, or if you’d like to share a picture of your show booth and a link to your site, email me with the details at cyndi @ b5Media.com (remove the spaces).

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The CHA A&U Study reports the U.S. craft industry is estimated to be $27 billion dollars, with 62 million households, or 56% of households, crafting in the past year. The A&U research provides attitudinal and behavioral information to guide decision-making, whether you are a manufacturer, designer, distributor or retailer.

The A&U results also show that heavy crafters, those completing 21+ projects, are frequently involved in jewelry-making, in addition to other craft segments. Not surprisingly, given the number of projects they complete, heavy crafters are also the biggest spenders. This group represents 28% of all crafters, yet accounts for 64% of industry sales, indexing 229 vs. the average crafter’s spending propensity.

Nine million households participate in jewelry-making, spending $1 billion dollars in the past year. This fact alone should be enough of an incentive to get your crafters more involved in jewelry-making. Some suggestions: create and sell kits and incorporate classes geared toward the fundamentals into your store’s program. Doing so will provide simple project ideas to get the beginners interested in jewelry-making and most likely lead to more sales for your company. It’s also important to keep new project ideas coming for more experienced jewelry crafters. Challenge them and provide inspiration so they will be motivated to craft more often.

No, it’s definitely not the time to quit your jewelry business, especially if you make beads or other components that you sell.  If you don’t, can you think of a way to add them?  It may be tougher to compete with so many finished jewelry makers, but there are still plenty of ways that you could grow a business around serving those makers!

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Only a very few people can manage to build an audience by just free associating or ranting.  The rest of us need good solid content.  But that content can vary a lot: a picture journal of your projects, information on how you actually create your pieces, industry news.  It all depends upon what your goals are for your blog.  Are you trying to build a circle of friends, or are you trying to get a book deal?  Something in between?

Here are two articles that may help you to either nail down your goals, or to improve what you’re already doing:

Rajesh Setty has written about the 9 ways people respond to your content online.  It’s really good to think this through if you are trying to build repeat visitors. (via Sharon B, on Pin Tangle)

Craftzine reports on a new e-book by Diane Gilleland called Creating a blog audience. Diane already has a book out called Making a Great Blog.  You can find links to both on the Craftzine link.

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For copyright issues, in the United States there is only one authority: the US government copyright office.   There are some helpful sites that will help you untangle some of the language, but ultimately you’ll need to read the rules for yourself.  The Business of Art has some great articles that you might also find helpful.

Fair Trade and green issues are starting to garner more attention.  Marc Choyt wrote an excellent article for Modern Jeweler called Fair Jewelry: Making a difference from mine to market.   Marc is a champion for this issue, and you can read more on his blog, Fair Trade Jewelry.

Nicolette Tallmadge has a podcast on Making Your Art Website Trustworthy.  She covers everything from the look and content of the site to the functionality and legal issues.

Finally, the Daily Jewel reported on an industry watchdog called the Jewelers Ethics Association.  Their primary focus is on keeping things up front between jeweler and customer (and one would hope also between supplier and jeweler), especially gemstone treatments and information about synthetics.

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Build your own ultimate press list Meredith Keller’s steps to success helps you to think outside the usual box.

9 things to do to make sure your next blog post is read by more than your mom Darren Rowse of Problogger wants to make sure that you know how to get maximum exposure.

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