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Make Your Handcrafted Jewelry Stand Out in the Crowd

by Lorraine Yapps Cohen.
I don’t know a woman who doesn’t like jewelry. Jewelry and shoes.

Women love them and never seem to have enough. And many fair mavens are making their own. Jewelry, that is.

When necklaces pile up and there are more than one person can wear at once, a budding new jewelry business is surely in the making.

If this is you, here’s what happens next: Neither you nor anyone else can tell your jewelry from the zillions of other wonderful jewelry creations out there.

It’s not that your designs aren’t nice. They’re just not standing out in the very big crowd that the jewelry market is.

Here are some suggestions for getting your jewelry noticed.

Beaded Beginnings

I would bet that you started making jewelry by stringing some beads.

It’s addictive. It’s creative. And every necklace you’ve made was made first with beads in arrangements that amazed you with their beauty and stimulated your senses to make some more.

And after your first hundred, they all started looking alike. Well, kind of. To the casual observer anyway. You know they’re different; why do they look like they’re more of the same?

Your designs ARE different. They’re so different they’re the same. How does THAT happen?

Those new to the art are in discovery. (All jewelry makers are new at one point.)

If you’re among the new to the art, you are discovering the amazing variety of beads, baubles, gemstones, and findings. You’re finding everything, trying everything, combining everything, and including a wide array of materials in your work – which looks a lot like everything that’s already out there.

 

Narrow the Playing Field

Put some limits and limitations on the materials you use and the techniques you employ.

Narrow your playing field by sticking with something you like best. Design on a theme. Or pick your passion, be it a special technique or single gemstone species.

Uncomplicate, and keep things simpler than they were.

As an example,
work only with pearls
using the knotting technique.

Pearls, both saltwater and freshwater, come in an astounding array of shapes, colors, and sizes.

A linear arrangement with knots in between make an elegant design statement.

Consider the infinite variety of possible creations with that single medium and that single fabrication technique.

Oh, you can bring in a bauble of something else from time to time, but your pearl pieces will have the distinction of a defined line of design.

Another example:
Use extra-large beads in necklaces
of extra long length.

Scale is your distinction here. Large and tall ladies will seek your designs, because run-of-the-mill jewelry is too small for these gals.

And they too want design in their jewelry. They just want it bigger.

Another example:
Create jewelry of a particular color.

I’m not sure why, but purple is a particular favorite.

People who like purple cannot seem to get enough, if they’re lucky enough to find purple things in the first place.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard women expound the virtues of my amethyst and charoite line (both are purple stones, as you know), claiming “I can’t find any purple necklaces anywhere except for yours. I love your purple necklaces.”

I know there are other purple necklaces out there, but when you have a design line of them, whatever the gemstones are, the ladies know where to go.

Other colors are favorites too. Pick your color. Pick gemstones in that color.

Serve the color passions that are out there with your color line jewelry.

Design along themes.
Here are some examples:

• Create a Cleopatra Line, which are necklaces of the kind of design you think she might have worn.
• Create a contemporary Turquoise Line, which is distinctly different from traditional Navajo turquoise jewelry designs, with a decidedly untraditional, modern flair.
• Initiate a Cubic Creations Line, which are necklaces fashioned from any gemstone or precious metal that comes in cubes.
• Have a Mah Jongg Line of jewelry, made from old tiles. At least one pair of earrings, a necklace or bracelet is a “must have” for every avid player of the game.

 

Themes put boundaries of distinction around your designs. They create an identity for your creations, without which they’re just plain jewelry.

Expand Your Potential

Brainstorm other ways to focus your work.

Expand your jewelry potential by narrowing your range and defining your line. This will work well when you realize your jewelry creations cannot be everything to everyone.

Find your niche by serving yourself first. Create the designs that tickle your senses with the materials you love by the techniques you do best.

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Author Lorraine Yapps Cohen of CUSTOM GEMSTONE DESIGNS runs her one-woman jewelry business from her home and studio in Durango, Colorado. Driven by her passion for jeweled creation and business experience, Lorraine participates in the jewelry market by wholesaling her handcrafted creations to galleries across the country.

Lorraine selects stone specimens herself and employs a unique version of wire wrapping. Her designs are developing a strong following in the regions her jewelry serves, namely Santa Fe, San Diego, Durango, Colorado, and Flemington, New Jersey.