Comments on: Cataloguing and Storing: I Need a Better System

By: Lisa W.

Lisa W. — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 05:29:36 +0000

I have changed my storage system because I recently began doing craft shows again, and jewelry going into and out of my storage became quickly disorganized and unruly.

I frequently put my jewelry into showcases for my shows, and it makes my life much easier to store my jewelry in the same groupings it will be displayed in. I purchased glass-topped storage boxes the same size as jewelry storage trays, which fit in my roller bags. I find I can stack 2-3 flocked insert divider trays in each box. Since I display my jewelry by collection, I have all pieces of a given collection (rings, earrings, necklaces, etc) ready to go together in one tray. Trays are marked with the name of the collection and stacked in roller bags. They are easy to store, the pieces stay clean and separate, and they are easy to display in ready groupings.

When I sell a piece online, I merely have to open the side of a roller bag, skim the tray labels for the appropriate collection, and find the piece in the tray. It’s a system that’s simple and efficient for me. It serves several purposes, allowing me to quickly and easily display my jewelry, and then break down my display and easily store everything right where I can find it again, for shows or online sales. The system has been working well, everything is staying organized, even when I last packed in a torrential downpour and literally threw things into boxes! it requires no exhaustive cataloging/numbering etc. And it works for me for now – that’s the key!

By: Rod Westwood

Rod Westwood — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:16:23 +0000

I use a program called BeadManager Pro that I really like. It not only lets me keep track of my jewelry inventory, but also my component inventory, including beads, jumprings, findings, chain, base metals, etc. I can also keep track of expenses like tools and educational materials and factor all of these costs into the price of my jewelry. Then it helps me calculate what I should charge for cost, wholesale, and retail prices. I don’t know what I’d do without it.

By: Nelson Gemstones

Nelson Gemstones — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:02:25 +0000

I store my jewelry in plastic envelopes and then in plastic fishing tackle boxes or organizer boxes. Each box has a number assigned on the outside. Each box has 4 rows and 6 columns. So if I place a piece in the second row, third column, of box number 4, the SKU number is 04B03 (04=box number; B=row; 03=column). I use this SKU on my listings.

If I wanted to keep track of the date I created the item, I would list it as 04B03092012.

I recently bought a 40-drawer organizer. It’ll be A (so I’ll know instantly it’s my large, vertical organizer). Each row will be numbered and the columns lettered. So A05E is the A organizer, 5th row down, 5th drawer over.

I hope that helps.

By: GmaJo

GmaJo — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:41:10 +0000

I, too, use Excel to keep an numbered inventory; I also attach a photo in Excel to identify the piece. Once a piece is made, I put it in the box I intend to ship it in and put the inventory number on top of the box.

By: Harper

Harper — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 12:43:19 +0000

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I will definitely work on developing a numbering system that will work for me. And I think I’ll give the trays a try too. Right now I’m storing each item in a plastic bag and throwing them in one large plastic bin. There was more organization to it when there were fewer items but now its just getting to be a mess!

By: Jules

Jules — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:51:18 +0000

Started off by using all sorts of cool suggestions then eventually used one that worked for me. My pieces are named and they do have a ‘code’ or inventory number; which I seldom use.

I store all pieces by type; earrings, bracelets, necklaces etc. all have their own drawer or tray. Copper bracelets all go together, brass bracelets all go together etc.

For codes; BRB would be brass bracelet followed by a numberic number if need be. It can be as simple a a month, day and year BRB091912 would be a brass bracelet posted Sept 19, 2012.

When you sort your jewelry make sure each is in its own plastic bag along with a card which includes the name, number, date made, materials used and any other information you may find helpful.

Believe me you’ll try several methods until you finally find one that works for you.

By: Christa

Christa — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:19:14 +0000

I give each item is given a category with a number e.g. earrings would be JE12356, Bracelets JBR78910 and so on. Each item gets a numbered tag and list each item in a software called “Filemaker Pro” I keep each category in a different tray. Black onyx pendants in one tray, mother of pearl pendants in another tray and each tray has a tag of the items inside. My trays are stacked on a shelf and easily pulled out. You can have a look at my website to sea what I mean. I hope this helps.

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:18:59 +0000

I use an excel spread sheet with the item number, description, price and comments. In the comments, I enter where the item is being displayed – Etsy or in a shop. The item number is simple, if it starts with B it is a bracelet, P is a cabochon pendant, PB is a bead pendant, D is a dichroic pendant, E is earring, etc. The number is a code to myself when I made it.

I store my items in trays. All the same type of item in a tray – all bracelets together, all pendants together. If I am really efficient, I try to keep them in number order to make my life easier when I fill an order. Each piece has a tag with the above noted item number on it.

By: BARBARA

BARBARA — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:34:18 +0000

I have found that giving my items an alpha-numerical number has worked for me. I can quickly categorize them and track inventory or sales. I sat down and thought about what I wanted my number to include and signify. I specify earrings by starting the number with an E or bracelet or necklace by starting the number with a B or an N. Sets are NE for necklace/earrings and so on.

My next digit signifies the color. I know you can’t have a digit for every color, but it still helped me to categorize them by the basic colors. Since my background is in wire sales, I adopted that code. 0-blk, 1-brn, 2-red etc.

The rest of the description signifies if there were crystals, glass, if it was gold or silver. It is my little way of keeping track of different pieces. Be sure to give the number some different signifying difference. I found that by just going from -1 at the end and increasing it helped. That way if I made two pieces similar but not the same, they didn’t end up with the same part number. Hope this helps.