Handcrafted Coiled Wire Jewelry

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Mostly, I sell at craft shows. But I do a lot of custom or semi-custom orders at these shows. I customize the length, the color, the accent tones, the style for a particular neckline.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. I'm a real person, not a global conglomerate. I will be honest in telling you what I can do and what I can't do for you. I have been hired to provide wedding jewelry and other special occasion jewelry. I have been hired to match executive work clothes, and hired to remake older jewelry pieces into newer designs.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I've been to craft shows throughout the U.S. and search on the internet, but no one does coiled wire jewelry like I do. I have a great affinity -- and affection -- for artistic copper wire, and it shows in my very unique, very colorful jewelry creations.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I love creating jewelry for specific outfits. I love seeing the look of joy on a woman's face when she finds just the perfect piece. I love selling to the man who knows his wife loves my jewelry and that he can't go wrong by letting me help him choose.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. How long have you been doing jewelry? 13 years, ever since my daughter was born.

How many shows do you do every year? I travel to 10-14 shows every year.

Do you do wholesale? Yes, I do wholesale for volume customers.

Do you sell internationally? As of 2011, I do. Inquire via email if you are an international customer.

How do you get your ideas? Ideas, by their very nature, are spontaneous. I have no clue where they come from, but they visit me a lot.

Do you teach classes? I have taught a few, but this is not my primary function. I have some difficulty getting people to show up for class, even if they have paid in advance.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. People that I meet at craft shows too often mistake my part-time business for an "extra money" business. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

My business is operated as a "real" business. It may be small, but it generates real income for my family and pays real bills.

I appreciate those who understand the effort that it costs to continue this business in addition to my family responsbilities and other job requirements.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I have always been interested in crafts of all kinds. My first craft business was crocheting toys for sale as a girl scout when I was 10.

When my daughter was born in 1997 and diagnosed with a rare, deteriorative genetic disorder, I needed to find work that I could do from home and still bring in some much needed income.

I decided on handcrafted jewelry because throughout my professional career had always enjoyed purchasing jewelry for my work outfits from artists.

Even though I had never made jewelry before, I quickly learned the basic techniques, and within a couple of years, had mastered the coiling of wire into beautiful, colorful jewelry, I have never looked back.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. The making of art jewelry is as varied as there are books in a library.

While there are some classes offered at local bead stores, these are mostly for beginners and do not offer me the challenge I really require.

I do buy books and videos to learn about additional jewelry techniques, such as making lampwork beads, polymer clay beads, and fusing glass. I try new techniques as I get spare time (which there isn't a lot of!) and I enjoy working what I have learned into my regular production.

One day I would like to attend that artists' school in north Georgia and studying under some of the great masters in jewelry and bead making.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. My most recent project is a wholesale order for an international customer in Czech Republic.

The first thing I learned is that wholesale production requires a lot of material. I was able to find wire and swarovski crystals in wholesale lots at good prices, but my focal and accent beads were tough to find in the right quantity. I spent a significant amount of time just searching for the right beads to fulfill the order.

Ultimately, I was unable to fulfill certain items because the beads were no longer available.

I'm now searching out of the country for wholesale sources of beads to ensure that I can meet the next wholesale order.

Wholesale orders are very profitable for me, even though I drop the per item price, I do not have to travel and pay the high expenses of a show.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. (1) It's not as easy as it looks.
(2) Travel and shows cost money.
(3) Find your own niche -- don't just copy someone else's work. Success is directly related to the degree of originality in your work.
(4) Keep your expenses down and your profit margin up.
(5) Remember to add your time into the price of your product. No one should work for free.
(6) Continue creating new works every year.
(7) Maintain contact with your customer base via email, postcards, or website.