There are many different motivations for people to make fashion jewelry out of beads and stones. Some people create their own fashion jewelry because it’s simply too expensive to purchase high-end department store jewelry. (In fact, you can often make more personalized, high quality fashion jewelry for much less.) Some people bead because they need a creative outlet for their artistic expressions, a way to present themselves to the world through craft. Some people create jewelry because beading is their livelihood.
Whatever your reason for beading, you are tied into a gigantic network of both hobby and professional jewelry makers alike. In order to expand an ability, it’s important to take stock of what you’ve done in the past and how you would like to shape your abilities in the future. The same applies for your relationship with beads and making fashion jewelry.
Ask yourself: “Why do I love making jewelry?”
Perhaps you like to be at the bleeding edge of the fashion world, and you simply can’t be constrained by the limits of what current fashion jewelry is available at high end department stores. Maybe you have a deep-seated appreciation for the fruits of the earth, and love manipulating glass beads, clay beads, or natural stones into beautiful pieces of jewelry. Maybe you just needed a hobby, and picked up beading from a family member or friend.
Any of these motivations can be used to improve your skill as a jewelry maker and heighten your appreciation of beads and stones.
If you’re a self-made fashion guru, take a look at what jewelry you’ve made in the past. Now, take a look at what current fashion designs you would like to emulate, and try to create something that fulfills the same fashion function, but do it by hand, and with natural beads and stones. If you end up with a product that you enjoy just as much as a pre-made, department store piece, then you’ll know you are achieving your goals and improving as a jewelry maker. You might even find yourself able to predict fashion trends and become a trend-setter with your own pieces!
If you’re a recessionista/money-master, think over your past savings that you’ve accumulated by making your own jewelry. Moving forward, make a note to specifically count the purchases that you avoid by creating your own stylish brand of fashion jewelry. Once you’ve taken a literal count of how much money you’ve saved by making your own jewelry, you can take it to the next level by attempting to save money on events. Maybe you can try to save money on a birthday party by hosting a beading extravaganza instead of heading over to Chuck E. Cheese!
If you simply love natural stones, glass beads, mother of pearl beads, and all other forms of beautiful jewelry components, you can further expand your bead and jewelry appreciation by setting some goals. Give yourself a new theme for a set amount of time, depending on your desired time frame. A new type of bead , color, or type of stone every week or month. Make it your goal to create a new piece based upon that component within that time-frame. You will find yourself able to more readily express yourself via different colors, beads, and natural stones after you’ve completed many different pieces. You will truly grow as an artist, and have a new appreciation for how you represent yourself via your chosen artistic medium, beading.
Any jewelry maker or bead lover can improve their skills as an artist and deepen their appreciation for different beads, stones and other jewelry components by settings goals for themselves within their craft. Brazos Collection has made it easier to improve your skills by offering only the highest quality items, and by offering wholesale prices for their beads and fashion jewelry. They’ve made it accessible for any jewelry maker willing to put in the work to further their beading knowledge and continue on their goal to mastering the craft of beading and creating fashion jewelry!
