To me, creating handcrafted jewelry means that each piece, or set, has the potential to be a one-of-a-kind item. What an individual uses to create their jewelry can say a lot about them. Some people have a limited budget, so use what is readily available to them locally, such as crystal beads, glass beads, and even some various gemstone beads with stringing materials such as various gauges of wire and silk string, or hemp. It can also tell what value the individual places upon their work, and who they wish to market toward. Simple designs with stretch string for bracelets, and small necklaces with varying color designs could be marketed toward someone with children, or even the children themselves, and hemp designs with many colorful beads could be targeted more toward someone who has more of a free spirit.
When I decided that I really wanted to create jewelry, whether anyone bought it or not, my first thought was that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. I decided from the start that I was going to use gemstone beads, so I did my research. I found a few sites that allowed for an individual to purchase materials at not only a wholesale price, but also at a scale to where the more an individual purchased, the lower the price was for the items being purchased.
The materials used for creating a piece of jewelry are as varied as the people who choose to create jewelry. There are more and more items that are being created all the time, and a person is only as limited as their funds and creativity. If you are looking for simplicity, there are sites where you can purchase chains of various link design and size, along with what they are created from by the foot, or even by the inch. There is sterling silver, gold-filled, copper, aluminum, and even gold; if you can afford it, along with various others. The same can even be said about wire, depending on the site you go to. Sites such as Fire Mountain Gems has a vast array of materials you can choose from, and can fit just about anyone’s budget on most items.
Having such a selection, virtually at your finger tips, opens up a broad array of ideas for an individual to never have to create the exact same piece twice if so desired. When I make a piece, or a set, even though some might look similar, no two pieces are ever the same. There is always some sort of variation which makes it unique unto itself. Being that it is handcrafted, a piece of jewelry has the potential to be the focal of an individual, or to gracefully blend in with whatever is being worn.