Pizazzworks’s blog

Beading Tips & Tricks

Beads with no holes?

Question:

When I try to string my beads, the wire will not go through the hole. It seems like the hole is not drilled all the way through the bead. What do I do.

Answer:

One of the comments that I occasionally receive from customers is that the bead holes are too small or that they do not exist at all!

First, let me say that all the beads we buy come temporarily strung. This means that it is impossible to have a bead that does not have a hole that goes all the way through the bead.

It is true that the size of the hole in beads can vary greatly. Sometimes a bead can have a larger hole on one side than the other. Sometimes the hole is smaller right in the center of the bead. These problems stem from the types of bits used to drill the beads and the way that they are drilled.

Beads are drilled with an ultra-sonic drill. The drill does not use a normal drill bit but a tiny rod of stainless steel similar to a hypodermic needle. The bit can be hollow or solid.

If a bead has a small hole on one side and a large hole on the other, this is caused by using a solid bit that starts out blunt, and as it goes through the bead, it actually becomes pointed. This makes a small hole on the other side. Hollow bits tend to make more even holes on both sides.

Many times the hole is drilled from both sides toward the middle. If the holes do not line up exactly, there can be a narrow spot in the middle.

Precious stones tend to be harder and they are easier to drill with smaller bits. Many times even large Ruby beads have very tiny holes.

Unfortunately we do not have any control over the size of hole in each bead.

What can you do with beads that have small holes?

Be Prepared!

You may be using .015" or .018" beading wire on most of your projects because it will fit through most beads. You should have .012" wire available just in case the larger wire will not fit through the holes.

If you want to use solid wire, instead of using 22 to 24ga wire, you may have to use 26ga wire. The biggest problem with using the smaller wire is that the wire is too soft to hold loops.

You can "work harden" your solid wire by repeatedly running it across the round edge of your pliers while putting pressure on it with your finger. This is similar to the way that you make a ribbon curl. This will make the wire stiffer so that it will hold a loop. It is also a good idea to make a double loop if possible for extra strength.

Since you can not control the size of the hole that is drilled in the bead, be prepared to adjust the size of the wire that you use in your project to fit the hole.

Tips & Tricks

Marketing:

Question: 

I am starting up a party plan with my jewelry, I was wondering if you had any good selling or marketing tips for me. I think the marketing is the one thing I need help with. However any other tips you might have in general would be much appreciated. Please help.

Answer:

I think that you are starting something that should be profitable for you. When you ask about marketing, I think mostly about branding. 

Branding is what companies do to become easily recognized by their customers. As buyers, we tend to attach feelings to companies or logos. 

Buying is an emotional process so what you want to do as a seller is to give your customers a symbol that represents your product in a positive way. 

I would suggest that you need a couple of things to help you create the lasting impression that you will need to make your customer base grow. 

1) You must have a business card. If you spend a little money on these and make them memorable, when someone is telling another person about your jewelry, they may have your card handy to pass along your contact information. This is a great way to make yourself available to your customers. Your business card will be one of your most powerful marketing tools. 

2) Make some small cards that accompany each piece of jewelry that you sell that tells a little about you and your jewelry. People love to identify with the designer of a product and the card will help them to feel that they know who you are a little better. People will pay more for jewelry if they actually know something about the designer.

 3) Sign every piece of your jewelry. If you use sterling, make sterling tags with your name or logo and attach them to your jewelry. You can have a stamp made of your signature or logo that you can stamp into a sterling or gold-filled tag. You can make your own tags from sheet silver or gold filled. Don't let any of your pieces go without a signature tag. This is an important way for people to identify your jewelry and it adds value to your pieces. 

If you do these three things, you will have a good start toward branding your product. It does not have to cost a lot of money to brand your product, but the money that you spend will pay great dividends. All of the things that I have mentioned will not only get you more repeat business, but it will increase the value of your jewelry also. 

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Secrets to selling your producrts:

Re-evaluate Your Business

When you start a business, you should have made a plan.  The plan would include, what products you would make, where you would sell them, how you would promote your product, how much you would spend on raw materials, what kind of mark-up you would expect to receive and any other details that you could plan for.

When your business is running, you will learn things that you did not know before you started.  It is likely that you will find new opportunities for selling and promoting your products.  

Your original plan should not be something that is set in stone.  As you get new information, you should be modifying the way that you do things so that improvements can be made.

Sometimes it is easier to do things the same way that you have always done them.  Many times people do not re-evaluate their business until it is too late.  They don't see changes coming because they are comfortable doing things the same way.  This can fatal to a business.

The most successful businesses look for things that they can change and do better.  It is not always easy to be looking for ways to do things better when you are making and selling your own products.  It takes a lot of time to make a successful business when you are doing most of the work yourself.

Staying on top of changes and looking for new opportunities has to do with your way of thinking.  If you are satisfied with the way things are going for your business you may not be open to making changes.  Even if your business is doing well, there are always things that can be done to improve your business.

If you believe that you can always improve and do things better in your business, you will be more likely to 

Remaining open to new ideas no matter how your business is doing is the best way to make a successful business.  It is vital to your success to re-evaluate your business on a continuous basis.  Try new things and evaluate the results.  This is the best way to be sure that you are not left behind when things around you are changing.

Great Ideas, Information, and Special Deals on unique beading supplies! Please subscribe to our newsletter at pizazzworks.com. 

Tips & Tricks

eBay Psychology

Question:

Thank you for your really creative newsletters! They contain so much info for jewelers. I have an eBay related question. I've never understood why it makes good business sense to start an item with a low beginning bid if you have a higher reserve price. I've seen this a lot on eBay, and I can't figure it out! What's the advantage? Thank you for taking the time to read this. You guys rock!

Answer:

When you are selling a product, whether it be on eBay or elsewhere, your number one concern in selling that product is to attract buyers. This is done in a number of different ways. You can use signs, newspaper ads, radio, television, magazines, blimps, or any means of attracting attention to your product. If people don't see your product, they will not be buying it. 

On eBay, one of the ways of attracting attention to your product is by using a low starting bid price. The products that have low starting bids with no reserve, actually get the most attention of any products. Everyone likes a bargain. Starting an item at $0.99is going to attract bidders, but the problem is that it might sell for less than it cost. Starting an item at a low bid price and using a reserve, protects you against the chance that the item will not be bid up to a reasonable price. You can start an item at your lowest price with no reserve but the fact is that it will not get as much attention or bids as if you start it with a low bid price and a reserve. 

In a business sense, it is a good idea to attract attention to your product. The low bid starting price on eBay is one way that sellers can do this.

Question:

Your designs are extremely whoa! I was wondering if you string beaded bags as well. If yes, how do you design a pouch like bag? Also, if one lives in a country where you are limited to just a few findings, how do you make do with what you've got because attaching a drop on a bead usually needs silver wires or something like that.

Answer:

One of the biggest challenges to any artist, is to use the materials that they have on hand to create something. Often times, by using the things available and some creativity, a masterpiece is born. 

You can make a pouch bag by cutting two pieces of fabric in the shape of the bag. Lay the pieces face to face and sew around the outside leaving the top open. Fold the top down far enough to make a channel for a draw string and sew it down. Turn the bag inside out and string the draw string through the top channel. 

If you are going to bead the bag, you can use heavy thread or nylon to attach the beads to the bag before you sew the two halves together. 

The amazing thing about the internet is that you it does not matter where you live anymore. You can find the things that youneed, from all over the world,with the click of amouse.