subject: Making Money Off Of Homemade Jewelry [print this page] Jewelry making is a fun and popular hobbyJewelry making is a fun and popular hobby. It allows people the ability to express their unique style while venting their creativity. Buying wholesale jewelry supplies is cheaper than buying premade jewelry, so for the fashion forward it can also be a way to save money while not compromising looking great. There is no doubt that creating your own jewelry designs is a great creative outlet but it can also be a source of income. Maybe not enough to allow you to quit your day job (though your never know!), but enough to make a tidy side profit and have fun doing it.
Once you have gotten your craft down a good first step in making money is having pieces commissioned. Start off with friends. Does a gal pal need a necklace to go with a new dress? If she can't find something in the store, she can pay you to make something for her. You guys can pick out glass beads she likes and then craft them into something special. Do this for enough friends and they will tell their friends and so forth. Before you know it people will be emailing and calling you to make custom pieces for them.
Chances are there are craft shows somewhere in your area. Even flea or farmers markets can be good venues for selling your wares. Many of these open air crafts markets charge little money to reserve a space, so you don't need to sell all that much to make it worth your while. They are held on the weekends so don't worry about missing work. On top of potentially making a profit you get to meet other artistic types, spend all day outside, and get direct feedback from the public. It is fun and rewarding. Even simple seed bead or Czech bead jewelry can be successful.
You can also use craft websites (like Etsy) or more general online commerce sites (eBay, Amazon) to vend your wares. Wholesale jewelry supplies are cheap so even piece you sell can mean a big percentage of profit. You need to spend a lot of time making the crystal beads and other supplies into jewelry but if you got into this hobby, it's probably something you like to do.
Make sure to take your items directly to stores and see if they have any interest in selling them. Many stores like having items on the shelves that are by local artists.
