Tips From Rena
by Rena Klingenberg

Rena is expanding her presence on BeadBugle.Com with her column, Tips From Rena, and she's looking for input from you! For every tip submitted that we publish, you'll receive a $10 off coupon from BeadBabe.com that can be used in conjunction with your order. Tips can be about anything bead-related, from threading a needle or storing beads to polymer clay or business. So start sharing your time-saving tricks and handy hints. If you can, send a j-peg along with the tip to illustrate it.

Want to Share a Tip or Have a Question?  Email:  Rena@beadbabe.com
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December 2007 Tips, Tricks, and Orphan Bead Suggestions

 Too Shy to Sell Your Jewelry?
Try These Tips for Getting Braver

One of the main things that holds creative people back from selling their work is shyness.

"If only I could just create jewelry and let someone else do all the selling! I'm just too shy to do shows and parties, or take a display of my jewelry to a shop owner."

Well, I'm a shy person too, so I know how you feel! I'm even shy on the phone, and I used to have to force myself to make phone calls regarding my jewelry business.

Here are things I've discovered that have helped me a lot:

1. Ask yourself, "What am I dreading? What's the absolute worst thing that could happen when I call this shop owner (or customer)?"
   
   In my case, I decided the worst thing was that the person I was calling could say "no". Once I realized that was my roadblock, I gathered my courage and made the connections I had to make.
   
   And sometimes people did say "no" (and still do!). But no shop owner or customer has ever yelled at me or done anything terrible when they said "no". So even though a negative answer wasn't what I wanted to hear, I discovered that it was actually pretty painless - nothing like the brick wall I had turned it into in my mind. That realization was very empowering.
   
   Some people will say "no" - but a lot more will say "yes"!
   
2. Appreciate your own skills and artistry.
   
   Pick up some of your best pieces of jewelry and examine them closely. Look at the high-quality job you've done in putting these pieces together, and look at the great colors or designs you've created.
   
   If you can make jewelry, you have a special talent that other people admire.
   
   In fact, people are really very nice to jewelry artists - they tend to appreciate your skill and think quite highly of you.
   
3. Your jewelry makes people happy.
   
   Yes, even though it may sound funny, wearing something artistic and beautiful makes people feel good. They like to feel their earrings swinging when they walk, and to know that wearing their turquoise necklace against a black sweater gives them panache.
   
   People receive compliments when they wear the things you make, which brightens their day. They know the jewelry they're wearing is the finishing touch that gives them a little something extra.
   
   And they love to receive it as a gift!
    
4. Which brings me to this important point: You're actually doing people a favor by offering them a unique line of jewelry art that they won't find elsewhere.
   
   Your jewelry makes wonderful gifts. And by helping your customers find just the right gift, you're making a huge difference in their lives.
   
   Your customers are extremely relieved when you can help them out with a great solution to their gift-giving problems.
    
5. I discovered that getting braver about selling your jewelry is a mindset.
   
   It comes from realizing that you're not pushing people to buy your jewelry. Never think of yourself as a salesperson, because you're not.
   
   You're a creative person who helps people with their problems. You're providing helpful solutions to people by creating and selling jewelry.
   
   And every time you get out there and do a show or jewelry party, or pick up the phone and make a call to contact a shop or customer, it gets easier. I promise!
   
   And it's incredibly empowering to actually do it!
   
   Decide that above all, you'll enjoy yourself.
   
   Now just go out there with confidence - I know you'll do wonderfully.

Orphan Bead and Other Tips From Our Readers

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Archived Tips From the Past BeadBugle Pages

Custom Glass Etching

Here is my new pet project and it is so cool!  It is related to your tip about glass etching solution.  I've found that if you apply wax (candle wax will work but I prefer beeswax) to the surface of a shiny bead and then soak it in the Etch-All (the best brand in my opinion) then the wax will remain on the bead and protect that area from being etched.  This allows you to make much more intricate designs AND it also lets you do something that I have been trying to do for a long time.  You can coat the AB side of a bead and then etch it.  This allows the AB to shine through the matted surface and is very beautiful, especially on lentil or dagger beads.  I hope that you try this tip, it is just GREAT!

Laura Flowers.

Memory Wire Spiral Ornaments or
Holiday Window Hangings

Cut a length of bracelet size memory wire containing 2-3 complete circles. (Tip: Be sure to use heavy duty wire cutters so as not to pit the blades, memory wire is quite hard.) Form a small loop at the end of the wire. String the beads of your choice onto the wire until you nearly reach the end leaving enough wire to form another small loop at the top. Using the instructions in this newsletter for the "Icicle Drop Ornaments" make a drop to hang at the bottom loop of your memory wire spiral. To make a hanger for the top loop, you can either bead a hanger on Soft Flex or simply use a holiday ribbon that matches your beads.

This tip is from Embellishments, Inc. Please visit their website for supplies for this mini-project at:

About The Author

A passion for earrings started Rena Klingenberg down the beading path. Since then her jewelry business has taken many twists and turns - including teaching workshops and selling her work via shows, shops, and online. She also combines jewelry-making with one of her other lifelong passions, writing.

Rena's ebook, Ultimate Guide to Your Profitable Jewelry Booth, details her secrets and strategies for selling handcrafted jewelry like crazy at shows, fairs, and festivals. She also publishes thousands of tips for marketing handcrafted jewelry in her Home Jewelry Business Success Tips website and Jewelry Business Success News ezine.

When she's not writing or making jewelry, Rena enjoys hiking, traveling, archery, voluntary simplicity, historical sites, arts events, collecting too many rocks and crystals, and acoustic and ethereal music.

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