Whether you are a history buff or simply seeing handmade beaded jewelry worn by your favorite actresses, it is hard to look at the jewelry from the past and not take a look at the handmade jewelry that was worn then. While some of these pieces look unbearably clunky and old fashioned now, some would look right at home on today’s top fashion catwalks and expos. Jewelry, in all of its forms, has had a strong effect on the world and the fashions that were based off of it.

Early in history, jewelry was a mark of status of some sort. Perhaps the only people who could wear it were of religious importance, or perhaps they were the only people who could afford it. You’ll find that even though the handmade beaded jewelry from early eras seems primitive to our eyes that it was still crafted with care. For instance, the twisted torques, close fitting necklaces that were worn by the Celts, was often a sign of both manhood and wealth.

Later on, jewelry was a mark of privilege and leisure; it was a show that not only could you afford to feed yourself and your loved ones, but that you could spend a lot of extra money on beautiful things. For instance, in many parts of Europe, there were sumptuary laws that forbid people of a certain class from wearing things that were too extravagant, whether that was cloth, jewelry or special leathers. Often though, people would ignore these rules and the fact that they had to pay a fine was also seen as a mark of status and wealth!

During the Victorian age in Europe, handmade beaded jewelry started taking the shapes that would be very familiar to those of us who wear jewelry today. The Victorian era had a very strong interest in death and funerary arts, though, and this was often eerily represented in so-called mourning jewelry, where people would snip hair from their departed loved ones and weave it into lockets, broaches and rings. Sometimes this jewelry would get very elaborate and it could be quite beautiful, especially when different shades of hair were used.

The beginning of the twentieth century saw the beginning of costume jewelry. Costume jewelry, far from being as cheap or as disposable as the name implies, was actually meant to be jewelry that complemented one particular outfit. Various precious metals and gems could -and often did!- go into the production of costume jewelry.

Today, we are experiencing a real renaissance as far as jewelry goes, and whether you love fine handmade beaded jewelry or simply love adorning yourself with something new every day, take a look and see what sort of impact the right piece of jewelry can have on you!

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What You Need To Start

You need beads – that is obvious. You would also need some craft glue, plastic thread, stretch bands, wires, and so on. If you are new to this craft and all you know and have is a desire to succeed and have fun, you will need a book (or more) with instructions on how to make handcrafted beaded jewelry. Look up libraries, book shops and the Internet for some good and informative material.

Before you decide what exactly you would make go through the material you collected and choose a few “projects” for practice. Give yourself sufficient time to practice until whatever you are making can pass the strictest quality test. If you do this simply as a hobby, you could relax your standards a little because you would be your own customer. However, if you plan to go into business by selling what you make, the quality of the handcrafted beaded jewelry you make should be impeccable.

Find Your Market

Once you have gathered sufficient expertise and you know what you are doing, price your products and decide whether you want to market it locally or on the Internet. In case you choose local markets, you could start by roping in your friends and relatives at first. Assuming that the quality of your work is flawless, you would get enough orders by word of mouth recommendation. Take steps to expand your business when the demand for your handcrafted beaded jewelry grows.

If you choose to launch an e-enterprise you need to go back to school again; this time to learn all about how to set up a website effectively, as well as about domains, web hosting, SEO and Internet marketing among other topics. In the beginning you could start advertising through a blog which could be set up free of cost and which once established, could direct traffic to your website. You would also need pictures or very high quality so you could showcase your products on the website.

There would be a lot of effort required initially for launching your e-enterprise. However, if done correctly this would give you the opportunity of selling your handcrafted beaded jewelry in international markets, which means great profits and even greater satisfaction.

Related posts:

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2. How to Make Beaded Jewelry
3. Where Can You Find Handcrafted Unique Jewelry?