January 25, 2015 | Posted in JEWELRY | By



Amethyst and fluorite beaded necklace.

Making beaded jewelry is fun…and addictive! Photo by sockii.

A Gift Guide for Jewelry Makers and Artists

Do you know someone who loves making jewelry and doing beadwork?

Looking for ideas for holiday (or other occasion) gifts for that person? If so, then this guide is for you. Here you will find useful and unique gift ideas for anyone who enjoys making jewelry, either as a hobby or as a livelihood. These are practical gifts that any jewelry artist should find useful – plus a few things just for fun. I would know because I make jewelry and have been an active jewelry artist for many years. So it was easy for me to think of some of the things I could always use in my home jewelry studio to make my work easier and also more enjoyable!


 

Full Spectrum Sun Light Simulation Desklamp

Perfect for A Jewelry-Making Workdesk

Working on jewelry without sufficient and proper lighting can be a real challenge. As with any artistic field, jewelry making is best done in natural, bright light such as sunlight to see true colors of gemstones, crystals and other beads accurately. But that can be difficult in a lot of home studio environments where you might not have idea natural light available, when on the go at bead shows (and stuck under fluorescent light or little light at all) or otherwise.

 

  CHECK PRICESunlight Desk Lamp Natural Full Spectrum Sun Light.

This lamp helps accurately reproduce natural lighting conditions and would make working on jewelry so much easier in a home environment. It might be the kind of an item that a jewelry maker didn’t know how much she could use until she had one and saw the difference in her studio environment!

Full spectrum lighting has many other benefits including increased production of Vitamin D, reduced levels of melatonin and increased levels of seratonin. It’s a must for those who find themselves suffering with seasonal affective disorder or just the simple “winter blahs”—not just jewelry makers.


 

Beading and Jewelry Making Magazine Subscriptions

A Great Gift Idea for Any Jewelry Maker, Experienced or Novice

Looking through bead and jewelry magazines can provide endless inspiration for jewelry artists and designers. They are typically full of detailed project ideas, step-by-step instructions and tutorials, news on hot trends and resources for ordering supplies as well as attending jewelry shows around the world. Any jewelry maker you know would be sure to appreciate a subscription to one of these popular magazine titles.

Beadwork
For lovers of all kinds of beading, “Beadwork” magazine is perhaps the most popular title of all. Loom beadwork, wirework, bead knitting and crochet are all regularly covered along with other techniques and creative project ideas. Inside there are lots of inspiring photographs, discussion of new and popular trends, and step-by-step tutorials on making some of the designs featured.

Bead & Button
All kinds of beading projects are described in “Bead & Button”, whether you are interested in simple stringing or more advanced seed bead projects.

Jewelry Artist : Lapidary Journal
For the jewelry artist interested in metalsmithing and other more intensive forms of design. Go beyond beadwork and learn about stone cutting and polishing, setting stones, doing metal work and much more. This is definitely a good choice for a more advanced jewelry artist.

 

BeadworkBeadworkCHECK PRICE

Bead & ButtonBead & ButtonCHECK PRICE

Lapidary Journal Jewelry ArtistLapidary Journal Jewelry ArtistCHECK PRICE

 

 


 

Bead Boards for Stringing and Design

A Beader Can Never Have Enough of Them…

Bead boards are essential tools for planning and designing beaded jewelry. They are great when “on-the-go” as well as working at home, as you can plan out multiple strands at the same time, bracelets as well as necklaces, and keep everything neatly organized (and from rolling around your work desk.) But if a jewelry artist is like me, she probably has multiple boards of beads going at the same time while working on similar projects, and it can be great to have a few extra boards around at all times. They come in different sizes and styles; here are just two types available:

 

Beadalon Bead Board 46-InchBeadalon Bead Board 46-InchCHECK PRICE

Traveler Bead BoardTraveler Bead BoardCHECK PRICE


Storage and Organizational Tools

Always Needed and Appreciated by a Jewelry Maker

I don’t know a fellow jewelry artist who doesn’t struggle with organization and always need some more storage containers and solutions. It’s certainly a problem when we love collecting new and different beads to use for future projects! So trays, containers, bins and travel kits are always useful and come in lots of different styles – and different price ranges, as well, so there are choices no matter what your gift budget may be.

  CHECK PRICEBEADSMITH BEAD TUBE TOWER-PORTABLE BEAD TUBE STORAGE SYSTEM
This is a great organizer/travel kit for storing tubes of seed beads, bugle beads, and other small findings you may need or use. It stands upright or can be folded flat for travel or long term storage. It’s perfect for any jewelry artist who works extensively with seed beads and wants to keep all of those tiny beads well organized.
    CHECK PRICEDarice 2025-252 Bead Container with 28 Storage Jars
I have a number of these storage bins myself and like to use them for seed beads, small pearls, and other odds and ends that are hard to keep organized otherwise. The small vials or “jars” can be re-arranged easily and the clear case makes it easy to see what’s inside each storage bin.
    CHECK PRICEDarice Nylon Beader’s Bag with Accessories, Plum
Travel bags are great for jewelry artists who work craft shows and want to take some basic findings, tools and beads with them. It comes with four bead boxes (with 17 compartments each) and a flocked bead board with lid to keep work secure. Pockets allow for tool storage and other odds and ends.


Organizing beads can be a major project!

Organizing beads can be a major project! Photo by sockii.

A Gift Certificate from Fire Mountain Gems

One of the Internet’s Leading Jewelry Making Suppliers

Order a Fire Mountain Gems Gift Certificate here!

Both email and regular mail delivery of gift certificates are available. Fire Mountain Gems is one of the largest mail-order suppliers of beads and jewelry making supplies out there today. Semi-precious stones, glass beads, crystal, seed beads, cabochons, and metal findings of all types and styles are available for the jewelry artist through their website and massive catalog. Any jewelry artist is sure to find something they could use from Fire Mountain Gems, and discount pricing on orders of multiple items makes it a great source for those who bead for profit, not just as a hobby.


Inspirational and Instructive Books on Jewelry Making

Someone who enjoys making jewelry will also love looking at other’s designs for ideas, inspiration and learning new techniques. There are many books available on Amazon geared toward jewelry-making, from how-to guides on methods and materials to style books showcasing jewelry trends and history.

  CHECK PRICEThe Jewelry Maker’s Design Book: An Alchemy of Objects
This book will provide any jewelry maker with plenty of ideas on how to combine vintage jewelry and “found” objects into new, trendy jewelry designs! It definitely embraces current ideas of jewelry styles and will help designers plan projects out from beginning inspiration to completion.
    CHECK PRICEBedazzled: 5000 Years of Jewelry—-The Walters Art Museum
For thousands of years, mankind has used jewelry to decorate and beautify ourselves. Any jewelry maker should love this beautiful book which spotlights key pieces of jewelry through the ages through lush photography and informative detail.
    CHECK PRICEShowcase 500 Beaded Jewelry: Photographs of Beautiful Contemporary Beadwork
For those who love intricate beadwork, this is a great gift to give. You’ll see 500 inspiring works of beaded jewelry art that showcase just what can be achieved through this technique.


 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully you’ve gotten some ideas for useful gift ideas for anyone interested in jewelry-making here. Do you have any other suggestions? Feel free to leave them below in the comments!

 

sockii is just your typical Jane-of-All-Trades who never has enough time in her day for all of her projects. She has written for many websites online including Squidoo, Zujava, Yahoo! Contributors Network, HubPages and Wizzley. She has been attending and vending at science fiction and media conventions for over 15 years, and for several years ran an art gallery and jewelry store in Philadelphia. Today she is happy to be living in South Jersey with her partner David and their 6 cats. Sockii is a member of several affiliate sales programs including Amazon Associates and Viglink. Products from these services may be advertised on her posts and pages to generate sales commissions.

1 Comment

  1. Sandy
    January 25, 2015

    Leave a Reply

    Thanks so much Sockii. I love all your articles about jewelry design( and the others as well 😉 . This is so helpful. Do you have any ebooks or books out on jewelry design?

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