DIY Designer

DIY Designers we want to feature you.

Do you love expressing  or creating your style with your own handmade accessories? 

You are a  DIY designer and we would love to blog about it. 

Send us the following details to beadcafett@gmail.com

• Picture of you wearing your jewelry
• Brief Description
• DIY Designer Name
• Country

Anyone from anywere that loves making and wearing their jewelry are invited to contribute. A maximum of 10 pictures will be featured in our first series.  Pictures must be sent by Saturday 5th May to be featured.

Until next time, thank you for visiting our blog.

Express, enjoy, explore… BEAD

Jewelry Classifications

Always wondering what is the difference between Fine Jewelry, Bridge Jewelry and Fashion Jewelry. A short synopsis of the 3 main types of jewelry classifications are:

Fine Jewelry

Diamonds, rubies and other precious gems with  14k gold, platinum or other precious metals is classified as Fine jewelry.

Bridge Jewelry

Opal, Topaz, Jasper and other semi precious stones or fresh water pearls with silver, vermeil or  gold filled is considered Bridge Jewelry. Hence Bridge jewelry is in the middle between Fine and Fashion jewelry.

Costume Jewelry

Costume jewelry on the other hand is jewelry made with base metals (copper, brass etc.), glass, plastic, wood and other types of beads. The materials may be synthetic or organic.

What about Artisan Jewelry? Any jewelry that is one of a kind or made in limited quantities and that is not mass produced are artisan made.

Happy Beading!

Creative Inspiration

Buzz Buzz

Isn’t it exciting when you are in that creative zone. You are energized, smiling, creating, working and enjoying. I love it! I get a sense of fulfilment.  There are three main things that keep me buzzing: Exploring, Innovating and Experiencing.

Explore – Travelling

Short trips abroad are ideal for me, a moment to getaway and experience.  The people, culture, landscape, language, music, colours, style and uniqueness of each destination entice my senses. The Caribbean is my home and I am set to explore as much as I can but sometimes my compass points to other destinations.  Some of the places I have visited are Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Croix, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Curacao, Canada, Puerto Rico, USA and England.  I hope to someday walk the streets of the Harajuku district in Japan.

Although flying abroad is great, I love family trips to new places in my home country. We have beautiful flora and fauna to enjoy. My camera is always close at hand to capture our exotic beauty. My idea book is always packed just in case something sparks a thought worth jotting down.

It is relaxing and exhilarating to travel home or abroad. I know wherever the winds blow me next there is a wealth of knowledge and experience to gain.

Pinel Island, St. Martin Vacation 2008

Innovate – Craft

My main craft is designing fashion accessories. I love combining findings and beads together to create funky wearable jewelry.  There are so many options but with imagination you could make the ordinary spectacular.  I remember walking into a hardware store and was just looking around and saw some black curtain hooks and that became a funky anklet and chain set. How I stumbled across this skill is another story.  I also love decorating and I am a big DIYer, I guess it is the creative adventurer in me.

Earrings and handband made from iron curtain hooks found in the local hardware store

Experience – Events

I am an event junky. I would go to any type of event; corporate functions, parties, charity events, fashion shows, art displays and concerts. I observe the trends, critique, look for ideas and of course enjoy.  All these inspirations inspire the next event or project I coordinate. My taste in events is as diverse as my taste in food and music. I believe variety is the spice of life.

Continue to spark your creativity and Keep buzzing!

Tameika

Can I get it sold?

You love making jewelry, your friends are always commenting on how good your jewelry looks and your family members are always borrowing. Sounds familiar? Maybe it is time to start selling your jewelry. Starting out is never easy especially if your hobby is a personal passion. The fear of criticism looms.  Here is one strategy you can approach to getting it sold.

See what people have to say!

It is important to ascertain what people think about your work to help determine how well your product will do. There is no place like home to test your products.  So how do you get started?  You need to start spreading the word to family or close friends.  I do not mean just wait for them to say: ‘that’s nice’ and somehow you mange to slip in:  ‘I made this’. You have to get active by sharing and showing. Sharing and showing is an action I coined as informing others that you are designing jewelry and you have pieces for sale and presenting your work. You may receive support as well as criticism but remember it is about learning, improving and developing your craft.  Look out for a post on Key Messages to share with your customers.

What’s my product?

You have made the leap and started sharing and showing and the questions start rolling: people want to know what the materials are, where do the materials come from, can it break or tarnish and all sorts of other questions.  You need to know your product, so it is important if you do not have the knowledge to spend some time learning about the products you use. There is much to learn and share, for example: beads are available in different sizes, shapes, types, colours and are made in different regions.  You need to be able to speak with passion and conviction; this is to show your customers that you love what you do and you know what you are talking about.

Got to brand it!

After fighting the nerves you are able to sell a piece or two, excitement builds and you design a few more pieces.  Although you just got started it is important early in the game to brand your products because referrals come quick and you want to establish an image. Decide on a name for your accessories line.  It may sound foolish in the beginning and you may think but I just got started. Think about it, if someone is showcasing your jewelry what do you want them to say?  Another thing is packaging; you can make cards at home to display your earrings or other accessories as well as make or purchase little bags or boxes for your customers.  On the cards you can print basic information about your product.  Remember if you are not there your product has to sell itself.  Simple tip is to make it neat and make it stand out. In another post I will chat about DIY packaging and Brainstorming techniques to get those ideas rolling.

These are some of the things you can do to start flexing your entrepreneurial muscle. Starting a business is no easy road but you can make a good start now. Look out for subsequent posts on pricing, profit, small business development, marketing and more.

Thank you always for stopping by.

Tameika

Bead Cafe Workshop ‘Simple Earrings’

Busy hands at the Bead Cafe

We are so excited about the studio space we have upstairs the Bead Cafe. We were able to host our first Workshop on Saturday 15^th May. The participants gained hands on experience in designing ready to wear earrings.  The participants had the opportunity to layout a design and make two different styles of simple earrings. The workshop exposed new techniques, tools and findings to the beginner class.  Although there were a few frustrating moments trying to bend the head pins and open and close the jump rings, everyone was happy to show off their handmade earrings.  

Earrings designed by Participant

Magenta

Magenta

Fashion Week Trinidad Tobago theme and colour choice  for this year’s fashion event 2010 is Magenta. Magenta is a fusion of  purple and pink and is a beautiful choice for the season. So if you dare to be bold create your own Magenta look.

Hello Beaders!

Welcome to Bead Cafe, Trinidad and Tobago Blog!

We are happy to start blogging. Our blog will keep you informed about what is happening at the Bead Cafe and share interesting information about beads and DIY projects. Also for you buzzing entrepreneurs check out our tips & tricks for starting and managing your home jewelry business. We will also keep you posted about events. Look out for our customer features where we will showcase some of the talented jewelry designers that shop at the Bead Cafe.

We will be happy to hear from you, so share your comments or email us anytime.

Always remember to express, explore, enjoy and bead!

Bead Cafe