How to Find the Perfect Supplier of Jewelry Making Supplies Online
Word of mouth is a good place to start. If someone who has the same
interests in jewellery making has recommended a company to you, then
their Internet website is a good place to begin your investigation. This
will give you an idea of the kind of equipment they supply, the range of
products and their prices. You can back that research up with your own
by checking out magazines like ‘Bead and Button’ and other hobbyist
publications. They often carry recommendations for suppliers and their
opinion is well respected.
Online searches will produce thousands of potential suppliers, so you
can narrow the field down by choosing companies that carry supplies
specifically for your field of jewellery making. A specialist enamel
supplier will not carry bead-making supplies, and vice versa. In the
early stages, you are probably best advised to look for a company that
sells generic supplies if you are in the process of building up your
basic equipment. Also remember that many of the listings you see on the
Internet may not be in your geographic area, so you may initially want
to narrow your field down still further by specifying suppliers in the
UK.
The Bead Shop (based in London) is one of the most well known and highly
regarded suppliers of jewellery making supplies. They sell both
wholesale and retail, meaning that you can save money if there is a
particular product that you use more of. Like all jewellery making
supplies, they carry a range of tools as well as beads, findings and
other equipment, but do focus more on the beadcraft side of jewellery
making.
Kernowcraft in Cornwall are also a long-established supplier,
specialising in gemstones, both precious and semi-precious, as well as
tools and equipment. Because of the very nature of gemstones, quality
can vary, but Kernowcraft have turned that into an advantage, rather
than a disadvantage. By offering a range of gems of varying quality, it
gives the shopper a greater opportunity to begin using gemstones in
jewellery making at entry-level prices. They sell a slightly more
specialised range of tools than The Bead Shop, and have an excellent
reputation with plenty of loyal customers.
Cookson Gold is one of the best known suppliers in the industry. Their
reputation encompasses not only the hobbyist market, but professional
jewellers and the jewellery trade as well, and as such the tools and
equipment they supply are of professional quality. They have a
particularly good range of
precious metal
clay equipment and precious metal supplies, all hallmarked and
quality assured. If the trade trusts them, then it’s safe to assume that
the hobbyist can too. Cookson are an international company, with bases
in the UK, the US and Europe, and have worked with the US Mint, again
giving the company provenance with some of the most demanding customers
in the world.
It is this provenance that you are looking for when choosing a supplier.
Shop around for the best prices – don’t feel that you have to use only
one supplier for all your needs. Look for recommendations, both amongst
like-minded friends and the trade press. Consider if you require a
specialist supplier or a more general jewellery making supplies
provider. And if you’re shopping online, always make sure that the
supplier has a secure site (indicated by the inclusion of an s in the
url address e.g. https://) to protect your details. If a supplier does
not have a secure shopping site area, then it may be wiser to try
somewhere else.
Article Source:
http://www.ArticleStreet.com/
About the Author
Jayne Sterling - Jeweller - Has used the companies
mentioned in the article for
jewellery making supplies including gold and silver wire, jewellery
tools, findings, precious metal clay and precious metal sheet - gold,
silver, platinum and palladium plus technical information for jewellers,
jobbers, designer, craftsmen, artisans and students.
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