Handmade Jewelry Repair Tips
Wednesday, 15. July 2009
Many of handcrafted jewelry designers work around the clock putting together custom jewelry pieces and hunting for jewelry supplies for that next bracelet or pair of earrings. Making jewelry is a creative hobby and it can be very rewarding, but it can also suck out your creativity if you’re making a lot of jewelry pieces and then spending lots of time putting together the supplies for each piece over and over. One unique way to alleviate that jewelry making burn out while still using your jewelry making skills is to begin offering jewelry repair services!
Fixing jewelry requires a slightly different approach to buying jewelry supplies because you’ll want to have a wide variety of clasps, seed beads and stringing materials available. You’ll also need think about using a decent jewelry management software package to track what jewelry supplies you have on hand, what you’ll need to buy soon and where you can get them for the best price. Repairing custom jewelry uses your jewelry making skills and will often give you some fun challenges. Instead of making a necklace from your own ideas, you generally need to take an existing jewelry pattern and find beads to replace lost or broken jewelry pieces that either look similar to the rest of the jewelry piece or at least compliment it. Here are some general tips to remember when you start repairing jewelry for clients:
Remember to get a little creative, especially if you want to add in missing beads, but check with the customer first. Some people demand that their jewelry to be repaired to the exact condition it had before, some do not mind minor bead or clasp modifications.
Even though a clasp isn’t broken, you may want to suggest replacing it before it does fall apart. Watch out for structural weaknesses in old jewelry pieces.
Remember to price your services fairly. Often times you will be repairing a piece of jewelry that holds a special meaning or is particularly favored by your client. You’re performing a service of not just fixing a piece of jewelry, but often you’re helping restore a memory or feeling!
Remember to have fun with it! Both repairing custom jewelry and making your own jewelry are fun ways to make some extra money, but it’s up to you to find the proper balance to keep you happy and profitable at the same time. Lastly, you can usually charge just as much to repair a piece of jewelry as you would to make it. But since are often working with existing jewelry materials fixing a piece of jewelry can be much more profitable.