The WireWorkers Guild

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Artist Showcase***
T R A C Y S M I T H
'Cinnamon Jewellery'

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I would like to introduce you all to one of our GUILD members,
jewellery artist: TRACY SMITH

http://www.cinnamonjewellery.folksy.com/ and http://www.cinnamonjewellery.etsy.com/),

... who I know will inspire you

with her beautiful designs!

Below is my recent interview with Tracy, who provides excellent sound advice
about selling her jewellery on the
internet - enjoy drooling over her
work and please feel free to post your comments ...

WHEN AND HOW DID YOU START MAKING JEWELLERY?

I started about 5 years ago, after seeing lots of handmade jewellery on e-Bay and thinking, "I could do that!". I bought the tools and some basic beads and findings and with the help from the internet, started to teach myself how to make earrings. I then started stringing bracelets and necklaces for a while, but about 2 year's ago, I discovered my true love was wirework! I was given a book 'Bead On A Wire' by Sharilyn Miller and that was it ... I was hooked!

I love the freedom

working with wire allows.

.

.

.

.

.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY FORMAL TRAINING?

I did a short silver jewellery making course at night school a few year's ago which included learning to solder. I really enjoyed it but it's not practical for me to do at home. I do still have the twisted Sterling Silver bangle I made there though!

Everything else I've learned from books and magazines, experimenting and lots of practice!

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR DESIGN INSPIRATION FROM?

I usually have lots of ideas floating around in my head and keep a notebook to do quick drawings of designs and ideas, otherwise I forget them! I love spirals and swirls which I use a lot in my designs and find inspiration in things like wrought iron gates!

I do get ideas from books and magazines but tend to adapt a certain aspect of a design into my own with a definite idea and finish with it looking completely different to how I imagined them! What I love about working with wire is that you learn the basics, then let your imagination take over.

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO OTHERS ON SELLING?

I currently have shops on Folksy and Etsy

http://www.cinnamonjewellery.folksy.com/

http://www.cinnamonjewellery.etsy.com/

Before that I sold on eBay for 4 years. Selling online isn't easy, especially selling jewellery as it's such a saturated market. You need to do more than just opening your shop and waiting for buyers to appear. Good, clear photos are very important, plus decent descriptions and clearly set out P&P costs and 'Terms & Conditions' for returning items. Pricing your items correctly is important too (and not always easy!). Packaging your sold jewellery attractively also helps to give a "look" to your pieces and shop. Business cards are a must to add a professional touch.

Let people know you are there by promoting. Take part in forums, start a facebook fanpage for your shop, link your shop RSS feeds to yoru facebook page, Twitter, post photos on places like Flickr (I've made a few sales this way), CraftGawker, jewellery magazine forum galleries, anyway you can get your stuff "out there"!

Starting a blog is also a good way to advertise. You can see my blog here:

http://cinnamonjewellery.blogspot.com/. There's all sorts of widgets you can add to your blog to link it to your shop. Follow other blogs and leave comments where appropriate - other people will often click on your link to check out your blog. Blog giveaways are also a good idea to get people looking. Promoting your shop can be a lot of work, but it's worth it if you want to succeed!