Is your jewelry unique? Can you spot a necklace you designed from across the room? Or does your jewelry disappear into the crowd? I hear that last worry from many jewelry designers, particularly those who sell their work at shows or in a crowded online venue such as Etsy.
Finding Your Niche
With so much competition in the jewelry area, your work needs to fit a specific niche. It also needs to show off your signature strengths, whether it's your fabulous knack for color combinations or your perfect wirewrapping skills. Part of the problem—for me, anyway—is focus. I love trying new techniques, materials, and styles, so it can be hard for me to see what it is that I'm consistently doing that sets my jewelry apart.
I've been thinking about this topic ever since I saw a new ad for Bead Gallery beads on the Michaels website. It's always fun to look at photo like this with so many different colors and textures.
Taking a Closer Look
There's something about seeing your work in a new arrangement, especially one captured by someone else, that makes you notice things you might have overlooked. Almost immediately, I spotted the bangles I'd created, but it took me several minutes to realize I had other projects in the photo. By studying which projects had been chosen for this ad, I could clearly see the techniques, color choices, and styles that represent part of my personal jewelry style:
- I love mixing beaded dangles and chain, especially in silver and soft colors. (Top, middle: silver leaf necklace)
- I'm not afraid to use bright colors. Magenta is one of my favorites. (Left, middle: multistrand magenta leather necklace)
- Since I sell my work, I'm always looking for ways to make one-size-fits-all jewelry that can easily be purchased for gifts. (Center: green, turquoise, purple bangle bracelets)
- I love taking a purchased pendant and customizing it to make something one-of-a-kind. For this Western necklace, I layered a small slider inside a bezel and surrounded it with small orange beads to create a bold focal. (Top, left: orange and turquoise pendant on brown braided cord)
What Don't You Do?
This photo also showed me which areas I wasn't capturing in my jewelry. Even though I might feel like my design style is "all over the place," I typically don't make bold pieces like that striking red necklace or fun, funky pieces like the long tassel earrings. And while I do sometimes make romantic necklaces like that very pretty one with violet and amber glass, my necklace style tends to be shorter and simpler. Sometimes when defining your personal style it can be helpful to define what you don't do, as much as what you do.
If you have friends who make jewelry, it might be fun to create your own photos like this one. Or take a photo of your own handmade work mixed with some commercially made jewelry. You could also shoot a mix of your older and newer projects. What do you see? You might be surprised at what you find.