How to Turn Your Jewelry Making Hobby Into a Home-Based Business

I Did This and You Can, Too

Many years ago a sister-in-law of mine had gotten me started in making jewelry at home while my daughter was a toddler. This business had helped generate a second income for my family so that I could stay at home with our daughter.

A friend of hers had two shops that she was running in local western themed parks. The jewelry that was being focused on was pieces that were made and worn by Indians native to the areas. The jewelry pieces were geared toward necklaces and chokers, but by requests from the local attendees visiting these attractions, she added a line of earrings for her consumers.

At this time many pieces of jewelry were being made from seed beads. This type of bead is roughly .08mm in diameter and strung together with jewelry thread for earrings. For the necklaces, the beads were strung and woven together on a small jewelry loom so that a pattern could be made for the medallions or for the chokers.

I found that this was a fun and lucrative way to earn some extra cash through a hobby. A year or so later, my sister-in-law’s friend had to sell her shops due to health reasons and therefor we were unable to continue on. However I did continue to make the earrings and a few necklaces which I was able to sell some of these items through another consignment shop.

During this time, I found many places that my jewelry supplies could be purchased locally at wholesale prices rather than retail prices at craft shops. Many of these suppliers are located in offbeat areas where I lived.

While I have since moved onto other things, I still make jewelry on occasions to keep up on the latest trends and how to make these pieces. Since the time twenty years ago I learned how to make jewelry at home, the beads and other supplies have changed tremendously through the years.

The one basic thing that hasn’t changed over the years is that handcrafted jewelry is still sought after due to the higher quality and time that are put into the pieces that are found at arts and craft shows, bazaars, and at online auctions. A handcrafted jewelry business is still one of the best money makers around today.