My Favorite Jewelry Making Supplies
Note: I may receive a commission at no additional price to you if you make a purchase through any of the included links.Jewelry-Making: Hobby & Hustle
Beads & Posh and Stories from Tori
My very first blog post on this website was about how your hobbies don’t need to become your hustles. At the time, I said I really didn’t monetize my jewelry making. That’s not the case, or rather, the goal anymore.
To be fair, I did say I didn’t know what I was going to do with all that jewelry.
Also, this was back in 2021. Basically everything in my life has changed since then.
The most overwhelming thing about wanting to sell my jewelry is the legal side of things. I found a resource called Paper + Spark, which provides courses on “getting legit.” I’m still confused as hell but thanks Janet LeBanc! I would like to start selling online in a shop, whether it’s on Etsy, Shopify, or my own site.
Back to the actual jewelry making. I am proud of how much I’ve improved and the new things I’ve tried. I’ve learned so much, and I’m teaching myself. Always room for improvement.
And part of that is learning what to buy and where to buy it. When I started to get serious about wanting to sell my jewelry, I realized that meant I had to buy better quality - my go-to is stainless steel products. So much of my actual supplies don’t come from Hobby Lobby or Michael’s, but those stores do have a lot of really good tools and organizers, which is a major help in itself. I’m hoping to snag one more of an organizer that JoAnn’s sells before they close their doors.
A lot of what I buy comes from Amazon or Etsy, but there’s also a handful of online retailers I go to (in no particular order!):
I buy seed beads more than anything, and 99% of the time it’ll be from one of those sites. What is also great about these sites is that they have patterns and tutorials that are super helpful.
However, it’s not just about making the jewelry; organizing my supplies, like I said, is a huge part of the process! In a perfect world, I have a room that’s half writing office/half jewelry-making office. The other component is the products that help me sell the jewelry, like marketing and advertising, and at craft shows. Some of these items I’ve purchased more than once!
Products that Make Jewelry
Sometimes making jewelry is as simple as adding some beads to a string, but most of the time, there’s a lot more involved in that. Here’s just a few of those things:
Beadalon Bead Loom: I was so intimidated by this when I first got it that it sat in a drawer for months. It took a few tries, but between tutorials from TikTok and Pinterest, I figured it out. Right now, I just use it to make bracelets, and that’s the goal for the foreseeable future.
Enamel Daisy Flower Pendant: Lately, I’ve been doing a lot more with charms. Charm necklaces are super popular right now, so I’ve wanted to have that option available. Eventually, I hope to have a little “charm bar” I can set up when I’m at craft shows. I saw these pendants and thought they’d be super cute earrings…and they were so much so that I went back and bought more in every color offered. And they are super cute. ($8/pair!)
Nuun Design Wire Frame, Pear Drop & TierraCast Beadable Wrapped Wire Hoop, for Pendants or Earrings: I put these together because they have the same function. I use these for bead stitching. Typically, I use them for necklaces but can also use them for earrings. I specifically like these because they have a loop I can attach a jump ring to.
Leverback Stainless Steel Huggie Hoops and Beebeecraft Leverback French Earring Hooks (Stainless Steel): Again, same thing. I’m straight-up obsessed with these. I have super sensitive ears, and these don’t bother me at all. Very simple to connect too as well. And with the French earring hooks, you can interchange items too (like cabochons!)
Beebeecraft Cabochon Setting Charms: …Cabochons exactly like these! I just glue a cabochon in, and viola. You can use them for earrings, bracelets, keychains, etc.
BEADNOVA Cabochon Setting Stainless Steel Post Earring: Same concept here, except with post earrings, again, using stainless steel for sensitive ears.
Pandahall Alloy Enamel Flower Bead Caps: Pandahall has a lot of things I like, including these flower bead caps. Bead caps can add some flair to your necklaces, bracelets, and earrings and I think these add just a little bit more. I love the colors outlined by gold.
Bamboo Jewelry Design Board and Beadsmith Bead Board: If you want to make jewelry and try to keep some of your sanity, you need a bead board. I use both of these, but I like using the bamboo one when I am using a lot of different beads, but if I’m using a lot of glue (like cabochon earrings), I like the Beadsmith board especially to set it aside and let things safely dry (keeping it from being jostled by the cat or dog!).
Earrings I made with the enamel daisy pendant and the stainless steel earring components. Also, they’re on the bamboo bead board.
Jewelry-Making Kits:
I’m not going to go into detail on each one here (a couple I haven’t gotten into yet), but these are really great for learning specific skills (like bead looming) or using specific items (like the style of beads) in a project. It’s just super convenient, and with the loom and kumihimo kits, it came with the tools needed - the loom and the disc. However, right now, I cannot figure out Kumihimo for the life of me.
Products that Organize Jewelry (and Various Supplies)
Organizing my supplies and products is its own challenge. Not only just finding a spot for everything, but organizing it in a way that makes sense for me. And that…is continually a work in progress. Sometimes though, organizing the supplies is super therapeutic!
Small Bead Organizers: These might be my favorite thing on this list. Organizing beads is one of the hardest things. And maybe I’m a weirdo, but I don’t like containers that have a lid that is separate from the container itself because I feel like those ones are a lot easier to jostle and spray beads everywhere. Clean-up - especially when we’re talking like size 11 beads - is torture. I’ve been trying to find this style in a smaller size, but no luck. Depending on the amount of beads, these can be really big for one color but again, when we’re using size 11 seed beads, mixing colors can also be a pain.
Five Layer Earring Organizer Stand & Folding Earring Display: These are technically used for selling the jewelry, but also helpful in the organizing aspect because I can keep earrings on them for storage and traveling. On the five-layer stand, the rows also come out if needed. I have two of the folding earring displays, and one is specifically for holiday jewelry.
Creative Options Grab’n Go: I have two of these in this size and one in the larger size. I really, really need to find one more in this size before JoAnn’s closes its doors. The top also provides storage in which I can put smaller containers. Lately, I have found that it is really good for components and charms.
The five-layer earrings stand with my products set up at a craft show.
Products that Sell Jewelry
Presentation is king, both at craft shows and when I’m posting online. And the visual arts aren’t really my thing, and it is something I really need to improve.
MyGift 2-Tier Rotating Necklace Stand: It might be called a necklace stand, but I use this for my beaded snowflakes! It’s difficult to lay them out on the table because it takes up so much space, but this works well. And, of course, it can also be used to display necklaces, bracelets, keychains, etc.
Daycount 10 Piece Small Jewelry Pillow: Taking photos of the jewelry can be really awkward when trying to figure out the best way to pose the jewelry. These little pillows have helped out a lot.
Portable Photo Studio Light Box: This has made a huge difference in my product photo taking. Lighting is right up there with posing when it comes to set-up awkwardness. The photo box is a game changer. It folds up, which is great for storage and portability. Additionally, it comes with several colored backdrop options, which gives you an option for variety.
Single Brass Earring Display Stand & Black Earring Display Stand: Product picture posing again! I really like these two. With the brass earring stand, I’ve used the block to set jewelry on as well for photos.
A photo taken within the photo box using the two earring stands linked above.
Miscellaneous Products
And a couple random products that I don’t know where they fit:
Leverback Earring Card Punch: You don’t need pre-cut earring cards. With this earring card punch, it’s easy to make your own and much better than trying to pop the holes with the end of a scissors blade like I had done many times previously. Since you can punch your own cards, it gives you a chance to be creative with the cards you make! (Disclaimer: I have not been creative with the earring cards I made).
Collapsible Folding Wagon: Lugging around your products and setup for craft shows can be difficult. With my leg, it already is difficult to get around and craft shows are long days. I don’t want to be wiped up from setting up. The first couple times I did a craft show, my mom and I realized that other vendors had their set up/tear down down to a science. One of the things we noticed was people using these collapsible folding wagons for their stuff. Bingo!
Organza Pouch Bags: Just what I typically put my products in when I sell them! They are different colors and a good size. Simple and easy. They are about ten cents per bag for 100, and they’re really good if you need little baggies for favors or something!
I’m really looking forward to where my jewelry making takes me. Obviously, I’m hoping to sell more and establish my own little business. But I also still really love the learning aspect and have a bunch of things I want to learn, especially when it comes to bead stitching. I also love the creative process and when an idea comes together. It is still a relaxing activity for me, which I think is super important. It remains a way for me to unwind. And I think as long as that’s the case, I’ll keep making jewelry.
