Make Money at Home Selling Handcrafted Jewelry Online

Can a person really make money selling handcrafted jewelry online? I did, and until I quit because I couldn't handle the workload with my pregnancy, I was loving it. Here's what I think about the opportunity for jewelry makers on the Internet. Every day we read about more layoffs, more recession related economic troubles. One day it's Microsoft laying off 5,000 workers. The next day it's another bank closing. And yet there's something promising going on for jewelry designers and crafters.

In the January 2009 Fire Mountain Gems print catalog, you may have seen a note to jewelry supply buyers about the economy. The note says that although the financial times are hard, the jewelry supply business is still up, and sales haven't dropped. Why?

Their theory is right on the money. They say that their customers are still buying beads, jewelry wire, cabochons, silver and gold, jewelry tools, and jewelry display supplies because they are jewelry makers who are taking their economic success into their own hands.

In other words, people have begun to learn that they can make money from home by making and selling jewelry. Fewer and fewer jewelry makers are going into business exclusively by doing craft fairs and art fairs. And few can afford to open bricks-and-mortar retail stores.

Instead they're joining the vast art fair online. They're joining one of the numerous online craft malls such as Etsy and Craftmall. They're opening jewelry stores on Rubylane to sell their earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

My story is an essentially modern one, as far from the traditional apprenticeship model of craftsmanship as you can get. I taught myself how to make jewelry online. I bought all my beads online. I purchased all my jewelry supplies online. I made the necklaces, bracelets and earrings and anklets at home. I took photos with my digital camera and designed my own business cards online. I paid for an ecommerce store at Rubylane and promoted my business online. I sold to customers all over the world. Pretty much the only thing I did on paper were my taxes. These days, if I were to do it again, I'd do my taxes online, too.

These days, jewelry makers scorn the aches and pains of early set-up and late take-down at weekend craft fairs. Craft fairs enjoy only a local market for the most part. Artisan jewelers forego letting their necklace masterpieces sit on consignment inside artisan stores only tourists wander into.

They instead list their jewelry and sell 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to the entire world on Etsy and eBay or an ecommerce jewelry store.

It costs so little money. Their capital output when they start to sell jewelry online is so small it's almost negligible. This levels the playing field for new jewelry makers looking for new ways to make money selling their artisan designs.

It's the wave of the future, and it's riding in now. In future articles, I'll be discussing how you can ride this profit wave and sell your jewelry online to make money on your road to becoming more self-sufficient.

Note: The blog owner may be compensated for the content of this article. See the full disclosure statement regarding compensation in compliance with FTC guidelines.