Here at Nina Designs we offer thousands of different jewelry findings – from silver clasps, beads, charms, pendants, earring parts, chains, and more. With Nina and Leah constantly designing gorgeous new styles, our selection stays fresh and innovative, and our Wish Lists keep growing and growing. Here are our Picks for July. Enjoy!
Leave a comment telling us what your current Nina Designs favorite is for a chance to win a fabulous pair of earrings. See below for details.
Nina: My pick is the Deco Rose pendant in gold vermeil. I wear it on a single sheer ribbon and always get compliments.
Juanita: This month my pick is this really handy little pinch pendant bail. I’m a big fan of front drilled stones and artisan pendants, so I use this pinch bail all the time. Plus, I love the curlicue design. It compliments so many of my designs.
Anna: Out of thousands of styles it is almost impossible to pick just one favorite. So I’ve decided upon this deceptively simple circle link. This large half hammered link offers endless possibilities for fabulous earrings, daring necklaces and, well… whatever you can imagine!
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Selling Jewelry Making Supplies online is like performance art. Almost as much time and energy goes into creating your online shopping experience as into designing the silver charms, silver pendants and jewelry findings that we sell there. We are constantly working to improve the website. Your feedback is essential to this process. With that in mind, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the first round of our customer service survey. We will continue to send out the surveys on a regular basis, but no one should get more than one per year. Please know that I personally read every comment and suggestion that comes in through Survey Monkey. All of that information will be taken into account as we design new products and continue to improve the website.
Many of you commented that you didn’t like getting bumped off your page and into the shopping cart every time you order an item. That has been corrected. You also wanted more items listed on each page. We increased the number from 10 to 20. (If we do 50 it will be a problem for anyone with a slow computer but you can set it for 50 if that is your preference). We also heard that our search engine and product suggestions need work. These are particularly thorny issues but we are searching for a solution.
Any other suggestions for the website?
Customer Requested Two Tone Stamping Blank
Silver and gold vermeil tulip crimp clasps available in three sizes
and
silk cords & ribbons can be turned into necklaces and bracelets in just a few easy steps using
Tulip Crimp Clasps. They’re available in sterling silver and gold vermeil and come in three different sizes: small, medium, and large. Pick your clasp according to how thick your cord(s) are. The thickest silk cord will fit into our biggest tulip crimp clasp with some coaxing. If you’re working with multiple strands, tie a knot into your cord(s) for added security.
Next, stuff the knot into the bell of the clasp. If you need to do a little extra coaxing, try using the end of a paper clip or the tip of your round nose pliers to push the knot in there. These crimp clasps are designed with four petals, each with a little burr that prevents the cord from moving once pinched shut.
This next part is the most critical. You want to close these petals in phases. Using your round nose pliers, pinch the two petals that face each other closer together, but NOT all the way. Next pinch the other two facing petals closer together until they meet the first two petals. NOTE: if you were to close the first two petals all the way down, there would be no room for the next two to pinch down. After the first round of pinching, you’ll most likely want to adjust the petals a bit closer and tighter together. I like to make sure they’re as evenly spaced as possible. And, that’s it. Voila, you’re done!
Coaxing Thin Silk Cords into Smallest Crimp Clasp
Slowly close facing petals toward each other in phases
Wow, that was easy & what a clean finish!
I was feeling really inspired by Clara’s blog about tassels as a fashion trend in jewelry and accessories a few weeks ago, so I decided I needed to make a version for myself in the form of Sterling Silver Earrings. I thought a great way of integrating my tassels into a design story would be to use our hand carved wood coral branch pendants dangling beneath a swarm of seaweed-like chain.
After consulting with Clara, our in-house tassel expert, I learned a few pointers for making great chain tassels:
1: Use as much chain as you can get your hands on.
2: A bead or bead cap of some sort is necessary, so your tassel doesn’t end abruptly into your wire wrap.
Once I had these key points in mind, I started gathering pieces of chain (all slightly different lengths) and wire wrapped them together with a small bead cap on top. I was delighted with my results that remind me of an under water seaweed garden. What fashion trends have you adapted to suit your style?
Finish your Tassel with Bead Caps
Seaweed Garden Earrings
Silver Pendants are gorgeous. We all know that but did you realize they are good investments too? In this economy, every marketing angle you can get is valuable. Don’t forget to remind your customers that silver jewelry is a great investment! If you tune in to just about any investment oriented news broadcast, you will hear the pundits pushing gold. The reasoning goes that with a weak dollar, a weak Euro and most countries deep in debt, other investments are risky while gold will surely hold its value. The fact that precious metals have increased in price so dramatically in recent years helps feed the frenzy. On the flip side, there are many companies offering to pay cash for gold jewelry. I have even heard of women throwing parties where everyone brings their old jewelry and a broker cashes it in on the spot. (Don’t do it! You can get a better rate at Rio Grande)!
What you may not realize is that silver prices have increased alongside gold. Over the past 10 years gold has appreciated about 400% and silver is a close second at 360%. In many cultures silver and gold jewelry is a woman’s only source of financial security. In the US, we have many other options, but it is nice to know that our silver pendants and silver jewelry are good investments!
10 Year Gold Chart
10 Year Silver Chart
Over the past few weeks, we’ve added several new features that make shopping for jewelry supplies quicker and more efficient. Our new Express Order feature is for our repeat customers that know exactly what they want. Simply enter the style number and quantity, and the item is added directly to your cart-no more switching between pages! The Express Order feature can be accessed at the top right of every page on our website.
Repeat Customer? Try our Express Shopping Form.
Example of NEW Pop-Up Shopping Cart Window
We also simplified the process of adding items to your cart. Now, after an item is added to your cart, there is a brief pop-up window confirming that it’s been added. You remain on the same page, allowing you to continue shopping without having to go in and out of the shopping cart every time you add an item. This feature was something that many of you requested, and we can see why! It really improves the shopping experience. No more clicking back & forth.
Additional features are in the works – thanks for all your feedback. We value your opinion and work hard to give you what you want! What do you think of these changes? What other features would you like to see?
Here at Nina Designs, we believe in excellent service, including providing quality shipping options for our jewelry supplies. We have received questions from our International customers regarding International shipping rates and custom fees. Currently, US Postal Service International Express Mail is our only International Shipping method for $40.00.
Our $40 international shipping rate may be higher than some other on-line bead stores. Based on experience and customer feedback, we concluded that USPS Express Mail International is the safest and most efficient international shipping method for both our customers and our company. USPS Express Mail International has many great advantages. Packages are insured, delivery is guaranteed, the status of the package can be tracked with a tracking number, and the average number of days for delivery is 3-5 business days once it has left our facility. We have also learned from our customers that in many cases, customs fees are less expensive when shipping via USPS Express Mail International.
Some companies factor part of the shipping costs into the prices of their items. They can then offer lower shipping rates and still cover shipping costs because of the padding in their sales prices. Our items are priced as competitively as possible, without any additional padding for shipping costs.
While our past experiences using less expensive international shipping methods often resulted in seriously delayed packages, lost packages, a lengthy resolution process, and a lot of frustration, we are currently investigating other international shipping options. Our customers are important to us. We want to make sure we are providing top quality service all the way through from the initial design of an item to the receipt of your order.
Erin Strother won the drawing for telling us your favorite phrase for silver stamping blanks. Thanks to everyone who shared their favorite quotes to stamp onto silver charms. Erin likes to stamp pop culture sayings like “Beam me up Scotty,” because they make people laugh. Click here to see the original post and other favorite stamping quotes.
P.S. Erin, email me at juanita(at)ninadesigns(dot)com to claim your prize and tell me where I should ship it. Congratulations.
Prize: Boulder Beauty Necklace
Starting a Jewelry Business is often an idea that friends light upon together. Usually, they are friends who enjoy making jewelry together and find the idea of launching a joint commercial venture challenging and exciting. It feels like the natural extension of a fun hobby and a way to deepen and reinforce the friendship. When I am approached by friends at this stage, I always sit them down for “The Talk”. This is not the warm, fuzzy, encouraging pep talk they expect. Rather, I run them through various scenarios to test how well they have really thought through their endeavor.
Collaborating on designs is one of the best parts of partnerships
First, I ask if they are ready to marry each other. Not only that, but are they ready to marry into each others family? A partnership really is like a marriage. Everything you love about your partner will also drive you crazy. Everything that happens to your partner or their close family, also happens to you. If you think it is complicated running your own family, wait until you have to coordinate two families!
What happens if one partner gets divorced? Could an ex-spouse end up owning part of the business? What if a partner gets ill and can’t work anymore? What if one family is forced to move out of town? What if one person just decides they don’t want to do it anymore?
When those questions are answered it is time to move on to more practical issues. Do both partners agree on how many hours a week they can commit to work? Do they agree on how much money to invest in the venture and how much of the profits they will take out or reinvest? Do they have the same vision of how large they want to grow the company?
You get the idea. Partnerships sound appealing but they can actually strain if not end friendships. To avoid that, it is always better to ask the hard questions up front. If you are happy with the answers, go for it! But be sure to have a legal partnership agreement in place before you embark on your new adventure.
Designers, what is your experience with partnerships?
Deb Houston – you’re the winner of this beautiful selection of stamping blanks, jewelry links, and silver charms. Thanks so much to everyone who voted. We had a lot of fun reading everyone’s comments. In fact, we had so much fun, we decided to do this more often! See Leah’s blog entry below for another chance to win.
Deb's Prize!
The Winning Necklace! Thanks for your votes.
