A New Beginning

Finally, after 12 months things have settled down, the move to the Central coast has been made, we've moved out of Morisset Markets and into a temporary shed for our stock and sales can now be made. please contact me on 0434288035 or through info@mecreative.com.au to arrange a time evenings or weekends.
We still carry our full range including the Ename Bead Makin Kits and enamels, beads of all description BUT now at an even lower price, we again have changed our sources to bring better breads at better prices ans so are truely a Discout Beads supplier

lack of items

Due to a number of reasons the blogg has fallen behind so just a quick catch up.
The major event has been a move of our market stor, we have moved operations to Morisset Mega Market on the Central Coast, Morisset is about 40 minutes north of Sydney and 35 minutes south of Newcastle just off the F3 Expressway, and we are there every Saturday, Sunday and Monday public holidays. All our usual low prices and varied stock. the same offer to bring items listed on the web page can be brought to the markets if you wish by contacting us at info@mecreative.com.au before thursday afternoon, as currently we are still in Queanbeyan but drive up to Morisset Fridays and back Mondays
We are still able to supply our buyers in the A.C.T. for the time being between Tuesdays and Thusdays until further notice by appointment..
New to all those interested in enamel bead making, I've posted up an introductory free video on making enamel beads, at http://www.mecreative.com.au/g/6628/free-video-page.html enjoy and if you need more information contack me at info@mecreative.com.au

Selling Your Jewellery Part 2

Part 2 Selling Your Jewellery

What do you need to sell at a craft fair?Craft fairs aren’t the right venue for everyone. If you are going to work the craft fair circuit you need the following skills:

• Do you enjoy contact with the public? If you would prefer to work in the studio, rather than have contact with people, you might not enjoy craft festivals. In fairs and festivals, you’ll have a steady stream of people that you must make small talk with – if the idea makes you nauseous, this might not be the best choice
• Are you willing to work weekends and evenings? There’s no getting around it – most fairs and festivals are scheduled Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays, It can be hard to do if you are responsible for another job or have a family dependent on you.

How do you find craft, art fairs and festivals?You are probably familiar with some of the local craft fairs. But there are many small fairs that you may be unfamiliar with, or large fairs in other cities, states or regions.

There are several fair guides available for purchase and a variety of websites that list the up and coming arts and craft festivals.

Some magazines include: Markets and Fairs

• Magazine. http://www.marketsandfairs.com.au/Index.html
• To Market To Market. News Agents, book shops
• Community Papers

Check with your local Chamber of Commerce; many small fairsare planned in conjunction with the chambers of commerce.Craft Fair ListingsThe average craft fair ad gives a great deal of information about the festival and what you can expect from it. Most ads contain:

• The name of the festival
• The contact name and number
• The date of the festival
• The cost to participate

Most of the information is fairly self-explanatoryJust remember, get there early. Don't set up till you're shown where, and remember the organizers are usually busy getting things set up

Selling Your Jewellery

Part 1 Selling Your Jewellery

If you’ve thought of selling your bead jewelry, there are a number of options you could pursue. ·
You can sell through arts and craft markets

• Display your work at consignment shops/galleries ·
• Sell your work wholesale to boutiques through trade shows ·
• Sell your work through your own Internet site ·
• Sell your work through an auction site (eBay, RubyLane, Yahoo)

There are other business options to pursue as well: ·

• Teaching beading classes ·
• Start your own bead store ·
• Sell beading supplies and beads through the Internet Arts and Craft directories and malls

Craft and art fairs or festivals are routinely held throughout most communities. These local fairs are markets where local artists can display their work and sell to the general public.
You can find a variety of craft festivals: small markets that are sponsored by charitable organizations, or large art festivals. Smaller markets tend to have less expensive entry fees, but they also draw smaller crowds. Large markets may have high entry fees, but have great advertising and draw large crowds. Craft markets and vexpos are the perfect environment for testing your products. Participating in craft and art festivals helps your business by: ·

• Giving you an opportunity to meet customers face-to-face. ·
• Figure out ways to display your products in the most appealing way. ·
• Find out what your customer’s buying preferences are. ·
• Research how accurately your products are priced. ·
• Find out what your competitors are making. ·
• Build up an inventory of your jewelry for display before events.

It’s possible to make a full-time living working the craft show circuit. But, it’s not a guaranteed business. You will have to travel a lot and find the best shows. Sometimes you’ll find a show is great one year, and not so great the next year. Some of the factors that affect success of a fair are: ·

• Event promotion– how well was the market promoted, are the market coordinators experienced? ·
• Attendance – check the market's past history. Is it a small venue, does it have a history of less than quality artisans - all affect the overall attendance. ·
• Timing – some seasons are better than others for selling arts and crafts: summer, before the holidays, or mother’s day -- all good times to participate in a fair.

April through till September are typically the down times, but this depends on the weather and the part of the country you are in, when there are fewer markets and those that are scheduled will likely draw smaller crowds. ·

Weather – you can’t control the weather and unfortunately, it can affect sales at craft fairs, even if the fair is in an indoor venue.

I hope this will get you thinking and looking around.

Next we'll look at what you need to get up and running

Selling Jewellery

So You Want Make Money.

Although you may not make a lot of money selling jewellery, you will be able to continue making jewellery and getting new beads by selling custom jewellery.
Over the next few weeks I'll be giving out some tips to help you avoid a few common mistakes and maybe make your path into the world of markets and malls just a bit easier, so check these pages regularly. Although the information applies to a small corner of east Australia, the ideas should work just about anywhere.

Enamel Beads

Enamel Beading Kits

Well the enamel beading kits have been popular, so if you are interested take a look at our website http://www.mecreative.com.au there are still kits available, and also can be pre-ordered to take advantage of a saving to arrive ready for Christmas

Enamel Bead Making

Make your own Enamel Beads

Thanks to our new Enamel Bead Making kits you can now make your very own beads, in colours and shapes that you want and need, no longer looking for that one unique bead to start or finish your project, just make your own.
Have jewellery that only you can make, using simple methods to produce stunning, one off beads or a matching but totally unique combination of enamel beads that only you have.
You can create your own distinctive style which will instantly identify you as the creator. Enamels come in such vibrant colours that the combinations are endless and limited only by your own creativity.
And the best part....IT'S SO EASY!!!
Take a look at our brief tutourial to see just how easy it is

http://www.mecreative.com.au/g/3001/beading-projects.html

Wholesale Beads ??

So You're Buying "Wholesale beads" ha!

Having been there and got the tee-shirt to prove it, I know there's wholesalers and then there's "wholesalers".
Real wholesalers don't sell to the public, no fancy signs promising "wholesale prices" if you spend $200 or more, sure you get beads cheaper than the retailers sell for but after shopping around on the net you'll find many online stores selling at even less and no limits to sale sizes, remember to get real wholesale prices you need to be able to sustain a very high turn over, otherwise you just went out to buy a strand of beads and have had to get an additional dozen more just to get a supposed "wholesale price", there are places out there that will sell at a reasonable price, but you shouldn't have to meet a price limit.

Enamel Bead Making

Enamel Bead Making Kits

AT LAST! After spending many months of negotiating, we are happy to announce the arrival of our enamel bead making kits.These kits would make the ideal Christmas gift for the beader who has everything or who would just like to take their beading to the next level.
Imagine being able to create a special bead to complement your jewellry!, create unique pieces using beads you've made yourself. Well, now you can. Very quickly and easily too.The kits are easy to use and a lot of fun.Unlike lampworking, these beads very rarely get stuck to the mandrel, don't need annealing in a kiln and are ready to use in as little as 3 hours.
Our kits contain:- banding wheel, 4 enamels, flux, mandrel handle, two (2) tips, bead shaping marver, propane bottle clamp and 1meter copper tubing.The kits are available at the special introductory price of $100 plus postage until the end of October.
You can also preorder the kits at this special price for Christmas provided you order in October.After October, the kits will retail for $120.00 plus postage.If you are unsure whether you would be able to make these beads, please view our tutorial under the Free Downloads or send an email to info@mecreative.com.au