EtsyMetal Blog Carnival - 9.5.11 - Etsy Metal Studio Tour

This month's EtsyMetal Blog Carnival topic is:

A Few Tips On Buying Handmade Jewelry
Share a few of your personal tips when it comes to the purchase of handmade art jewelry.

For a long time I didn't buy any one else's jewelry. Then I started trading and buying my friends' work.

Though it probably isn't necessarily advice on how to buy handmade jewelry, but for me, it is one of my criteria. If I wear something that will get a comment - I like for it to either be a piece I made or a piece a friend made and be able to advertise. It is great for people to know that the most amazing jewelry is handmade by a real person.

Other things I look for:

Uniqueness or trademark piece - sometimes the pieces just really speaks to me, other times I like getting a pieces that is very expressive of that artist's style, particularly when it is something that either I don't know how to do at all, or something I find to be really difficult (or annoying) to make!

Quality - of course! Who doesn't want quality craftsmanship?

Material is something that is important to me - I don't care for anything that is plated or "filled", just my own preference. I'd rather spend extra and great a really great quality piece, than spend less just to buy something I like the look of.

Those are the main things I look - not too complicated! It is a great perk of being part of a fabulous group of metalsmiths.

check out everyone else's tips/advice/buying preferences:

Danielle Miller-Gilliam - http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/
Rebecca Bogan - http://www.AdobeSol.com/blog
2Roses - http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
Inbar Bareket - http://www.inbarbareket.net/
Cynthia Del Giudice - http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com
Thomasin Durgin - http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
Nodeform - http://nodeform.blogspot.com/