Gift Ideas for Jewelry Makers
Anne's 2004 List

I have a list of general jewelry making gift ideas, complete with descriptions of why particular items make great gifts. However, a general list isn't sufficient for the jewelry maker who has been making jewelry for a while! My husband tells me he feels uncomfortable buying from a general list because he is afraid he will get the wrong thing. I think a lot of people close to beaders, wire workers, and other jewelrymakers feel the same way. This is my itemized list for 2004 of specific gift ideas, based on what's 'in' right now and what interests me personally. Take a look at the list and use it to write up your own specific, personalized list.

• Swarovski Faceted Crystal Cubes - Tops my list. Too expensive for me to casually buy for myself, yet always appreciated. There are less expensive alternatives (e.g., Celestial Crystal), but you can't beat the sparkle and precision of Swarovski! The less expensive beads have a definite hand-crafted appearance, however, which goes nicely with hand-crafted wire (e.g., wire wrapping, chain maille). Machine-cut Swarovski could look out-of-place in such pieces.

• Sea Opals - This is just opalescent glass, but I love the play of color. If you like opal glass, now is the time to get these beads, while the choice of colors and cuts is huge because of the glass' popularity. Popularity has increased the price of opal glass over past years, but the selection is awesome.

• Colored 'Quartz' - and other glass-based imitation gemstones. I'm especially fond of the newer aqua and green color. These stones and beads are glass that is supposed to resemble an often-fictional gemstone. Color range and selection is great, price is somewhat higher than you would normally pay for glass... just be sure you understand that these are glass and not natural!

• Carved Gems - I picked up a great laser-carved dragon for my birthday. This year you can find an awesome array of hand-, machine-, and laser-carved bone, shell, gems, and glass. I like the intricacy of the carvings and the larger sizes. These make great focal points for pieces of jewelry.

• 4-lb Fireline - If I didn't already have 10-lb Power Pro, that would be my choice. The 4-lb Fireline is thin enough even for size 15 seed beads, yet strong and non-stretch. Some sporting goods stores carry these fluoropolymer fishing lines; otherwise, they can be ordered directly from the manufacturer websites.

• Chinese Dragon Findings - and beads and carvings, etc. Chinese dragons are easy to find this year, in a wide variety of designs. In years past it has been relatively difficult to find them.

• Precious Metal Wire - ah, silver is expensive this year! For that matter, so are the other precious metals. However, this is one of the reasons this wire makes a great gift. It's something you might feel guilty about buying for yourself.

• Macrame Cords - hemp, linen, various satin cords. Macrame and hemp jewelry are enjoying a revival. It's a great time to find materials for this skill, in colors that weren't seen back in the 1970s.

• Torch for Soldering, with Sterling Silver Solder - a small torch and fuel are inexpensive, although you may need to order the solder from a source that specializes in jewelry supplies. This is a nice gift to get someone interested in soldering, but afraid to make the investment in tools and materials.

• Books - really, not a gift anyone can get me, since I get the books I want as soon as they are published. Even so, I keep a personal wish list of books yet-to-be-released that I will want and there are some older titles that I'm always looking for. Here's a list of reviews, in case you are looking for a new title to add to your personal library. I highly recommend any of the Japanese jewelrymaking books on this reviewed list. Magazine subscriptions are another great gift, although you should know whether or not a person has a pre-existing subscription when considering this potential gift.

• Artist-Made Components - beads, findings, etc. As I mentioned with carvings, there are lots of artist-made pieces available right now. A special bead or customized clasp can make a perfect gift. I don't buy these for myself (I suspect many jewelrymakers don't or make them gifts to themselves) because of the expense.

I hope some of these ideas have stirred your imagination so that when someone asks you what you want for a gift-giving occasion, you can respond with a specific suggestion. If you aren't the type to ask someone what he or she wants, then perhaps this list can give you some ideas of what a jewelrymaker might want this year.

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