How to Display Beads?

I dont have any great ideas for you but the folks in rec.crafts.beads might be able to help you. Diana

sorry.. didnt notice the cross posting... i need chocolate... lol Diana

I've never sold beads, but as an avid buyer, my favorite way to see beads is standing upright! I love the displays where they have pegs stuck upright in blocks, and the beads stacked on the pegs.

If you're talking about non-lampwork beads, I like the checkerboard-type setup, where all the beads are laid out flat, so I can see them all at the same time. My favorite LBS has a setup like this (the only reason they are my favorite!); the price per bead is on a sticker that is stuck to the inside of the the little square partition, which makes me buy MORE, because it tricks me into thinking I am spending very little money;o) I see $0.08 per bead, and buy 20 of 'em, with $0.08 in my mind, LOL. Doesn't bother me, though, because when I get home, I still think, "well, sure it cost me DOLLARS, but it was only CENTS per bead."

I'm also much more apt to buy from a booth that has some example pieces of made jewelry in them. I was just at a show today, and I sniffed out every single jewelry vendor, looking for beads (there was TONS of jewelry, NO beads, and all the venders were snotty--guess that's what I get for going window shopping in Beverly Hills).

Good luck!

HI Kyla,

Ohh... I had never thought of that. I'll have to make sure I can make some beads that are worthy of such treatment. How many beads tall are the stacks? I'll have to find something about 2 mm in diameter that I could slide beads onto.

I'll have to work on pricing. I tend to let my 'partner' do my pricing. She manages to sell things at a much better price than I'd ever manage.

I'll try to talk someone into making some finished jewelry for me. One of the reasons I sell beads is because I never seem to actually make anything with them!

Here is what I made today... just working on some inventroy and we shall see what happens! Thanks!

Nan

February. I

need something so

thinking of little

consider if I can

have to bag

similar beads in

From the local jeweler supply store I got a velvet box. It works well but they are still flat. I went back to the same supplier and got a kind of neat ridged display tray that fits in the same sized box but at least the beads are then displayed on an angle. I also have two glass-enclosed boxes I bought from Hallmark that look really nice but people are often uncertain whether they should open the cases. That has positive and negative aspects because I find people are more likely to buy if they can fondle the merchandise but because beads are so small it is easier for them to disappear so my real "keepers" are safer where I can invite someone to look more closely at the beads and give them the whole spiel about how they are made and stuff.

Another thing that people are doing locally is to put the beads in trays of rice. The rice supports the beads on their edges and gives sort of a neat background. The only drawback is that they can get sunk in the rice not to mention the clean-up of rice grains if you have a spill.

Also, I recommend halogen lamps shining on your beads because it really adds a brightness and sparkle to them.

And remember a mirror if you do your own earrings!! People like to hold earrings up and look at them next to their ears.

- Sandy

Pretty! I like the lemon slice ones! Way cool...

OK, I know this sounds tacky, but coat hangers are skinny enough to use for this, for most beads anyway. They're easy to bend and twist, too. You can bend a loop for a steady base, then run the rest of the hanger up to slide beads on, or make a spiral, or a series of loops, or whatever. They don't look bad painted (to disguise their humble origins).

I've seen several displays where they have

2 pieces of wood standing upright attached to a base. The uprights are about a foot apart. There are notches cut in the uprights every couple of inches. The notches are cut into the wood on a downward angle. Fairly heavy gauge wire is laid across into the slots. Beads are threaded onto the wires. Each row can be priced separately. Each end of the wire has a small cap or cork on it so when you pick up a wire to look at the beads, they don't all slide off the end. But you can remove the cork or cap to take beads off the wire. That way a buyer can turn the bead on the wire to see all sides, but the beads are hard to steal. Plus they don't get banged up. To pack up, just lift the wires off the stands and lay them in a padded box. Then off you go. It's a nice way to showcase the good stuff. Barbara Dream Master

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~~ Albert Camus