Discontinued blog

I will no longer update this blog. For jewelry related articles, features, tutorials, ads and more, see my magazine's website:

Design Jewelry and Accessories Magazine.

If you want to be featured on the blog, please write me an email. You can find it in the About page on the DJAM blog.

Product photography tutorial

I am copying this same post from my bigger photography blog, The I Inside.

I see many many shops out there, most of them have great items, but they need a learn a few tricks about improving their photos. I wrote this tutorial a while ago, for my magazine, Design Jewelry and Accessories and I thought I could publish it here too.

Good luck!!

Hammer!

I just bought a small jewelry hammer... This is one of my first designs using hammered silver:

earrings with pink chalcedony.

Amber

A few years ago I had barely heard of amber... I didn't think it too valuable. But of course, I had only seen quite dark, boring looking amber, with little or no inclusions. It just looked a bit like plastic to me.

And then I moved to the North and I saw the real natural Baltic Amber... 

Baltic amber is considered to be the best variety of amber. Baltic amber is usually of a yellow, honey-like color, but may occur in many shades from pale yellow to dark brown. White pieces with a yellowish or bony tint, as well as green and even blue amber are rare.

See them in my Amber Collection.

Design Jewelry and Accessories

Design Jewelry and Accessories Magazine is now available through the website as well!

http://designjewelryaccessories.com/

Eva's Boutique

My mother has always created beautiful things. She has made clothes for me and for my friends, from silk pajamas, to fancy evening gowns and even wedding dresses. Recently she has started making large necklaces from gemstones and Baltic Amber. I have helped her set up her own Etsy shop. You will find gorgeous statement necklaces and beautiful antiques. 

There is a 20% sale from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Use BLACKFRI12 code at checkout.

Black Friday

Check out a Black Friday SALE on my shop! Get 20% off your order! Use code BLFRD2012 at checkout! Click the photo below to go to the shop:

My New Magazine - Design Jewelry and Accessories

I have been working quite hard during recent weeks on getting a new magazine out. It is called Design Jewelry and Accessories Magazine

I am starting this new magazine with a desire to present beautiful original jewelry and accessory designs from all over the world, as well as some tips for online marketing for web shops.

 Each issue will include a few main features, jewelry and accessories. It will also address beginner tips for making your own jewelry and online shops where you can buy supplies.

Design Jewelry and Accessories issue #1 features as main designer Pasi Torkkeli, from Finland. On the cover of the first issue you can see the necklace worn by Tarja Turunen (ex Nightwish singer) in the video I Walk Alone. The first issue has a total of 64 pages.

Check it out and tell your friends! For a limited time only, the first issue is available for download for 99c!!

Online marketing: ongoing

Another online marketing strategy is buying ads through Google, but not using the search ads. Instead, making your ad appear on partner sites. Some of these sites have thousands and thousands of viewers per day. The major advantage of this solution is the reduced cost-per-click for your ad.

You can control this in the campaign settings tab -> Networks and Devices. Then pick Let me choose and just uncheck Google Search.

I currently am running an ad of this kind, for both byVellamo.com shop, as well as byVellamo Etsy shop. I will keep it running for a few days or couple of weeks and return to this blog with conclusions.

Jewelry supplies

On my last trip to Romania, I came across a few suppliers of gemstones at the Christmas market. The stones come from Romania and I liked their quality very much so I bought a bunch. 

You can see them in my brand new supplies shop. You will find gemstones, shells, beautiful original Murano glass beads with silver foil or gold foil and various other beads.

I will add more supplies there as I discover new ones and get new orders from the ones I already bought from. That can take a while, since they are not at all present on the internet.

Valentine special, Tea, Anyone?

Special Valentine offer for all my Etsy items: FREE worldwide shipping until Feb 14th! Use the code VALENTINE before checking out via Paypal. I ship using First class International air mail, which delivers items within about 7 working days.

Check out my Valentine's Day collection, "Tea, anyone?", designed and handmade in Finland using Sterling silver and delicate miniature porcelain teacups, teapots.

Etsy

After some browsing around and some thinking, I have joined an online community called Etsy. 

If you haven't heard of it, it is a community where people buy and sell handmade, vintage and supplies products. If you have heard of it, I would love to hear about your experiences and what you think about it. 

I have browsed some shops there and the artwork looks really nice and the prices are really good too. And the fact that you can pay with Paypal only makes it better. 

This small shop will be completely separate from byVellamo and the items I will sell there will be exclusive and one-of-a-kind or limited editions designed and handmade by myself. I will add some of my own designs to byVellamo, but in that case they will not be available on Etsy.

You can check it out and tell me what you think:

Jewelry set with Swarovski Pearls

I just made this set of ear-rings and pendant using a few Swarovski crystals and Swarovski Crystal Pearls.

Making

The pearls used in the Swarovski Fashion Jewelry collection are simulated pearls and are not natural. Crystal Pearls by Swarovski are pearls made with a crystal core. Their unparalleled harmonious and lustrous shimmer is achieved using a unique coating technology developed by Swarovski. It is the first production method in the world to combine the quality of a perfect crystal core with the exquisite beauty of a pearl coating.

Benefits 

Many simulated pearls offer some drawbacks. Contact with perfume or perspiration can cause plastic imitation pearls to lose their pearl coating. Because faux pearls are easily scratched, cleaning them can be challenging. Swarovski pearls, on the other hand, are washable and are not susceptible to damage from perfume or perspiration. They are also resistant to scratches. 

Qualities 

And as is the case with genuine, cultured pearls, the temperature of Swarovski pearls changes to reflect the temperature of the wearer's skin. Because this quality is one reason jewelry lovers cherish genuine pearls, the realistic color, luster and feel of Swarovski crystal pearls are major selling points. 

Coming soon

About Murano

The whole purpose in starting the business is to bring jewelry which is not widely available in Finland. I have spent long hours combing the search results online and the shops in different cities in Finland and I have discovered that, with the exception of a few major companies, who have their own factories and designs, most of the shops around here have very similar jewelry to each other.

I have discovered by asking around in shops, that they don't have or have not heard of Murano glass.

(photo: wikipedia)

Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) across with a population of just over 5,000. It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking.
Murano’s reputation as a center for glassmaking was born when the Venetian Republic, fearing fire and the destruction of the city’s mostly wooden buildings, ordered glassmakers to move their foundries to Murano in 1291. Murano glass is still associated with Venetian glass.
Murano's glassmakers were soon numbered among the island’s most prominent citizens. By the 14th century, glassmakers were allowed to wear swords, enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the Venetian state, and found their daughters married into Venice’s most affluent families. While benefiting from certain statutory privileges, glassmakers were forbidden to leave the Republic.
Murano’s glassmakers held a monopoly on high-quality glassmaking for centuries, developing or refining many technologies including crystalline glass, enameled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass. Today, the artisans of Murano still employ these centuries-old techniques, crafting everything from contemporary art glass and glass jewelry to Murano glass chandeliers and wine stoppers.
The oldest Murano glass factory that is still active today is that of Pauly & C. – Compagnia Venezia Murano, founded in 1866.

(photo: wikipedia)

The Murano jewelry currently on the website contains original Murano glass from Venice, with silver filigree inside, which gives the glass a nice shine.

Supplies

Swarovski crystals beads, Murano glass, Swarovski pearls, cherry quarts gemstone beads, prehnite gemstone beads, coral beads, Swarovski pendants.

Purpose

I start this blog with the purpose of testing and analyzing different online and offline marketing options which I personally tested on my jewelry web shop and write about them here. If any of you find this useful or have some comments, I would love to hear about your own experience.

I will also try to keep track of designing and making jewelry techniques and add useful links which I might come across while browsing the web.

So, welcome to byVellamo blog!