Carla Van Blake-Bizzett

Tell us your story.

I have always loved jewelry. My Mom used to experiment with taking old strings of beads and restringing them. I loved to watch her and later when I worked in the Peace Corps in Mali, I spent many hours watching the gold smiths work their craft. I dabbled in making it over the years but never took it seriously as an income generating activity until about a year ago. I could not afford the initial investment because I had very little spare money so I started with what I could find and afford. I was looking for a reasonable source of materials online one day and found this site. I was amazed at the wealth of information that was available here. I looked at all of the free designs, instructions and ideas, ordered supplies and tools and started making jewelry. At first just for myself and then as gifts for friends. I participated in the online competitions and won some free materials which helped me continue on my limited budget. Now I am making and selling custom jewelry and I can finally afford to buy some video courses. Preston's techniques have helped me improve my craftsmanship and produce better quality items. This site has been a huge blessing to me and I would never have been able to get started in making and selling jewelry without it.

Where do you sell your jewelry? Do you have any tips on selling there?

My niche market is the Christian community. I call my jewelry line, "Wear Your Witness". I sell my jewelry at Christian women's groups through my church and its affiliates, house parties and a few craft shows. I donate 30% of my sales to a homeless ministry here in Southern CA. I know that this is an unusual approach and it may sound crazy, but when I decided to donate to the ministry is when my sales really started to grow. People loved the idea of helping others with their purchase and it actually works very well as a promotion. That was not my original intention, but it just worked out that way. I give God the glory for my ideas and for my success with them. I also made up a catalog that I give out to potential customers. This has been my most useful marketing tool. I print it out or distribute it as a PDF file by email. I use the free album available on this site also to showcase new pieces. It generates interest and is really easy to distribute by email to a lot of people.

What's your biggest selling piece and why?

I make predominantly Christian theme jewelry. What I sell depends on who I am selling to. I do well with high end earrings and necklace sets, with women's groups. At craft shows I sell more small items like rings, earrings and pins. Items priced below $50. I have more time with women's groups to talk about the fund-raising aspect and the ministry I donate to, so I think people are more willing to spend on larger items. At shows I have less time to talk to people. I do take a portable DVD player and show a fund-raising video that I made that explains the homeless ministry activities. The video and posters of the happy recipients of the ministry's services keeps people at my table longer and they actually look for something to buy to help out. My catalog also really helps to sell custom made items. Customers look at it for ideas and then tell me what they want.

What one piece of advice can you give to other aspiring jewelry makers?

Be original, creative and don't be afraid to try new techniques and ideas. You just may stumble upon something unique that may sell very well. Find a niche market for your jewelry where you are not competing with a million other jewelry makers. Keep track of your costs and keep good records of all expenses like materials, tools, mileage, display boxes, receipt books, bags, boxes, etc. Keeping records can help you estimate pricing more accurately. Cost is not just how much you spend on materials but the overall investment and your time.

Have you quit your day job yet? Can you give us any idea how much income your jewelry is making?

Not yet but I hope to someday soon. Right now it is helping me pay off my debts so that I can afford to live cheaper and it is raising funds for my favorite ministry. I have sold over $3000 of jewelry last year and I didn't really sell my first piece until March.

What would you say to someone that might be hesitant to invest in Preston's course?

Get it! You cannot find better instruction anywhere else for the money. Even if you think you already know about wire sculpting, these courses are still a valuable resource to improve your techniques and learn faster, better ways of creating pieces. They are so much better than classes because you can go over them repeatedly and pause the DVD to follow along.

Has jewelry making changed your life in any way?

It has become a great portable means of generating income and many pleasant hours of creative activity. Not to mention that it has given me the means of getting myself out of debt!

Do you sell any of your work on line or on Ebay? Do you do well there?

No. I have talked to other jewelry makers who tried it and they have not had a great deal of success on eBay or selling from a website. People like to touch it, look at it and try it on. You can't do this online. You are also competing with tons of other artists. I use my website as a gallery.

What's your plan for the future?

I plan to continue making and selling jewelry until I can't anymore. I am close to completing a resource book for beginning jewelry makers and this site is one of my main references in the book. I would like to continue doing workshops locally and eventually pod cast my classes online. I would like to teach others to use jewelry sales as a fund-raising activity for missions and outreach work. I have already made contact with an orphanage mission in the Ukraine that is interested in teaching teenagers how to make and sell jewelry to raise funds for their orphanage. Eventually, I would like to make this my retirement business.