Random Craft Ideas , Lead in Jewelry Act, Craft shows

With March coming to a close, I've started noticing a change in the trends with jewelry, at least in the glass bead and beach glass categories. I guess this could be the Etsy-syndrome.

There are so many more sellers on Etsy than when I first started and that is less than one year ago! First of all glass bead supplies sell-out so quick in recent months. Factor in California's recent legislature limiting the amount of lead in supplies and it's not hard to see why some suppliers move their merchandise so rapidly.

Many suppliers have yet to conform to the Lead in Jewelry Act and haven't listed lead amounts on their packaging. Many companies have yet to respond to emails concerning lead amounts, which scares me into wondering exactly how much lead they have in their products or if they are even aware of the amounts.

With Beach Glass or sea glass as it's also called, I have found prices of jewelry quality pieces to have doubled, even tripled over the last 2 months. Especially when the pieces are already drilled. There have also been quite a bit of "lots" of drilled beach glass, advertised as jewelry-quality, being sold. Many of the lots have pieces that don't really look "jewelry-quality", but I guess that's my opinion. I wonder if many suppliers have gone through much of their jewelry quality supply and are taking advantage of the Etsy-Syndrome... more demand than actual supply, so drill it and say it's for jewelry.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not finding the quality of glass beads or beach glass that I found only 6 short months ago. Perhaps the combo of California's "Lead in Jewelry" law and the large amount of jewelry makers now on Etsy have contributed to the best glass beads being bought up quickly. The same goes for beach glass, a supply where I had minimal competition until recently.

I've also found quite a bit of competition on the beach the last few months, as people have been braving the cold, windy NJ weather to search for glass. The ocean hasn't been giving up too many pieces in recent weeks and the ones that are actually jewelry quality are few and far between. Who knows how much more is really sitting in the ocean, waiting for it's chance to be beached. I could really foresee a day when the rare colors will be very expensive to buy, either as a raw piece or already as part of a jewelry creation.

I have 2 craft shows on tap for the early spring....

The first will be in Forked River on April 13th at the Lacey High School. Promoting for the show has already begun. The promoters have placed huge signs around town more than 2 weeks in advance of the show, which is exciting to see! Their fall show is usually an excellent show, so I'm hoping for a nice sized turnout for the spring show.

The 2nd show will be in Manahawkin, at the Southern Regional High School on May 2. The show they have in the fall is also very popular and hopefully, the spring show will be no different.

If anyone is going to either show, please stop by, if you see my table , and say Hi! I love meeting Etsy members and those that read my blog!

Also, goodbye to the piece pictured above... it's on it's way to a new home in Washington !!

Til next time...

R