Handcrafted vs Mass Quantity

Why we choose Artists over anything Manufactured...

Some of my friends have asked me "Why is the jewelry that you carry so much more expensive than what they carry at Target or Kohl's or any other discounted big box store". Well friends, we only carry jewelry made by artisans. Each piece is individually handcrafted in the artist's own studio and has taken many hours of sweat and time.

While some people like authentic and expensive handcrafted jewelry, others may simply want to stock their wardrobes with trendy and fashionable items. Honestly, both have their own pros and cons. Let’s try and compare both types of jewelry on the basis of their quality, durability and affordability.

Let’s begin with understanding what machine-made and handmade jewelry are and what makes them popular?

Most of the modern jewelry available today is manufactured using machines and hence is called machine-made jewelry. Jewelers today are preferring machines over artisans because machines copy exact and accurate jewelry design elements and produce a considerably large volume of high-end fashion–jewelry within no time. No wonder, they offer more variety, better finish and are easier on the pocket too thereby offering better profits to the jewelers.

Talking about the authentic handmade jewelry, it is carefully handcrafted by skilled artisans after putting in hours of labor to produce intricate designs using age-old methods. Though not as well-finished as machine-made jewelry,handmade jewelry is highly valued and priced for the art and skill that has been put in during its preparation. Handmade jewelry has a special charm and elegance to it and hence makes for a perfect gift for someone special.

Machine made jewelry whether precious, semi-precious or low-end materials are often fashionable and offer beautiful range of designs and finishes to choose from. However beautiful it might appear initially, it can easily wear down. And, repairing machine-made jewelry is difficult and often leaves ugly scars only to leave your precious item worthless. Finishes and polishes that make this jewelry attractive, are actually a limitation when it needs to be repaired. The polish burns easily and causes irreparable damage to the articles. Recycling the metals then is almost impossible and cannot be considered an investment. However, if you know how to maintain your precious things well, nothing promises more variety and elegance than extremely beautiful, fashionable and guaranteed machine-made jewelry.

Authentic handmade silver and gold jewelry fitted with precious, semiprecious or Swarovski crystals have always been coveted by designers and consumers alike. Handmade jewelry is an investment and can easily be repaired whenever required often with minimum effort. The metals and stones can be recycled or rearranged into a new design altogether at considerably low costs when compared to purchasing a new machine-made jewelry item in the event of an irreparable damage to the article. Beautiful , authentic and specially handcrafted fashionable jewelry can be manufactured using almost all metals and gemstone combinations. Handmade jewelry gives you best value for money. However, skilled artisans are required to create and repair these beautiful pieces of art.

In summary, is there a better way between trendy fashion jewelry and handcrafted? I think so, which is why our websites support crafters. Handcrafted is a dying art that we choose to support. All of our designs on our website are truly unique pieces and you can see the love and man hours involved in creating each piece. Another interesting fact is that handcrafted jewelry can be melted down and recycled when you're done with it, which is on just about every consumer's mind these days. We are now carrying a whole section dedicated to recycled jewelry.
But more on that later.....

Parts of this article were excerpted from Rob Colburn

Don't Forget Mom This Year Kids!

Put Your Best Foot Forward for Mom

Excerpted from MothersDayCentral.com

1. Do Your Homework. Mother’s Day falls on Sunday, so why not get your homework out of the way early in the weekend so you can spend Sunday with Mom?
2. With some planning, you can dedicate a good grade in school to Mom. Work extra hard on a school project or paper or tell her you earned that good grade for all the help she’s given you.
3. Clean your room. She’s nagged you and nagged you. Make the chore part of your gift to Mom on Mother’s Day.
4. Mom’s Day Off. Plan a Mother’s Day in which Mom is completely off the hook. If you’re old enough to drive, be her chauffer for the day. If she normally does housework on Sunday, take over the chores for her special day.
5. Wash Mom's car. Scrub the exterior and vacuum the interior for a unique and impromptu Mother’s Day gift.
6. Give her car a tune-up. If you’re an older child with driving privileges, take Mom’s care for an oil-change.

Help Mom Relax and De-Stress

7. Set Mom’s mood with candles. In the morning light an aromatherapy candle in her bedroom or bathroom. In the evening light a richly scented candle in the kitchen or living room.
8. In addition to candles, why not urge Mom to take time for a bubble bath? Don’t interrupt her with chores or questions about dinner, but deliver her a good book, a cozy robe and run a hot bath, complete with candles and her favorite bath oils, salts or bubble bath.

Create a Special Homemade Gift

9. Draw or paint Mom a picture. Whether it’s a kindergarten crayon drawing or a college art studio object d’art, Mom will proudly display your work.
10. Plan a Skit. Get siblings together and plan and act out a short humorous skit that honors Mom. Playfully re-enact a memorable family event, a funny camping trip, or a time when Mom did something especially caring or courageous. A comic sketch can tactfully and light-heartedly poke fun at Mom’s quirky traits while letting her know how much you enjoy and appreciate her as a Mother.
11. Play Mom your own Music. If you play an instrument, love to sing, write your own songs or even play other peoples’ songs, then consider performing for Mom on Mother’s Day. Whether you’re studying for the conservatory, or simply like to jam with a local garage band, Mom will be touched by the effort you’ve devoted to composing and practicing a piece in her honor.

Use Food to Win Her Heart

12. Fix Mom a fresh Mother’s Day smoothie. Choose a simple smoothie recipe and surprise Mom with an early morning fruit rush. For simpler fruit fare, squeeze fresh oranges for an elegant morning juice glass.
13. Bake a cake. Does Mom like fancy desserts? Choose a cake recipe that will surprise her—not your average run of the mill yellow box cake, either.

Show Her How Much She’s Loved

14. Balloon Poetry. Hang balloons around the house with personal, thoughtful messages written on them. Be specific. Think of Mom’s positive characteristics, and the nice things she does for you. TIP: Instead of writing something generic like “Happy Mother’s Day,” try something like “Thank you for being there at our baseball games” or “We love the delicious dinners you cook for us.”
15. Free Mom to spend time with Dad. Older siblings—take your younger sisters and brothers out to a movie, walk in the park, or on an extended day trip so that Mom and Dad can enjoy quality time together on Mother’s Day.
16. Mother’s Day Essay. Write about what Mom means to you, what she does for you, and what makes her a great Mother.
17. Tell Mom something nice about her. Did someone say something nice about Mom? Whether it was a neighbor, friend or even a family member, let her know about it.
18. Give Mom a Mother’s Day hug. You can’t get much simpler or sincere than this.

User Submissions:

19. Put messages in balloons or sticky notes around the house, telling mom to look in certain hiding places for little surprises
    

From a Distance:

20. Call Mom and spend more than your perfunctory couple of minutes with her. She’s wanted to know all about you, so share your week’s exploits, highlights of your job, boss gripes, favorite wines, good movies, favorite coffee shop, current date, etc. She’s dying to know.
21. Write Mom a thoughtful handwritten letter. Tell her all the same you’d tell her over the phone, but choose a pretty piece of notepaper or a card and write it yourself. The handwritten note is fast becoming a rare gift.

Want something more personalized? Check out all the handcrafted jewelry for mom at LiveLoveGoods.com
http://www.livelovegoods.com/mothers-day.html