News from www.indoexpo.com

New Bead and Clasp Designs in Silver:

Throughout the past holiday season, and continuing through the new year, we are still introducing new cutting edge designs. Noteworthy additions to our catalog can be found in the following categories:

• BEAD CAPS Several new silver bead caps that can be easily bent to wrap around stone beads. Popular sizes and motifs abound. All of the new silver bead caps are very lightweight.
• OTHER CLASPS There's a few great decorative silver hook clasps available now. These are selling well, and can be used on the ends of necklaces.
• DESIGNER SILVER BEADS More great stuff added to this category. I can't stop making nice beads. In particular, check out the beads that are strung top side drilled. They make great pendants as well. I really like the new stuff there.
• LARGE HOLES Popular bracelets are using all sorts of large-holed beads. I've made several of them. Check out the bust of Jesus, Buddha, and other fancy beads for your screw-on chain bracelet.

Of course, you can look at all the additions we've made to the site at once by clicking the NEW DESIGNS category.

In the works for March:

• A variety of extremely cool silver box clasps. I'm making these very special. They'll be light, decorative, and work every time. No jiggly clips that lose their spring or fall out easily. When these hit the market, I hope it'll shake things up a bit. Most of the box clasps I come across aren't made very well, and I've re engineered the mechanisms for longevity.
• Links of chain. Chain has been a popular substitute for stringing beads, and there are many varieties out there now sold in many ways. I'm working on making chain links that are not just shapes (ovals, rings, etc) but are shapes that have decorations on them. Check out sku F0226 to get an idea of what I mean. F0226 is a simple silver decorated ring, but the chain possibilities for ideas like this are limitless. Multilinks, various lengths, shapes, varying thicknesses......look for a separate category for my special chain in March. Chain will likely be sold by the inch-strands; either 3 inch strands or 5 inch strands, with a small ring on the end to tie onto. Uncut lengths 10ft long may also be an option.

Introducing Beautiful Bronze!:

The rising price of silver has created a desire within the craft industry for lesser expensive beading materials. Bronze is a great new material to get hooked on. For ages cultures have been using bronze to make many things. It's high copper content allows the metal to develop a patina over time. Earthy golden tones will mature into a rich chocolate color with turquoise highlights. Look at the BRONZE COMPONENTS category and subcategories for a selection of beads and toggles.

In other news:

• The response I received in regards to custom production was overwhelming. Anyone else with an idea to get flowing? I've helped many clients turn their design ideas into reality as a result of that broadcast, and they have since begun selling mass quantities of their unique designs. Congratulations for all those who followed through!
• A few people have noted that knowing how many pieces of a particular Basic Bali Bead is important, and I have updated that category to show roughly how many beads to expect in each package.

News from www.indoexpo.com

Custom Production of Your Designs in Silver 

Does any of this sound like you?

• You use PMC or ArtClay to make special things, and you have a plan to sell them like hot cakes.
• You often wish there was a bead or component out there that would [fill in this blank] so you could more easily or creatively [fill in this blank].
• You have an idea for a bead or component and you have no idea where to turn to make it a reality.
• You want your logo or company name on a bead or a component, or some other silver promotional or marketing tool.
• You currently use [fill in the blank] and think that if were changed just this way or that, it would be so much better.
• You want to develop your own signature line of beads or components.

We currently do all these things for dozens of clients.

Where to begin?

Let's start with a few general statements about our attitude when it comes to custom production. First off, these are your special designs, and they will be treated as such. We didn't get where we are today making something special for someone, and then selling it out the back door to everyone else. You designs will remain exclusive from day one. It's your idea, not ours. It's just our privilege to produce it for you.

We don't copy other people's designs. If you buy something somewhere and you ask us to reproduce it because you don't like the price you're paying somewhere else, or any other reason, it's unlikely we'll do this for you. This does not apply to the standard handmade look of Bali Silver Beads that have been so commonly produced and reproduced for ages, and other items such as jump rings commonly produced for ages.

Having said that, we need to know what you want made.

We can make just about anything. Just about. We use a variety of traditional silversmithing methods, technology, and a few nifty machines to make beads, components, and a variety of other silver products. The first step when asking if we can make your design is to show us what you want to have made. The best way to do this is to send us a sample in the mail. If you don't have a sample, a photo will do most of the time if it's accompanied by very good notes. If no photo is available, very very good notes are a good start. In short, the more information you give us, the better your chances of getting what you want. We need specs. Depending on what you want, this can be simple or complicated. Something like, "I want a cylindrical bead 10mm long x 6mm wide that says "lovely" using this or that particular font and has leaves and flowers on it" is probably enough to get started.

Things we consider when making something new:

• How much the object will weigh. This is important because it affects the cost of the object.
• The best way to produce the object consistently and quickly.
• How to make the object so that the number of rejects in production are minimal.
• How much the object will cost to produce (labor).

Basically, anything we make is a balance of these four factors. Your custom work is no different. More often than not, we'll be able to tell you how much everything will cost before we produce it. We do this using a little magic and a lot of experience.

And after things get going, your own CUSTOM category on our site.

Obviously there will likely be a few emails exchanged before we have a good understanding of what you want, and you approve what we're ready to put into production. The initial order is always handled by email as we're discussing things. Once we've finished producing the initial order, we'll create a custom category that only your username can view when logged in. You'll go to our site, login with your username, and be able to see a category called "Custom Beads" at the top of the category list. No one can view what's there but whoever is logged in with your username. (so don't share it) You can go to that category and order, or reorder, anything we've made for you. Easy.

And finally...........

We've helped a lot of small and medium sized businesses and several craftspeople turn their ideas into reality. There's no reason we can't do this for you. Use the contact form on the site here, or email contact "at" indoexpo.com to get something started. (replace the "at" with the @ symbol)