Help getting started

Im a begginer in all this but im really interested in making chandelier earrings and other jewelry.My question is ... Could someone show me a list of things i will need to start.Like basics..tools,findings etc.. Ive done a little jewelry design ,restringing,my grandmothers broken jewelry,stringing old beads into new necklace but it wasnt professional looking.Ya'll all seem to have such great talent i thought this would be the place to start.Thank you so much for your help
Tammy newmark

Hi.
I'm also a beginner like you.  But I have a few tips.  My favorite store to go to is Michaels.  They pretty much have everything you need.  Just go there and ask anyone to help.  I don't know if there is one by you, but it really helped me get started.  Everyone there was really nice.  I even made some new friends.  I hope I was helpfull.

Brittni

[Polly]

Hi Tammy,

For chandelier earrings, the first thing you want is a good pair of round-nose pliers, and some wire cutters.  A good combination tool, is the
#65-400 rosary cutters. This is cutters and round nose pliers in one.  As long as you don't cut memory wire, or other stainless steel or heavy nickel wire with these, they will literally last a lifetime.

Or, if you want to start out with some less expensive tools, then the #65-206 round-nose pliers, and #65-506 side-cutters are a good place to start.  Handle these a bit more gently, and they will last you quite a while.  You probably won't need to replace them unless you take off well, into the professional crafter / craft show / gallery world.

--Polly

[Polly]

Suggesting findings, is more difficult.

We stock over 15,000 items, and about 1/4 of those are findings.... The specific ones to suggest, depend so much on what you want to make. You mentioned chandelier earrings, and for those, you need head pins, and possibly eye pins. (Head pins if you have just one dangle off each loop.  Eye pins if you want more movement ... chandelier finding at top, eye pin below, head pin below that.)

Search our online store
https://www.rings-things.com/cgi-bin/hazel/hazel.cgi
for +head +pins, and you'll get dozens of styles and sizes, in various metals.

A search for +filigree +findings will return some likely suspects for chandelier earrings, including many filigree findings that we don't list in our catalog.

Also, try this for some parts ideas.  We have some jewelry displayed in our Gallery (http://www.rings-things.com/gallery/index.html) , and we list the parts that are used in each piece of jewelry.  If you see something there that doesn't make sense, or you'd like something "almost like this, but really more like that" then we can let you know if we have something like that (or someone else can say where they've seen one).

If you're ever wondering the best way to do a particular type of project, for example, you have an old strand of (__) and a clasp you'd like to reuse/replace, we'd be happy to suggest specifics for that project.  We don't sell most things by onsies, but in most cases the info will apply to bulk projects, too.  If you're going to restring one item, with supplies purchased from us, you'll end up with the supplies to string 71 new items, so we'll try to give good advice so you have useful leftovers!

--Polly