Great Places to Shop for Jewelry Making Supplies

Ok, so maybe a Dremel Idea Builder 3D Printer isn't exaclty on my list for affordability, but a girl can dream, right? To me this would be the ultimate in artistic jewelry design.

Since this is off my table, because it's just way too pricey for me (although if you can swing it -- go for it, and send me pictures of what you create. I'd love to see them.) Let's get serious about the best places to shop for good deals for jewelry makers.

Fire Mountain Gems

If you've read my other blog posts you are aware that I LOVE gemstone jewelry. Fire Mountain Gems is the place to shop for good deals.

The first time I purchased from them I spent around $200. That included gemstones, elastic thread, findings, ect. I added up the retail price, minus the online discounts. I had purchased over $1000 in jewelry materials for a fraction of the cost.

I know $200 is a lot of  money to dish out, but don't worry. Fire Mountain Gems run the best sales I've ever seen.  For instance, a friend of mine purchases moonstone at the local craft store. She spends about $9 a 6-inch string. I just ordered her some for around $3, and I ordered several other strings that were on sale for $1 a piece.

There are steep savings at Fire Mountain Gems. The more you buy, the more discount you get. There are various discount brackets online.

Tip: You don't have to buy the most expensive items, even sale items count towards the discounts. 

I typically order several on sale items to rack up the total amount of purchases and then splurge on a more exotic string of beads or two, which at that point are heavily discounted.

I would recommend playing with the shopping cart until you're comfortable with your purchases and the amount you spend. It's a lot of fun virtual window shopping.

Also, they have a $5 shipping rate. The merchandise takes about a week to get to you, but it's flat rate, which is great because gemstone beads can weigh a lot.

A.C. Moore:

I must admit before I moved to Virginia I had never even heard of A.C. Moore. I was a Hobby Lobby girl, and while I still like Hobby Lobby, I don't have the access to a local store.

A.C. Moore has been a great favorite of mine since moving here. I joined the membership program, and get rewards checks, and special coupons sent straight to my phone.  One thing I've noticed about my rewards checks is that they cover sales tax (at least here). I've literally spent mine without spending anything else -- got to love that!

Depending on your phone, you may want to install the Retail Me Not app, and use the coupons you get from there. Sometimes I have a little trouble clipping them on my Android.

Dream Land Jewelry:

I have only just discovered Dream Land Jewelry and have yet to order anything from them; however, I do plan to purchase some .925 sterling silver wire from them. Their prices are about half the price of anywhere else I've found.

Amazon.com:

Of course, Amazon.com, is a great choice, too. I really like them for books, like One Day Beading Mastery . One of the great things about Amazon is that members can often download Kindle books for free, so you can have a huge digital library of reference material.

These are just a few of my favorite sites. I hope you find them useful.


Do you have a favorite place to shop for jewelry supplies?