Jewelry Kits

The next big negative mentioned was the use of jewelry kits:
Some jewelry makers felt kits were too restrictive. They preferred to use their own jewelry making methods and to make personal one-of-a-kind designs.
Another kit concern was the idea that different party attendees can have different kits, since each person picks her own kit and orders it on line. The consultant receives the kit and brings it to the party. Therefore, different kits could be difficult to manage depending on how many people you taught at one time.
Personally, after teaching classes on my own for awhile, I started making my own kits (which were not as fancy as Luxe Jewels’ kits, but worked okay for me at the time) because I needed to streamline my teaching. It was just too crazy when I had tons of beads and findings and such out for people to pick from. But, I could see how this might not appeal to everyone. For those who really can’t handle using kits, though, I was surprised to learn that Luxe also has what they call a “Classic” party, which doesn’t use kits. At this type of party, each attendee receives a package of stringing supplies (clasp, stringing material, etc.), but she gets to select from strands of beads and what they call “add-ons,” such as pendants, up-graded clasps, and extra beads.
Even if you are still skeptical about the kit approach, here are a few pros:
The Luxe Jewels kits are made with high-quality jewelry supplies. As it happens, Janice Parsons from Beadshop.com has joined forces with Luxe, and as a bead shop owner and designer herself for many years, she is well-known for her quality jewelry materials.
Remember, most people who will come to the parties will be beginners – maybe even total newbies to jewelry making, so they may not be comfortable with the design process required of a “Classics” style party.
While attendees get their choice of kits and so this can mean lots of different types of jewelry being made at the same time, all the kits are developed around four basic techniques. Again, this is a type of streamlining makes a lot of sense when you are trying to teach a number of inexperienced jewelry makers at the same time.

Luxurious Luxe Shell Necklace Kit

If you didn’t know already, and I have to confess that I didn’t until I took another look at their website, Luxe Jewels sells jewelry making kits, and you don’t have to necessarily be a Luxe Jewels consultant to buy one. I got a chance to make the “Washed Ashore Necklace” kit, which is considered an advanced skill level 3 kit. If you want to make this necklace yourself, the kit costs $49, and for those non-jewelry makers, they can purchase the finished necklace, ready-to-wear for $79.
Now, since this is an advanced kit, it did take some wire wrapping experience, so obviously, someone very new to jewelry making who hasn’t worked with wire much might find it a little involved. However, if you are a wire lover like myself, then you’ll have no trouble putting this together, and the final necklace is nice and long, about 22 inches, and very light weight.

I found the supplies included in the kit – shell beads; gold-filled chain; vermeil “S” clasp; logo tag and jump ring; and gold-filled wire – to be of excellent quality. In fact, when you consider the cost of gold-filled chain (have you priced it lately?) the cost for this kit is reasonable.
The kit does not come with tools (no big surprise as most kits don’t), so you’ll need some wire cutters, round-nosed pliers, and needle-nosed (flat-nosed) pliers to complete the kit. Along with all the materials, it includes step-by-step instructions and techniques sheet that explains and illustrates the wire wrapping technique needed for this necklace.