I'm sorry it took me so long to respond. I went on a mini-roadtrip today.

I'm afraid I can't be of much help in the photograph department. It's the one area that has stopped me from doing much online myself. Most of the people I know that have websites get a professional to do the photography. That's okay if you have standard designs that don't change a lot but doesn't work well if your inventory changes frequently.

My only suggestion in that area might be that you consider going to someone that specializes in photgraphing jewelry and have them take pictures of some of your most popular pieces and then use those photos as part of your web page graphics.  Then you could use your own photos in the ordering section to  show the different designs you have available. If you decide to go the professional route ask the photographer when you contact them if they would be willing to give you some pointers for photographing the jewelry yourself. It shouldn't be hard to find a photographer willing to do that as long as you are paying for at least one session.

Your photos are actually pretty good, by the way. You should see my pathetic attempts at photographing my jewelry.

I hope I didn't discourage you with my comments about feeling like a sweatshop worker after the business kind of took off. It's very, very possible to make money making and selling jewelry and still have fun with it. It's like RVing-you can make it be what you want it to be. 

If you decide to buy a loom, don't spend a lot of money on one until you have tried looming to see if you like it. You can spend anywhere from 3 to 300 dollars on a beading loom but the quality of your finished product isn't going to be affected a great deal by the quality of your loom.  I have three and the most expensive one is the one that I like the least.  Now that I know what I want in a loom I'll probably get someone to make one for me. You won't know what you really want in a loom until you've been working with one for a while.

Where are you getting your Delica Beads? I buy all my beads and findings through a couple of wholesale companies that I've been dealing with for years but I'm still paying retail for my delicas. That's the other thing that's hard about breaking into the jewelry business-it's hard to find good wholesale prices online and next to impossible to find good prices in stores.  I've been breaking my number 1 rule ("never pay retail for supplies") with the delicas. I'm still looking, so if I find a good source I'll share it with you. When I was first trying to break into the business, people were really tight-lipped about their wholesale sources. Crazy.

Have you ever thought about making hummingbird earrings? I used to get some beautiful hummingbird beads in pewter and brass from a company called Rio Grande. They are based out of New Mexico and you can only purchase through their catalog or their site in NM. I did a search the other night for "hummingbird beads" on google and found some that seemed similar. I just thought that might be a nice tie-in with your feeders.

Wow, once again, I've written way more than I meant to. It's just fun to talk about beading with you because I don't know too many fellow beaders or jewelry designers anymore.  I was living on the boat when I was most heavily into jewelry making so I can definitely understand the space constraints you're dealing with. Supplies and inventory can take up a lot of room.

Okay, I'm going to shut up now...

I've been getting my delicas from Fire Mountain, too. So far, they have the best prices I've been able to find but I'm still looking. For my sterling silver beads and findings and semi-precious stone beads and seed pearls I usually use Abeada Corp-they have great combinable discounts. I get Swarovski crystals and some other silver components from Rio Grande. They're a little more expensive than Abeada but they carry components I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

Ornament Magazine is another good source for finding supplies. A lot of wholesalers advertise with them.

Well, good luck and have fun with it. Maybe we'll meet up at the Tucson shows one year. I've yet to make it there during the big February shows but everyone says that is the best place for finding supplies and making contacts.