Trade fairs like chibimart in italy is easily one of the events of the year.
Chibimart currently has hundreds of exhibitors from all over the world carrying
endless variety of beads. I often attend this fair to see all the materials
available, and I never gotten disappointed. Although the size of the fair vary
depending on the season, I find the winter fair an interesting time to go just to
check the colors and materials for next season.

When it comes to looking for particular hard to find pieces I notice trade fairs
have to most variety and gives me the best chance to finding what I need. Findings
for example is quit hard to find if your looking for new designs. Beads fairs in
Germany like Early Bird have the largest collection of findings I have ever seen.
There are about 9 major companies distributing all kinds of findings even offering
made to order designs from all kinds of materials. I usually get my brass collection
from these fairs. I notice the past few fairs have gotten smaller but the coming
year looks promising with more exhibitors from all over the world.

I enjoy trade fairs and have made a lot of friends and business connections from
attending such events. It may sound expensive but transportation to these fairs
usually cost more than the ticket you need to buy to get inside these fairs. If you
know a participant they usually are allowed to give complimentary tickets but I
highly discourage this free me from any obligation from buying from them.

I usually solve my transporting expenses by planning ahead and getting my air
tickets a month before. I did have some problems with trade fairs in Milan which has
very expensive accommodations. But staying in hostels in the city has solved my
problems.

I highly recommend attending trade fairs to any bead collector. It has open my eyes
to a whole new way of looking at beads from all over the world.

A great example of rare materials are Bakelite jewellery which is an old kind of plastic which is highly sought after by collectors. Their value might not appreciate like precious metals or diamonds, they still hold value. A great way to see the value of Bakelite jewellery is doing a search in Ebay, you can see that age and quality of the design means a lot. Vintage Art Deco Bakelite jewellery from famous designers are like art work and are pricey. Although Bakelite became rare by accident, costume jewellery made from rare are automatically expensive from the start. Ebony wood from tropical countries are getting quite rare and their value increases further if they are mixed with precious metal or is made from a popular designer.

Costume jewellery can be a lot of fun in terms of the huge variety of materials but in the light of the recent economic crisis; gold, silver and platinum has skyrocketed in value. Having gold, silver or platinum on hand is becoming more attractive as inflation continuous to rise and countries keep printing money.

Precious metal is a commodity is often a safer bet compared to costume jewellery which can be compared to works of art. But like any works of art you have to make sure the artist was someone worth remembering.

Precious metals on the other hand holds its value regardless how ugly it may look. You can be sure about the value of precious metals which makes them a highly attractive as asset to hold in terms of crisis. They also last forever and can pass on to a family member or be exchange for hard currency in times of need.

Which ever type of jewellery you are looking for, the factors which determines its value ultimately depends on the demand. Do some research before you buy study the materials and always determine its authenticity.

You can count on Torry Burch to create a beautiful necklace out of simple materials. Rubber is a great material and is readily available in bead shops or even in hardware shops. Turning rubber components into great jewelry is another matter and requires some planning and a lot of creativity.

Mixing metals components (silver, brass , copper) with rubber can make your final pieces stand out. In creating necklaces with rubber components you will need some beading wire to make sure they stay in place.

Looking through a beading magazine I saw an ad with lots of jewelry kits available. Etsy.com was the most obvious choice it had the materials I wanted to work on and instructions that I considered easy to follow.