Marcy Coral, the founder of JewelryGeeks, one of the fastest growing social network for jewelry artisans, shares something in common with me. Our names are jewelry related so we were destined from birth to be jewelry artisans! (Check out my past post on nominative determinism for some other fun real-life coincidences).


I've known Marcy for quite a while now - almost 2 years - as I was an early member of her social network site. It started out as Metalchasers (see my past post) but she changed the name later on as members wanted it to reflect all jewelry disciplines and not just the metal arts. It's free to join and it doesn't matter whether you make jewelry for sale or for fun.

What I like about it is that every single member shares your interest and you can interact with them similar to what you do on Facebook. If you don't have a website, you could easily set up your own virtual studio on your personal page so you can show off your creations.  When I have the time,I also enjoy lurking in the main gallery where there is a constant stream of uploads to studio albums.

It's also where I have found some amazing designers like Jimmy Pearce of Gold Pan Jewelry who makes gold nugget jewelry. He pans for the gold himself! JewelryGeeks was also where I found the youngest designer I ever featured on this blog - 13 year old Torch who I didn't know was Marcy's son until later. It's easy to guess from his online name why his mother failed to interest him in bead stringing and wire work! You can read more on the past post called Torch's Heart Ring.

Marcy has generously donated these opal gemstones for today's giveaway. She said in an email, "They are very beautiful and it almost pained me to give them up!" We aren't 100% positive but these look like they may be Peruvian opals. Perhaps a gemologist amongst my readers can confirm this?

They are all side-drilled and vary slightly in length. Are you thinking what I am thinking? The long beads (approximately 63 mm) will look spectacular in a fringe style necklace. Or you could use them singularly as pendants. The two smaller beads (about 34 mm) are for matching earrings.

What do you have to do to win them? Just leave a comment - click on the post title and then write something in the comment box. The giveaway will end at 7.30 pm EST Monday November 23. I will pick a winner via Random.org and post the results asap. Good luck!

UPDATE : JewelryGeeks is now closed.

______________________________
Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips