If you are looking for handmade jewelry and want to support local artisans, Etsy.com is worth considering. Many jewelry artists from Grand Rapids and West Michigan sell their handcrafted jewelry online through Etsy. The website gives you access to many styles of original jewelry from the trendy to the artistic one-of-a-kind (OOAK) pieces. You can buy jewelry from well-known and emerging artisans through Etsy. It is like an online 24 hour arts and craft show.
Shopping on Etsy
Etsy sellers each have individual shops on the website to sell their handmade crafts. The platform allows shoppers to safely purchase items using credit cards or Paypal, depending on each seller's preference. Some sellers also accept checks or money orders. You must create a free account on Etsy to shop and communicate with sellers. The site provides a helpful tutorial on how to buy items from their sellers.
You can find jewelry at all different price ranges on Etsy, from around $10 to over $1,000. Many items from West Michigan are quite affordable.
Finding Local Jewelry Artists
Find local sellers by visiting the Etsy main page and selecting the "Shop Local" option under the "More Ways to Shop" menu. After you hit "Shop Local," you will be taken to the Etsy Local page that asks you to type in a location and what you are searching for. When you start to type "Grand Rapids" a drop down menu will appear that allows you to select "Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States." After you type your location and jewelry, hit the "search local" button. You will then be taken to thousands of local jewelry items available for sale from numerous sellers. You can browse the pages, and when you find an item of interest, click on the photo to go to the seller's shop. If you hit on the jewelry image or caption, you will go directly to the item for sale. However, if you click on the seller's name, you will go to the seller's main shop page.
Grand Rapids Jewelry Artists on Etsy
Etsy features a large number of jewelry artists from all over the greater Grand Rapids area. These artisans offer handcrafted jewelry in a wide range of styles and materials, created with many different techniques. You can find pieces that follow current fashion trends, replicas of famous jewelry, mixed media art, antique inspired items, hand-blown glass jewelry, cast metal jewelry, and much more.
Here are just a few of the many Grand Rapids area jewelry artists worth checking out on Etsy:
- Diem Designs: Artisan Sarah Jo and her metalsmith father are the artists behind Diem Designs. The father-daughter team creates sterling silver and fine silver jewelry paired with gemstones or other natural objects like fossils. They draw and handcraft each piece of jewelry. Their collection includes hand-stamped word pendants, OOAK silver and gemstone rings, and hand-forged artistic earrings. The shop's price's range between $25 to $430. The more expensive items are OOAK items.
- Tiny Tears Oddities: Lena Trinket of Tiny Tears Oddities creates resin rings, bracelets and pendants in novelty and punk themes. Her collection includes a vampire fang bangle, a shark emerging from blood ring, and a cigarette butt pendant. Her prices range from $12 to $23
- Page, Blair and Faith Jewelry Designs: The artisan at Page, Blair and Faith Jewelry Designs (PBF Jewelry) makes jewelry with her daughters. She designs handmade jewelry that follows current fashion trends. Her collection features many beaded bracelets and necklaces that are colorful and fun. She also has some artistic metal and bead earrings and pendants designs that should appeal to people with many different fashion tastes. The PBF Jewelry prices range from around $12 to $46.
- Creative Urges: Carol Hallas of Creative Urges designs handcrafted leather accessories, such as watches, leather cuffs and belts. Her collection offers a black and brass metal flower brown leather cuff bracelet, a hand-painted floral bohemian theme snap-on watch, and a turquoise flower belt. All of her leather items are cut, stamped and painted by hand. Prices range from around $42 to $82.
Search Etsy and find unique, handcrafted jewelry from many more local jewelry artists.
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