We've blogged about various venues for selling your work (on line sites like www.etsy.com and www.trunkt.org), and retail service businesses that cater to women clients (like hair salons). Here's another to consider -- museum retail shops. The Museum Store Association is an organization that helps museums with their retail sales operations. Yeah, we're talking gift shops! The association has its own magazine, "Museum Store," and a website, http://www.museumdistrict.com/index.cfm that includes information about its annual Retail Conference and Expo.

Whether you're contacting an art museum, a natural history museum, or a cultural museum, do a little homework to familiarize yourself with their collections. It's a wise move to pitch jewelry that relates to their permanent exhibits, and any special exhibitions slated for the current year. Provide the store manager or buyer with high quality photographs of your work. You might be asked to send in samples of your pieces for consideration. If a buyer agrees to purchase your work, ask him/her if you need to supply any special items or props to display your pieces.

I can report from experience that museums can be a great way to sell your jewelry. My local natural history museum commissioned me to make pins that incorporated turn-of-the-century images from their photo archives. They promoted my work in their member newsletter, which has a healthy circulation. In turn, that mention lead to another blurb and photo of my work in a special interest magazine; the editor contacted me and asked if I'd like my work to be included in their annual holiday shopping issue. Perhaps it was karma. Whenever I visit a museum, I always pop into its store after touring the exhibits. And I head straight for the jewelry cases to select a memento!