Maire Loughran is the Feature Jewelry Writer at Suite101. A second-generation jewelry designer, she built her jewelry-making business from the ground floor up, writes, and lectures on the topic. This includes handling all aspects of starting a jewelry-making business from deciding on and costing out a product line to marketing and refining product images for the web or print media to networking and finding alternative avenues for sales.
In addition, she has ten years experience lecturing on the topic of how to start a home based business covering such topics as selection of business entity, business licenses and sales tax collection, bookkeeping and how to write a business plan. She also acts as a mentor to other new jewelry-making business startups.
She has just finished a user’s guide for Microsoft’s Accounting Professional 2008, her preferred accounting software due to its interface witheBay and PayPal, two extremely useful options for jewelry businesses selling online.
Maire is a member of the American Craft Council, Society of American Silversmiths and the Society of North American Goldsmiths.