The American Worker: Jewelry Makers Long for a Shimmer to Profits

Rebecca Myers has spent nearly 20 years crafting one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces into works of art.

"As far as small business is concerned, we're like the super small," says Myers.

Working in her small Annapolis, Md. studio with only the help of one assistant, she prepares to go back on the road trying to sell her wares in a downturned economy.

It's certainly has not been a banner year for her.

Video: Click here to see more.

"At the end of last year, I was a little threatened. It was a little thin," says Myers. "We really had to work hard to cover our bases."

Myers' unique rings and bracelets can take weeks to create, and can cost thousands of dollars. Last fall, she quickly realized her customers were being hit hard when during a show in Kansas City many people were only prepared to window shop.

"A lot of people that came in to see the work were really engaged by it, and really loved it," she laments, but said they made comments that they could not justify purchasing something that was a little pricy when their savings had just gone up in smoke.

On this Labor Day, FOX News celebrates the small business owner in our The American Worker series.

The American Craft Council is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to fostering craft artists. They host a series of national shows that allow artists to profile their works. Shows, like one held recently in San Francisco, draws hundreds of talented artists like Myers, who travel thousands of miles in hopes of making sales to craft enthusiasts.

Bernadette Boyle, senior marketing manager at the American Craft Council says the show in San Francisco -- held just once a year -- is so popular people wait in line just to get inside.

The artists appreciate the interest.

"They know everyone is suffering along with them and so they just really want, I think, to get their art out there and their craft out there in the market place," says Boyle.

Artist Rebecca Rohrkaste, from Berkeley, Calif. says she is went to the show mostly to admire others artists' work. "And I do a little bit of buying here. I have been inclined."

Craft enthusiast Kathy Ramsey says she loves jewelry and always buys when she goes to shows. "I'm always going to come and I will probably always find something no matter what."

Back in Annapolis, Myers says she's confindent she'll get through the tough times.

"In fact, I started my business in a climate not unlike this," she says. "But I think that if things are cyclical, we'll get through it and, you know, things will be good again in a couple of years.