craftgrrl | Working with metal/wire

I want to incorporate some metal into some clothes I'm making and I have a couple of questions. Or, a website which would answer these questions is just as good! :)

1) Can you sauter (I don't know how to spell that) all metal wires? Or only some types?
2) If you have wire that you can bend into shapes, are there any treatments you can do to strengthen the wire once it is in the shape you want so that it does not bend out of shape?
3) Any pointers on how to bend wire precisely (ie not just randomly holding two ends and bending but actually being specific) without toolmarks showing up in the wire? Is it possible or do you just have to live with the marks and do your best to be gentle so they are less noticeable?
4) Any tips for flattening metal wires? I am guessing I just hammer it on a hard surface but is there a way to soften it a bit first or other methods to make it easier? And are there some wires I shouldn't bother doing this with?

And finally, I'd love links to good suppliers, locally all I can find is wire at a craft store which comes in 3m rolls and is 5euros. I'm not feeling like this is a great deal...

Thank you!