Techniques for Great jewelry design – the power of editing and how to play with beads.

The power of editing.

I own a bead shop and am therefore spoiled by having everything I need right at my fingertips when I decide to design a new project. It’s a wonderful thing for our customers as well, to have access to an enormous array of choices. However, that can be intimidating for someone new to beading. Here are some techniques we use every day to help all our customers design jewelry they love. Give this a try with your own bead stash!



1. Start with a bead you love. I will hand someone a bead board and encourage them to walk around the shop, and let their eyes wander and start by choosing beads they are drawn to. It’s important to let this instinct guide you.

2. Next, start choosing other beads you love. Don’t think about whether they “match” or if the finishes go together. Ditch all your preconceived notions about what goes together and just pick things you love.


3. Make sure to select more beads than you think you need to complete your design. I’m just designing a bracelet in the photos, but just LOOK at all those beads!

4. Now, just start playing. Arrange the beads on the bead board, swap them around, try out different combinations and sequences. Try things that are unexpected. While you’re doing this, trust your inner design eye to help you edit out whatever doesn’t work. You may need to go back and get more of one bead or another.







5. Eventually, you’ll edit your selections down to something that’s beautiful, and you’ll love it because you started out with what you were naturally drawn to.


Finally, I always find it amazing that for our younger customers, under 12 years old, we don’t have to explain any of these steps. Kids have such free minds that all the techniques I just told you about come naturally, and they come up with some absolutely awesome designs. You can too – just start with more and edit out, and remember how to play like a kid!

Twisty Easy Tubular Herringbone!

I'm so excited to be back blogging again! I've got SO many new ideas to share that I thought I'd start out with some detailed project instructions for this fun, quick weave.

I came up with this design at a playday at my dear friend Ann's house, where I need to work on quick, easy projects or I don't get anything done in the creative melee that occurs there monthly. NOT complaining; it's just that some projects are better left to quite time in the studio. We were nearing the end of the day and I was sorting through some beads and came across some 12mm bugles I had in my stash. I added some size 11 rocailles in a matching color, size 10 beading needle, and Sono thread. Here's the result:

Start with a two-bead ladder, 4 rows long, using size 11 seed beads (rocailles).

Join the ends together to form a tube, and add another row of herringbone using the size 11 seed beads.

Now, work one row of two-drop herringbone, using a 12mm twisted bugle bead, two size 11 seed beads, and another bugle bead for each set of beads you stitch (two sets per row). Step up after the second set. Continue adding rows until you reach the desired length, and finish with a clasp.

I finished mine with a loop and beaded toggle, but you could also stitch on your clasp of choice. This beaded necklace was completed in about two hours - not bad for a stitched piece of that length!

These instructions are necessarily brief for this blog format, but I imagine a moderately experienced beader familiar with tubular herringbone weave will catch on and make this fun and QUICK project without any trouble.

If you like to bead with people and want to try this project, come by the shop some Friday night during Open Beading (6-9pm every Friday night) and I'll help you with it!

Now, go bead something!

Book Addiction and UFOs

Long before I became hopelessly addicted to seed beads (and all the stuff that has since followed), I was addicted to books. I can’t have enough books. Cookbooks, art books, history books, photography books, gardening books, great fiction, trashy novels, even a book about weeds. (I admit, I bought that for my husband to arm him in his hopeless yard battles.)

That book addiction is manifesting itself here in the shop. We keep getting more and more new books in stock to feed your love of beads, books and learning. I keep ordering more, new books because I’m also addicted to learning new things all the time. I think this is where all my UFOs come from (unfinished objects – what did you think I meant?) When I start a project, I’m learning something new. Sometimes I can’t visualize where it will end up, but I have at least learned something from it and I’m ready to move on. So it becomes one of my UFO collection.

So, I’m learning…..learning new things from books, learning new things from you - my wonderful customers, learning from the classes we offer here at the shop, and learning that a UFO doesn’t have to be something that hangs over my head waiting to be finished . I’ve learned to let go, accept what I’ve learned and to set it aside and move on to the next thing I can learn.

What prompted these random thoughts this morning was the arrival of a new shipment of books – some are titles we’ve had before, and some are totally new to us. Stop by, have a cup of hot tea with us, and sit on the couch a while to page through some of our new books and get inspired. You might just learn something new!

No Substitute For A Great Bead

I love when I come across a truly great bead, and these Groovy Window tablet beads are a perfect example of what I think of as a great bead. The colors are wonderfully muted and they’ve got a lot of style on their own, yet they will pair well with lots of other beads. We’ve already made up a couple sets of earrings!

So, come on over Thursday night at 6:30 and “make and take” a pair of earrings with these versatile new beads. Michelle will show you how, even if you’re never made earrings before! And, while you’re here, check out our huge new shipment of Czech glass beads. We’re expanding our selection “beyond the firepolish” to bring you unusual sizes, colors, shapes and cuts of the finest quality high end Czech glass we can find. Of course, we still have all the basics, including some fabulous new opaque orange fire polish that will please all our UT fans.

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we’ve got awareness ribbon beads and charms so you can show your support with your own unique style.

You’ll love all our new beads – they’re truly great beads!

What did you do on your summer vacation?

This question came up recently at the Blount County Arts and Crafts Guild meeting. It was a way for the group to reconnect with members old and new after a summer hiatus. This summer I was fortunate enough to attend a week long workshop at Wildacres retreat in North Carolina and I took the Gem Identification and Appreciation class taught by Ben Smith, F.G.A.

At the end of the week, each class had a representative speak to the whole group of attendees to share with everyone what the class was about. A couple of folks asked for a copy of my remarks, so I thought I’d share them here as well.

As my class representative, here’s what I had to say:

“Who doesn’t love a mystery? Science is the way we solve the mysteries of our surroundings and it is in our nature to satisfy our curiosity about the shiny sparkly things we call gemstones. Ben Smith taught us that gemology is the science we use to identify these shiny sparkly things. We learned how to use the tools of the trade when solving the mystery of a gem: dichroscope, polariscope, microscope, refractometer, leverage gauge, scales, and ways to measure specific gravity. We were then each challenged to solve a mystery of our own by using these tools, reference materials, and deduction to identify our assigned stone.

Everyone’s success is a tribute to the teaching skill, vast knowledge and patience of our instructor Ben Smith. Ben’s instruction also covered how synthetic stones are made, tradional and current industry trends in synthetics and treatments, gemstone care, simple home tests for fakes like glass or dark blue synthetic spinel, and additional instruments like a “black box”, moissonite tester, and diamond tester.

Here are some comments from fellow classmates:
· Exceeded expectations of what we thought we learn and absorb in this time span
· Lots of fun
I personally got reacquainted with my scientific side and discovered I can get lost inside a stone when looking through a microscope.

Most significantly, we were privileged to take part in this particular class which marks the end of an era for this group. Many, many thanks to Ben Smith.”

The last remark is a reference to Mr. Smith having resolved to make that class, (his 55th session!) the last one he will teach.

I would like encourage anyone interested in the lapidary arts to consider taking these classes offered by the Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies, who conduct four week long retreats per year at two locations. As a member of the Knoxville Gem and Mineral Society, I was able to spend a wonderful week of learning, meeting other attendees, eating very well, and relaxing in a remote mountain environment. There were about 60 participants in nine classes. The instructors are top notch, the setting is incredible, and the value is beyond belief! For more information about the classes, go to http://www.amfed.org/sfms/lapidary-workshops.html

If you would like more information on how to become a member of the Knoxville Gem and Mineral Society, I invite you to attend the upcoming Gem, Mineral and Jewelry show hosted by the Knoxville Gem and Mineral Society. This annual event will be on October 16-18, 2009. For more information, visit http://www.discoveret.org/kgms/knoxville-gem-show.php There will be plenty of folks there to talk to about what we do and how to become a member. If you’ve got kids who are interested in rocks, this is a must see event! (and kids under 12 attend free!)

Tucson 2009: How to shop when your senses are overloaded and your feet hurt. Part 3 of a series

Shopping any bead show or even a trunk show requires a certain amount of discipline, a plan, and an open mind. Shopping the country’s largest bead show is not much different, except you need comfortable shoes, water, and lip balm.

Set a budget. Sounds like a no brainer, but it is easy to go overboard because you will see SO many things you love, have to have, know you can sell, etc. Know your limit and stick to it.

Make a list. Keep a list going of specific things you need to buy. List the price you want to pay (and if you don’t know this, spend some time at the show paying attention to the going prices), colors and sizes you want, quantity you need. Get as specific as possible and bring samples or colors to match to make sure you’re getting what you really need.

Make time to window shop without buying. Go to venues you don’t possibly need anything from. Soak in the atmosphere. Ask the vendors questions. Along the way, you’ll see something or get a flash of inspiration that would have otherwise gone unrevealed to you if you were focused on “buying”. Take time to look at finished jewelry. Spend some time looking at the rocks that your beads come from – you may learn something that you can use to make your work more interesting to your customers!

Designate a portion of your budget solely for impulse buying. You will see things that you want but can’t really define why. Treat this amount like gambling – if you make a great decision, you’ll win big with something you can make into a terrific piece or something your customers will love. If it ends up being something that doesn’t work out so well, then you’ve lost nothing because you planned to lose it anyway – like at a casino. You enjoyed the fun of shopping and buying.

Make sure to take a lunch break – you need to keep your energy up and your brain cells at their peak. And when you sit down at one of the many picnic tables in the food vendor area, introduce yourself to other folks at your table and get a conversation going. I have met some really fascinating people this way – nearly everyone there is from somewhere else. I always learn something from the people I meet, and I’ve made some great connections this way.

If you know you want it, and the price is what you want to pay, get it and get it now. The Tucson venues are so large, you may never pass that way again, and the best way to shop for prices is to know ahead of time what you want to pay. If you do see a similar item elsewhere later that’s cheaper, you’ll know that the price you paid is OK because you’ve already done your homework and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you got a fair deal, if not the best one. And, you'll save lots of time later because you won't have to run around trying to find the vendor where you saw something you wish you had purchased.

Most of these rules will apply even if you’re shopping a trunk show or local bead show. It’s overwhelming to see so much all at once. Taking the time to plan your purchases and your budget, and taking a break to reflect will help you be happy with your purchase decisions, and you’ll leave with wonderful things you will use with confidence and style. And, if you happen to be doing your shopping at the Tucson shows, make sure to wear comfy shoes, drink plenty of water and wear your lip balm.

Wire Bail with Artisan Appeal

Make this easy bail, perfect for big pendants, and hanging on multiple strands of leather or fiber. The multiple wraps of wire add interest and give it that hand-crafted, artisan look, and it's easy to add additional dangles, or string it over a chain you already have.

Gather: 18" of 26 gauge wire (we used bronze colored copper), one large ceramic pendant, a Sharpie marking pen, chain nose pliers, and nippers. The pendant in the illustration is by Joby Jo Cotter, and we have a large selection at the great price of $8!

Bead: Leaving about two inches of tail to start, hold the sharpie next to the top of the pendant and wrap the wire through the hole in the pendant, around the sharpie, and through the hole again, repeating about seven times, leaving at least another two inches of tail. Neatly wrap each tail around the multiple strands of wire as you would the wraps in a wrapped loop, wrapping three to four times close to the pendant hole. Trim off the excess wire.

This is a super simple, and super easy project! If you would like help, drop by the shop and we'll show you how it's done!