Fabulous Coatings on Czech Glass...Do we take them for granted?

Czech Glass in 3mm, Honeycomb, 4mm and Superduos

It's not everyday that I can drool over new beads all in my favorite colorways...sea green, mossy brown, deep teal. Nothing captures my imagination like a good Picasso Green. I've been in love with ocean colors since I first set eyes on the deep, rough waters off the coast of Big Sur. And I'm an absolute pushover for anything pebbled with brown. 

I've talked a bit about how the Czech glassmakers are on fire. They really are. There has been a resurgence in glass from the Czech Republic for about 8 years now. It's so popular that Miyuki Beads of Japan ships its seed beads over to have them coated because no one can mimic them. That's pretty crazy! But seriously, there are some very talented artists coming up with these new beads and coatings. I love beads in all colors and I do my best to always find the unusual in every hue, but sometimes it's so hard for me to look beyond green.....

Read more about Czech Glass and the Precosia Company, the leader in the renaissance in glass beadmaking. I think you might, like me, have a greater appreciation for the under-rated, taken-for-granted, affordable, Czech Glass Bead. It's really on a trajectory to stardom, if it isn't there already.

The Amazing Autumn Look Book...

             

Finding inspiration for a project can be daunting for any jewelry artist craving originality. Over the years, I have suggested to students and customers that they don't need to look any further than a favorite photograph for ideas on bead selection and even design parameters. When I had my store (closed in 2008), I used to teach "Tricks of the Trade" and students would tell me it "changed their lives." That was wonderful to hear, but I'm just glad to see the process opened many up to the fun and ease of designing authentically.

In our Autumn Challenge, we asked for entries from the beading community. The parameters were to create a wrap bracelet inspired by Autumn. Guidelines were pretty simple: 50% of the ingredients had to be available on beadshop.com and it had to be inspired by fall foliage from a photograph. 

We asked artists to submit photos of their bracelets and their source inspiration. The results were outstanding. If you're like me, you'll want them all! What an incredible group of artists...just amazing. What do you think? I'd love to hear from you and I'd love to pass your comments on to the artists themselves. 

Please email me and happy beading!

~janice

Your 2 Cents

One of my resolutions for 2016 is to spend more time talking with readers and customers. When I had The Bead Shop in Palo Alto, I would chat every day with students, shoppers and people who wandered in off the street curious to see a store that just sold beads. There was a natural flow of ideas and opinions. I would often hear, "I saw this in a catalog. Will you help me make it?" or "When will you get this back in stock?" or "I'd like to learn how to do this. Will you teach me?"

Now that we're an online bead shop, it's more challenging to communicate one-to-one, but not impossible. So, with the new year, comes my resolution to go "old school"and begin chatting again. Give me your 2 cents on how we're doing and I promise I'll listen. Whether you're intrigued by a product you saw someplace else, curious about what thread to use in a project or you'd like to share what you just made, I want to hear from you. And if I don't have an answer to a question, I'll do my best to get you one. Please email me at feedback.beadshop@gmail.com or join me on Facebook and give me your two cents!

Thank you and happy beading,

~ janice

Ode to Pearls and Gemstones

The Bead Shop in 2008 

Going through old files at year-end, I came across some charming photos of 

The Bead Shop in Palo Alto taken in 2008. I look back with great memories of everything, including the rich and varied assortment of beads; the depth and variety available just 8 years ago is amazing. I think now about how difficult it is today to source real gems and stones and I long for the days when they were still relatively easy to get. 

A look inside the old shop...

Less than ten years ago, I would tell my pearl knotting students to buy pearls as the market was drying up. Really large and luscious pearls from China back then were amazing and a great value. Not so today. Every size is getting difficult to source and amazing pearls in peacock blue and bronze are virtually not being made. 

I can see why the market is moving to glass. It just makes sense from a manufacturing standpoint; glass beads are made from renewable resources, readily available and can be duplicated again and again. Beads from the earth and the oceans and lakes are another thing altogether and it has become a serious consideration in 

what we can source and use in projects.

Our next project to publish in January

So, my first project for the new year is an ode to freshwater pearls. It will publish early in January. It uses my very favorite bead....pearls. What will the next project be? 

Probably something in glass. I hope you like this one...

Stay tuned and happy new year! ~janice

How to Knot Beads and Rock your World...

Knotting a mala or a strand of pearls is within reach. Of all the techniques I have taught over my 30+ years of teaching, pearl knotting is the biggest hurdle for so many. I'm not sure why; I sometimes think it dates back to when we were children playing with our grandmother's jewelry and we came across her knotted pearl necklace. Somehow those knots between each bead seemed so special. And it is, but it isn't difficult. In Learning to Knot a Mala, you can easily learn this technique. It just requires a pair of knotting tweezers and a forgiving thread like Fine-Weight C-Lon. There is some magic to the technique...it happens when you separate the two threads and pull them gently but firmly and the knot slips up next to the bead. That's when eyes would go wide in class; when non-believers would look to me with a new sense of self..."I can knot!" 

I hope you'll try it. The handout is absolutely free. You can locate it at:  http://www.beadshop.com/pages/how-to-knot-a-mala. I'd love to hear how you did and what you knotted. Grandma's Pearls? Stones? Glass? Anything!

Beading is a journey to joy....

At this stage of life, I am learning that happiness is not a destination but a journey. Similar to how it feels stringing beads...finding joy is made up of little snippets of happiness strung together.

Every year at Thanksgiving my family shares what we are grateful for. This year I feel very fortunate for so many reasons: I live in a beautiful place. I love my work and I am so thankful for so many wonderful and special friends, co-workers and family. 

I also want you to know how grateful I am for your support. As a valued customer, fellow artist and jewelry maker, I am overwhelmed by your kind words, thoughtful calls and emails. You are all so patient when we are out of stock or if we ship the wrong item or even leave something out. We always strive for perfect and when we don't hit the mark, you are the best customers ever. You are amazing! So, a big thanks to each of you for allowing us to be part of your journey. I hope we bring you joy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo janice

http://www.beadshop.com/pages/honeycomb-weave

Weave a Honeycomb

Just recently, The Beadsmith introduced its newest 2-hole Czech bead, Honeycomb, in 33 colors. With its signature 6 sides, this bead mimics a beehive pattern. And with two holes, it begs to be woven. When I went to research patterns and designs using this bead, there isn't much out there yet because it's so new. But what was really missing are ladder bracelet designs with them.  And, as we are still the home of wrap bracelets (at least for the time being!), I thought, "Why not?"

It actually became a challenge to ladder Honeycomb beads. It took hours of experimentation to finally arrive at a way to graduate up to enough beads to make a wide, luscious cuff. I went through so many tries until I arrived at the final results.

What makes this project different from previous ladder designs is the manner of weaving using a needle and thread. It is much more like bead weaving than laddering; beads are added only from the right side and the needle and KO weave in a figure 8 or Infinity Stitch. I also added a new style of beginning and ending the macramé. It's a bit of a surprise to start with a longer tail that acts as a macramé cord.  I want to thank Karen Marshall for originally bringing the Infinity Stitch to me as a way to ladder, Savanna Hall for helping with samples and handout editing and Grace Noland for her wonderful photography for all 70 steps. Thank you! I hope you enjoy. ~ janice