Kate’s Bead Selection for Designing a Statement Necklace
Today on Beadshop LIVE we showed a fantastic design featuring one of our limited edition Curated Collections. Kate also shows a second colorway idea...you can find the ingredients and a snapshot below!
We started off by chatting about Kate & Grace's pieces that both feature our Called Pi piece from Vintage Finds. It's a great centerpiece for both of these designs.
Kate also shared one of her favorite design inspirations... The world of designer Tony Duquette.
Then Kate explored the "Many Moods of Thread." She created a number of color pallets and discussed how changing up the thread in a piece can really influence the overall look.
She shared some of her favorites. The colors of Regular C-Lon she used were: (Top row from left) Navy, Indigo, Charcoal, Gunmetal, Nickel. (Bottom Row from left) Neon Yellow, Chartreuse, Lemongrass, Antique Gold Golden Olive, Lt. Magenta, Cerise, Chinese Coral, Orchid, Fluorescent Hot Pink.
She also shared a future project that she is working on using Regular C-Lon, a variety of her favorite beads and the Jewel Loom.
You can see how the different thread colors influence the design.
There are so many threads to choose from. You can find them all in on our website in the Stringing Materials section.
Watch the whole broadcast here and let us know how you like to incorporate thread into your designs.
Janice Parsons is known for her color coordinating skills, and to help share her strategy for designing using color inspiration, she and Kate Richbourg dedicated a Facebook live show to the topic. During the show, which is now available through beadshop's YouTube channel, they work together to offer a sort of color workshop for beaders. Along with watching the show, you can also download a free Tricks of the Trade handout that Janice originally used while teaching in her brick and mortar store when it was open from 1983-2008.
Color Inspiration
As Kate explains during the show, "Color can change the personality of the piece," and Janice agrees that it is important to feel free to experiment and not "be afraid of color." Both designers suggest that working with color is a good starting point when you are creating jewelry. Begin with a photograph, fabric, painting, any object that provides a ready-made mix of colors that personally inspires you. For example, in Janice's handout. a beautiful bouquet of flowers is selected as the place to begin, and eventually, by following her steps for design by looking at shapes in your object and coming up with adjectives that not only describe it by also how you feel when you look at it, you can collect beads and jewelry components that work well together. This is what Kate calls thinking of "the big picture" before focusing on too many details like what your clasp will be. This show, which aired live on the beadshop Facebook page on 1/25/17, is one you will want to watch and probably take notes to help you develop your own inspiring and colorful jewelry pieces.
When designing with beads, you can’t help but consider color as one of the most important elements of your creation. It really is the first thought that comes into most of our minds when we start to develop an idea of what we want to make. Our color choices might be the result of attempting to match an outfit, finding inspiration in a piece of artwork, or looking around at nature for our muse. To help you assemble an assortment of hues, beadshop has put together The Color Collection.
In The Color Collection, you’ll find every color of the rainbow ready for you to click on and enjoy. Looking for that perfect shade of green? You will find a harmonious collection from colored cord to picasso beads to tassels to Swarovski crystals and more brought together on one easy to access area. What about going with neutrals of black and gray? Or loads of reds? And then there are those soft pastels to love. It’s all there ready for you!
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What about going with neutrals of black and gray? Or loads of reds? And then there are those soft pastels to love. It’s all there ready for you!
