On the spot designing....

It was a gorgeous weekend in New York City! The sun was bright, the art beads were fabulous and the customers were cheery! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello and/or purchase beads!

I had made one shawl pin with one of the Chakra Hands as a foray into selling them. I demonstrated the shawl pin to many but one woman showed a particular interest. She though it could be used as a hairpin. Being game, I took it off and we put it in her hair. Voila! It WAS a hairpin! She bought it and walked away happily with it. I was just as happy because I now had a new item in my inventory thanks to her!

Yesterday, I received a lovely email from her:

"Just wanted to let you know how well it works out as a hair ornament. I found a simple way to just secure it inside the bun on top of my head, and just the hand sticks out, totally visible. It's really a cute conversation piece. And all the energy is really now centered in my head, ha!

So now you have a new item to sell -- a hair pin.

Sincerely,
Evelyn"


Thanks, Evelyn!

So if you have bought beads from me and designed a piece of jewelry or home decor with them. Please send me an email and let me know - better yet - send me a picture so I can post it on my blog and website. I'd love to see what you're making!

Spiral sets, NYC and while I'm gone see Artbeadscene!

I'm offering the set of Beadwork Challenge beads on my website. I had a request for a Water Spiral set, so I've created one!

Well, the intrepid beadmaker is off to the Big Apple to sell some art beads at the Urban Glass Bead Expo! Hope to see old customers, meet some new ones and talk to jewelry designers! I'll tell you all about it when I get back on Tuesday!

While I'm away, pop on over to a terrific new blog on art beads - Art Bead Scene - a new blog just started by an awesome group of beadmakers of all media who I am fortunate enough to be associated with! Great content and very talented beadmakers!

April/May issue of Beadwork!

YIPPPEEEE!! The April/May issue of Beadwork is out! I'm on pages 88-89!! I've been talking about the Challenge coming up and now it's here! I love the fresh unexpected way the editors of Beadwork used the spirals!

Speaking of spirals, they're on my website. I'll be adding more color options later but in the meantime, if you don't see a color you'd like, feel free to email me your request!

What to do with a Spiral? Instant fashion!

I've made spirals with the high twist in different places on the bead, middle, end or even all the way around - that lends itself to being worn horizontally rather than vertically. These spirals are made on a 3mm mandrel so you can run a purchased necklace through it. Voila! Instant fashion! You can interchange the spirals to suit your mood!

Spirals

I'm happily locked away in my studio winding spirals for Urban Glass, Beadfiesta and my website. If this is the first time you're reading my blog - welcome! And you might be wondering, "why spirals?" I've taken this from my website:

What is the significance of the spirals?
In the drive to express ideas through my glass, I wanted to express the never-ending cycle of life. How events will happen at one time in your life and then circle back to them again. We have our own life-spirals and we travel around on them and come back to events although maybe not in exactly the same way. A spiral can bring you peace too, the assurance that everything WILL circle back around. In that sense, it serves as a rudimentary mandala for us to meditate upon.


So, I chose to make spirals in glass to express that idea - glass is a perfect medium because of it's potentially fragile quality. A glass spiral can be beautiful, colorful, reflective yet if you don't treat it with some care, it could shatter.

Urban Glass Bead Expo March 23-25, 2007

Here's the picture of me at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. My good friend Molly drove me up to the museum before the Urban Glass Bead Expo last year. The Bead Expo is coming up in two weeks - so I'm frantically trying to get ready!

New this year at Urban Glass! I've made Spirals that will be in the April 2007 issue of Beadwork. These are really fun beads! They'll be making their first public appearance at the Urban Glass Bead Expo!