Bead Art Jewelry Designs in Vintage Costume Jewelry

I came across this amazing YouTube video about the history of Vintage bead art jewelry on All Earz Jewelry blog. 

I learned a lot in a little over eight minutes, but one thing that stood out for me was the term used by the narrator throughout the video – Bead Art; and believe me as you see the designs you will recognize that not only are these bead art designers unique, but that you just might have a treasure trove of their designs in your jewelry box!

Atlanta Vintage Jewelry is apparently the originator of this video.  Check their website for their current selection of Vintage Bead Art Jewelry and a list of Vintage jewelry suppliers.

The Bead Stylist: BeadWork Magazine My Beading Highlights

Technorati Tags: beadwork magazine,etsy,beading needles,thread

Here’s some of what I like in the current issue August / September issue of BeadWork magazine:

On page six under the W.O.R.D section I was impressed by a bead artist named Beth Moser of Williamsport PA for her creativity after being inspired by a dress she saw during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week – after all beads and fashion that’s what it’s all about! I found a photo on her Etsy shop DesignsByBinah

 

Threading your beading needle won’t be such an issue anymore thanks to a great tip from Jacqueline Johnson of Dover, DE .  She has been beading for over 60 years and she has two great suggestions;

• the first is to thread your beading needle with the end of the thread that’s coming off of the thread spool / bobbin and not the end you cut. 
• the second part is something I never would have thought of which is to thread many beading needles at once, then when you need a new thread grab one needle, slide the other down and cut the length of the thread you need the other needles are there when you need them – what a great idea!

And of course there are so a few great beading projects in this issue of BeadWork magazine.

The color theme in this issue is what really caught my attention and I will be posting a summary of that information soon.

Hope you find this useful!

The Bead Stylist: Summer Time Beading Classes Starting Soon

Although I’m very excited and nervous about teaching these classes especially since I have absolutely no experience, so I put the word out to the experts bead artists that I follow on Facebook hoping for some direction on offering bead weaving classes to teenagers and was a bit surprised not to get any feedback or comments at all.

This made me really wonder what in the world am I getting myself into!

I did explain to the girls that teaching about beads and bead weaving is all new to me and that we’d be learning from each other and they seem ok with that.

Thank goodness they are a talented and exceptionally smart teenagers!

True to my nature in that I try not to let obstacles totally defeat me I decided that it would be a good idea to blog about the experience – who knows someone else may ask a question similar to mine and hopefully this will give them some frame of reference.

I may not be very experienced at teaching this stuff but my research skills and avid desire to learn as much about the beading world as possible I feel gives me a certain edge; for instance, one of the websites I will be using as a primer was one I happened on several years ago when I was looking around for an online tutorial to learn basic stitches.  Beads East was the only one that I could find out of all the tons of beading information on the internet that offered free animated lessons.

So I will stick with what worked then and is even better now because their website has improved and the tutorials are still free!

And too, recalling what my main challenges were starting out I figure that the first class or two will focus on how the variation in beads and bead types and bead color basics.

Understanding how to read patterns, especially if we are going to focus on bead weaving, is an extremely important skill to learn right from the start.

So I’m hoping to accomplish the following in the first two classes but in a very hands on way:

Introduce:

• bead size, type, color
• bead differences by making simple beaded projects like a peyote stitch ruler (I still have the one I made)
• reading a basic bead pattern

My main online source of reference for learning the bead weaving stitches will be Beads East.

I’m still open for suggestions and comments, but at least I feel like I’m off to a good start! Here’s a picture of two of the girls that will be attending

2010 Spring Summer Colors from Pantone

I’ve been ignoring my blog posts for way to long and realized that the 2010 Fall / Winter colors are already out and I haven’t even posted Spring / Summer 2010. 

Trending fashion colors are so important in designing your bead art jewelry designs; especially if you want to go a bit more commercial.  Typically, the colors forecast by Pantone are the most prominent for the fashion Season – like where haven’t we seen Turquoise?

But it’s a really good idea to check the Pantone website often as they often have a color of the day or color of the month or some other color pallets which I’m sure will inspire you creatively!

 

Turquoise 15-5519
Fusion Coral 15-1543
Eucalyptus 15-0513	Dried Herb 17-0627
Violet 16-3320
Pink Champagne 12-1107
Tuscany 16-1219
Aurora 12-0652
Tomato Puree 18-1661

The Bead Stylist: LA Fashion Show and No One Shows? Wall Street Journal

Is this the beginning of the end of fashion shows as we know them?  This article is an eye opener with lots of good bits of information; some things I never knew like in most countries the government sponsors their designers fashion shows.

Which is the basis for the article. Designers must rely on sponsorships to present their fashions, yet the major sponsors are backing out; it will be more than interesting to see how this looks for the 2010 / 2011 fashion season.

Viewing the fashion shows even just via slide shows or  on video from sites like the New York Times Fashion are such a source of inspiration and direction for those of us not even associated with the fashion industry; how devastating this could be for those totally dependant on the industry.

It was clear early in the economic down turn that there would be major changes in the fashion industry, which I blogged about previously.

Yet, the bright side is that these designers love designing and don't want to do anything else; and with passion like that there's no telling how they will assist in possibly redefining the fashion industry - stay tuned.

The Bead Stylist: Spring Cleaning Tips & Free E-Book Secrets of Savvy Etsy Sellers

I came across some links as I constantly scour blogs and other articles and realized these links could be very useful as many bead artists, designers, and Etsy sellers may be taking on some Spring cleaning as they either get ready to take the Summer off or get prepared to start selling again in September.

Free E-Book she just asks that you share the link  Secrets of Savvy Etsy Sellers

Spring Cleaning Get Ready for Selling

Home Jewelry Business Success Tips

Tutorial Sell Jewelry on Etsy

If I locate more I think I will update this post.