BEADS!

I know, I'm supposed to be working on that whole incense thing. I am... just... very slowly.

Anyway, in other news...
I finally acted upon a desire I've had for a while now.
I've seen some amazing lampwork bead sets on Etsy and I've always thought it would be fun to incorporate them into my jewelry. It would certainly give my stuff a splash of color! And, since I don't have the space or location to do the lampworking myself (*looks wistfully and apologetically at her torch and glass collecting dust*) then I thought I'd hook up with one or more of these amazing artists and get some beads from them.

So I contacted one today and told her how much I loved her beads and what my intentions were if I purchased her beads.
I know people that make these bead sets expect the buyer to use the beads in jewelry or something. But I don't know how many of those buyers plan to sell the finished pieces like I do. So I thought I'd do the right thing and ask. Couldn't hurt, right? And at the very least, I'm complimenting someone.

I think this will give me a little kick in the pants that I need to get passionate about my jewelry again. It ebbs and flows, that passion.
Or maybe, it will just make me pine for my own torch and make me angry that I don't have a place to melt glass myself. Maybe it will give me a kick in the pants in THAT aspect of my life.

HBP - Final Product #1

It's finished! As promised:



Satin rattail cord, sterling silver chainmaille tassle.
It turned out pretty darn close to what I had envisioned. I had thought to add some Swarovski crystals to accentuate the color in the glass, but once I got to this point, it seemed like they would have just seemed like an afterthought. Besides, considering the bead is the focal point, the color and sparkle of the crystals would have pulled attention away from it.

I'm rather happy with it! Now... to decide what to do with it...

The Homeless Bead Project

So I mentioned in an earlier post about a wonderful artist, Nomad Crafts, who sends out monthly newsletters as well as a free lampworked bead to anyone on their mailing list. Considering my latent passion for lampworking, I quickly added my name to said mailing list.

Well, a week ago, my first bead arrived!


Ain't she a beaut? I was pleasantly surprised when this little gem arrived in my mailbox for free. Most places that have free giveaways like that only giveaway items that are substandard or unsellable. Maybe this artist has very high standards, which is fine, but this bead is not what I would consider freebie fodder.
It is obviously thought out and planned to look the way it does. Sure, if I HAD to I could try to pick out a few things about it that might not be considered perfect. But then again, who am I to judge with only 10 hours of any sort of lampworking experience under my belt?

So anyway, I am assuming (hoping) that Nomad Crafts will continue to send me specimens like this and my intention (hope/plan/pipedream?) is to make something using each of the monthly tokens and send pictures of the finished item back to Nomad Crafts.

There is a tiny dilemma amidst this project...
Is it ethical for me to sell some of the items I make with thsee free beads? I have every intention of providing as many links as I can to Nomad's etsy shop in the descriptions of these items. I also plan to blog about each month's project (like I'm doing now) which is helping promote Nomad's business. But since I obtained the bead for free, is it then unethical to turn it around and sell it for money?
I suppose I could always ask Nomad how they felt about it. Perhaps they would prefer I didn't use their giveaways to make into items to sell. Perhaps they would prefer if I didn't blog about them at all!

Well, we'll see how the finished project turns out this month. I wouldn't dare try to sell an item that didn't turn out well for fear of linking Nomad's shop with an inferior product.
I'm not even sure what I want to do with it.
One idea was to string it on some satin rattail cord and add a small chainmail embellishment underneath, probably with some Swarovski crystals to compliment the colors used in the bead. But would it be a pendant on a long corded necklace or should I attach a clip to make it a zipper pull or other such adornment?

If I had more folks that regularly read this blog, I could turn it into a contest... Readers could suggest ideas and whomever submitted the winning idea would receive the finished item as a prize. Would that I had that many readers, else we would all benefit from such an idea.

I could also have a contest for people to suggest a name for this idea of turning the monthly beads into an accessory or jewelry item. For now I'm calling it the Homeless Bead Project. Even though, the bead has a home now. It had a home before. But the previous home decided that perhaps the bead could have a better life if they sent it out into the world.
I just want to fulfill that beads destiny.

Barktoberfest tomorrow and a Look Ahead

Well it rained. It IS raining. So Barktoberfest will be held tomorrow. It is supposed to be sunny all day. Hopefully no wind. Mid 60's. Not too bad.

Check back tomorrow evening. Hopefully I'll have time and energy to give a quick blurb about the show. If not, then definitely on Monday.

Also, I received my Bead of the Month from Nomad Crafts. I am pleasantly surprised! I figured it'd be a small bead or maybe a reject. A bead that didn't turn out well. And maybe it is a bead that didn't turn out well. Perhaps the artist had a specific image in mind for this bead and this one didn't quite match it.
Either way, to me, it's a rather nice bead! Quite large at about an inch in diameter. I already have ideas for what to do with it.

So check back after Tuesday night and hopefully I'll have some pictures of the bead itself, and maybe pictures of what I did with it!

I like people.

Okay, not really. I mean, that would go against everything I am. I suppose it'd be more accurate to say that I'm happy with some people at the moment.

My Etsy shop has been conversation central. None have resulted in sales, but one is about a recent sale, so there's that.

One conversation was initiated by myself. I discovered a shop that has a really cool promotion. The shop is NomadCraftsEtc. and they make lampworked beads and pendants. Lampworking is near and dear to my heart and once I get a place that can accommodate such a craft, I will get back behind the torch and try my hand at it again.
So I was pretty happy to find out that if you join their mailing list, the kind folks at Nomad Crafts will send you a fee lampworked bead every month. Now, I'm sure these beads aren't huge masterpieces. Probably not anything that could serve as a focal bead or pendant... but still. These are beads that take a little bit of effort to make. The glass is expensive. It takes up resources to have the torch burning. I might only take a minute or two to make the bead, but I seriously doubt these beads are just single color wraps. Well, I HOPE they're more than that anyway.
So I had a few convos back and forth with them and they seem very nice and I look forward to my newsletter and bead.

Another conversation was from a recent buyer. She got her bracelet today and is very happy with it. And thusly I'm very happy about that! To give myself props as a reward for another happy customer, I shall now link you to the bracelet in question. Sneaky me. Of course, as fast as those things are selling, we'll see how long that link lasts.

Thirdly, I got a convo from a fellow jewelry seller asking about the dog in my logo. I've had this question at least once before, if not twice. She asked if it was a Shiba Inu. No, I responded, it is an Akita. Now I won't lie and say that I like Shibas. I really don't. But that's just personal preference. Am I mad when people think it's a shiba? No. It's probably my own fault that people think that. The anvil and the dog are proportioned so that it makes the dog look like a smaller breed... like a shiba or a spitz. But alas, it is my akita. Will I change it? Hell no. This person said she liked the logo in general and thought the dog on the anvil was appropriate for my shop name. And so, I shall now give HER some props and link you to her shop called Moonlight Beadworks.

It'll be interesting to see how long my goodwill towards others will last.







....not long apparently.

Fishing LURE

Okay, so I'm really digging my earrings that I made (see below). But, I can't find any more of these fish beads anywhere! At least not ones I like.
I'm finding tons that have the hole drilled down through the length of the fish. I don't want that! I want the hole drilled through the eye (believe it or not, I do believe it's more aesthetically pleasing that way).
I'm also finding mostly glass beads. I prefer gemstone beads. Why? Well, I think it's a higher quality material than glass. And if I HAVE to have them drilled down the length instead of through the eye, I don't want to be able to see the drilled hole through the glass. Gemstones are opaque for the most part so you can't see the hole.

The pink fish shown below are ones I got from Fire Mountain in a grab bag sort of thing. But I can't find them now. They sell glass ones but they look pressed and... cheap.

I think I've decided to fire up my lampworking torch again and try to make them myself. Yes, I know I said I didn't really want glass. But I'd use boro in all those pretty colors and they'd be handmade and thus.... better than commercially made glass beads.

But I'm giving it one last try. My fishing lure is cast. Does ANYONE know where I can find beads like the ones below?
1.5 - 2cm Gemstone fish beads with the hole drilled through the eye.