The sad news was announced today that Beads & Beyond magazine will no longer be published after the December issue. This publication gave me my first opportunity in 2010, so it has always been special to me. The editors were always enthusiastic and encouraging and allowed the designers all the freedom they needed, with support when required. As a reader …
I have just returned from delivering a Kumihimo workshop at Jewellery Maker in the fabulous new workshop space. This collage shows my lovely, hardworking class working on the second project of the day, with a few glimpses of the first project. My aim was to teach the ground rules for good tension and to take the group through the construction …
One of the most difficult aspects of demonstrating on television is knowing exactly where to pitch the level of complexity. I know that some very loyal viewers have watched my shows right from the beginning in May 2014 and I want to be able to show them new and interesting techniques. However, as kumihimo gets better known and more popular …
There has been a lot of interest in the designs I showed on the Jewellery Maker show on Tuesday and many people are eagerly awaiting these instructions. It has taken me a bit longer to get these written because I have been unable to rely on the YouTube recording of the show to support the written instructions. Unfortunately, since the …
I am sorry to do this to you, but it really is time to start thinking about Christmas! The holiday season has a tendency to creep up on us. One moment it is way in the future and in the next moment you find yourself scrabbling to be ready! We all create because we love the actual making, so now …
One of the most enjoyable aspects of jewellery making for me is being able to play with different types of bead and finding ways of using them in kumihimo. Luckily for me, there is a seemingly endless flow of new beads onto the market. Sometimes it takes a while for them to reach the shops and sometimes it takes a …
I love to use all sorts of different materials in my jewellery designs and each one brings its own special qualities to the piece. Glass seed beads come in a wonderful range of sizes, shapes and colours, they are not expensive and the good quality ones are very regualar. Gemstones have such character and individuality and really add value jewellery. …
It is always thrilling to see your own work in print and one of my most treasured collections is the stack of magazines which include my work. In most cases the work would be in the form of a tutorial, but there are other types of submission. The Designer Challenge in Beads & Beyond is one of my favourites, for …
Graphic Quartz. Never heard of it? Nor had I until I received the parcel from Jewellery Maker containing the kits for my most recent show! Now that I have both seen it and worked with it I hope to use it a lot more. It is a wonderfully warm colour, with varied matrix structures visible both on the surface and …
I was given some lovely gemstones and lots of metal seed beads to work with for the Designer Inspiriation show at Jewellery Maker yesterday. I am the sort of person who gets most of their inspiration from the materials themselves, so receiving a weighty strand of Labradorite with some truly amazing optical effects was all I needed to get my …
