At a recent bead show, I found some great silver components and clasps for my designs that I just fell in love with! They are made by Hip Chick Beads and are crafted from sterling silver. They have a real handcrafted feel to them, almost a bit primitive or rustic, and the imagery is very contemporary with lots of neat symbols and designs.
Some of my favorite pieces are these heart charms, which are sweet and romantic in a contemporary, not too mushy way. These charms are quite small, and would make great details in a charm bracelet or for earrings, as well as clustered together for a necklace.
There are also some very unique toggle clasps in the Hip Chick line, like the three shown above. These are just a few of the designs that I bought for myself... I would have loved one of each but I had to make my favorite choices. Maybe your favorites are different...check out the Hip Chick Beads website to see the whole line! Melanie Brooks Lukacs is the ceramic beadmaker of Earthenwood Studio, who blogs from her Metro Detroit, Michigan home.
3 comments:
Hipchick beads does not have good etiquette or customer service, and can be darn right rude if you mention a competitor or ask for a gram price. If you try and negotiate at all -they responded "we can sell you some cheap Bali silver instead." In one of my orders (first order) they sent me what I call "seconds," where some of the pieces that were ill formed with cuts and blemishes on them. When I wanted to return them, their policy is a re-stocking fee. Another problem is not all of the pieces have measurements so I was disappointed with the size of the smaller ones. This is too bad because they do have some clever little designs.
I found just the opposite with hip chick beads. They were nice and spent time talking to me about their beads. I wouldn't expect them to have a gram price as their beads are not made in indonesia, india or bali. Factory beads made at unfair labor costs are by the gram not these artisian beads. They are handmade by the artist, each one cast by them. I don't consider it rude if they don't want to negotiate, if you're looking more for a cheap price you should stick to Bali or Indian silver. And if the pieces didn't have measurements, which was important to you, why didn't you ask before buying? I will continue to buy from them as they've always treated me good and with a warm smile.
I really had a great experience meeting her at a recent bead show in PA. She spent a lot of time talking me me about her design inspirations, techniques, and made some very good recommendations on soldering products. Totally a positive experience with her. Highly recommend HipChicBeads!
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