Fit to Print - Creative Jewelry

Let's file this one under "Not what I was expecting!" I had seen that a few of my bead buddies online mentioned they were in this magazine. But to tell you the truth, I thought it was for basic beginners and didn't give it a second look. Boy am I glad I picked it up at my last visit to the book store. This is like a super-charged edition of Stringing, with very creative and trendy designs that can be put together quickly. I like quick!

Here are the details from the magazine:

Over 135 projects to make and wear!

The GIANT 2009 edition of Creative Jewelry has more inspiration; more projects; more creative ideas than ever before!Inside you'll find 75+ necklaces PLUS 60+ bracelets and earrings!

PLUS, plenty of great articles that will keep you in-the-know.

Sell Your Work: Do you Etsy? Learn about the hottest craze for artisans. Buy, sell, shop, discover, get inspired, expand your resources, and more!

Design on a Dime! 12 Tips to Stretch Your Budget!

Studio & Storage: Sneak a peak inside artists' studios and dream on! PLUS creative ideas for storing and managing all of those beads!

You can see a sampling of the projects here. I highly recommend picking up Creative Jewelry for instant boost of inspiration.

Beadmaker Interview - Kerri Fuhr

1. What is your personal name, business name, website and location?

Kerri Fuhr , Kerri Fuhr Designs, http://www.kerrifuhr.com/
Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada


2. What kind of beads do you make? What kinds of processes do you use? What is your favorite beadmaking technique?

I am a lampwork glass bead artist and create one of a kind art focal beads as well as intricate bead sets for jewelry designers and collectors. I use a table top torch which is fueled by natural gas and an oxygen concentrator. The glass I use is imported from Italy but I also use glass that is made in the U.S. and Canada. My favorite beads to make are my nature-inspired landscape and animal portrait focal beads.


Dragonflies, honeybees and ravens are some of my favorite subjects to "paint" with glass! Lately I've also been creating horses, swans and herons and there are always new subjects I'm working on. My favorite technique is a bas-relief style of portraiture that I achieve through layering and sculpting multiple colors of glass. I also use silver foil and enamels to achieve painterly effects on my beads.


3. How did you get into beadmaking? What are some of the important things you do for your business?

I started making glass beads in the fall of 2000 and was thrilled when people first started asking to buy my beads! It quickly turned from a hobby into a part time business and now for the past 5 years it has been my full time job and all consuming passion!

One of the most important things I do for my business is travel. I spend a lot of time on the road traveling to bead shows across the US with my friend and fellow bead maker, Stephanie Dieleman (http://www.stephaniebeads.com/). I have found this to be a wonderful way to get my beads seen by a wider audience and I love the face to face feedback from my customers. The internet is also an enormous asset to this business as I can reach customers across the globe as well. I always say that my beads are better traveled than I am!


4. What is your workspace like and how do you work in your studio? What is a typical day like?

I am very fortunate in that I have the studio of my dreams which I had custom built last year. My boyfriend and I live on a 1 acre property with a large shop at the back and we converted part of it into my little piece of bead heaven. I decorated the studio in a Moroccan-inspired theme with warm colors and colorful tile floors to offset our grey Canadian winters. An 11 foot tile workbench with custom ventilation overlooks the house and pool in my backyard. An idyllic setting in which to work all day! I even have a little fireplace in the corner to keep it cozy in the winter and have just installed air conditioning to offset the heat of our brief yet hot summers. Most days I can be found in the studio and I often roll outof bed, coffee in hand and take my 2 minute "commute" to work with my 3 dogs in tow. They are my studio companions and eagerly curl up in their beds by the fireplace or under the air conditioner to watch me work all day. I often torch for 8 - 10 hours a day - especially right before show season! There is also time needed for computer work as well such as emails, updating my Etsy store and organizing my show schedule. I basically work all day and into the night when I can and Istill never seem to catch up on all that I need to do. Beingself-employed is an enriching experience but requires a lot of hard work!

5. How do you stay inspired and motivated?

I find inspiration everywhere! A starry night sky, a rich west coast sunset, the crows and birds in my yard and the dragonflies that skim across the pool all inspire me. I have more ideas than time and it's always a challenge to find the hours I need to get some "play" time at the torch to try all of the ideas I have!


6. What type of beads and jewelry designs do you feel best compliment your art beads? Do you design your own jewelry too?

I do love to design jewelry but rarely have the time for it these days. I decided a few years ago to stop designing jewelry for my galleries in order to focus more on my beads. That was a wonderful decision to make for the growth of my business as it allowed me to become a better bead-maker. The experience of designing jewelry was good for me though as it taught me how to better design beads to be made into wearable jewelry pieces. One thing I love to do is collaborate with jewelry designers and see the different ways in which they design with my beads. There are so many talented designers and they always amaze me with their creativity and ingenuity. I will still sometimes design finished pieces for gifts, to display at my shows or to feature in a publication but that is all I have time for.


7. What beady plans do you have for the future? Do you have new designsor ideas you will be exploring soon?

My future is FULL of beads, that I know! I've been working on the teaching aspect of my business lately and have released my first pdf tutorial on how I make my tapestry beads with more tutorials coming up in the weeks and months ahead. I have been asked to travel to many studios to teach and am excited to get the opportunity to travel to some great new places next year. I still find it amazing how many places I've had the opportunity to see because of beads. Never in amillion years did I think that I would get to do the things I do because of this craft. I feel so very fortunate and am excited to see where these little pieces of glass will take me next!

For a listing of shows, tutorials, classes and new beads, be sure to check out my website at http://www.kerrifuhr.com/. I also have a new blog at www.kerrifuhr.com/blog.html

Designer of the Week

Each Monday we feature the Designer of the Week. One of our editors pick their favorite from the Monthly Challenge entries.

This week Lynn Davis has picked the August ABS submission created by Patricia at TheColorofDreams. Patricia hails from Florida, she must have lots of watery inspiration to her creativity.

Lynn said this about The Great Wave Bracelet:

"Patricia has captured the spirit and colors of the print with her mokume gane work on the handmade beads. If you look closely at the beads you can see the swirl of the water and the foam, the bracelet is a simple design like the japanese woodcut print, but visually lovely and interesting."

Patricia's work can be seen on her blog and at her Etsy site.

Want to see your work featured on the Art Bead Scene? Our theme for the month of August is a Japanese Woodcut Design titled Great Wave Off of Kanagawa by Hokusai Katsushiki - it's a classic. The deadline to enter for the monthly prize is August 31st! Click the link to get all the rules and information on how to submit your work.

Create something that combines the theme with art beads and then send in your submission for the August Challenge. The winner gets some fabulous prizes!

Sunday with Cindy

Good morning, Beady Readers! Wondering what's going on in the bead and jewelry world? Take a peek at our links and see.....

A Bead A Day
Do you use buttons in your jewelry designs? Stop by A Bead A Day to share your experiences and ideas.

About.com Jewelry Making
Is the under 20 crowd crafting more or less these days? Take the quick poll & see the results of what other crafters are thinking about this issue.

Art Bead Scene
Looking for some new earring ideas? The Art Bead Scene reviews 101 Wire Earrings.

Barbe Saint John - New Treasures from Forgotten Artifacts
Join in the fun of the Objects & Elements Reader Challenge!

Beading Arts
Beautiful Swarovski components from ArtBeads.com inspired Cyndi...right over the moon!

Carmi's Art/Life World
A little Friendly Plastic, a charm and resin makes for an amazing pendant.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Summer heat getting to you? Cindy has a wrist full of Frost Links in Pear to keep her cool.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie happens upon a new line of supplies that blend perfectly with her steampunk designs as well as her new resin collage pendants.

Jean Campbell
Jean whips up a pair of funky Steampunky earrings; you can make them, too!

Katie's Beading Blog
Check out Katie's upcoming workshops!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei shares some links to another really cool blog beading challenge.

Strands of Beads
Melissa creates a simple but stunning necklace with goodies from Rings & Things.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew reveals ten new jewelry designs.

Studio Saturday Back From the Lake

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Last weeks winner is Mari Aparicio. Congratulations! You have won a Hand button from the studio of Tari Sasser at Creative Impressions in Clay. Send Tari at Claybuttons.com an e-mail with your address and she will get it right out to you. Or click on the Suggestion Box in the sidebar to contact Art Bead Scene with your information.

This week we visit the studio of Lynn Davis at ExpeditionD, who is totally mixing her media!

Hi, welcome to my studio. Even though it's been several weeks now I'm still somewhat recovering from a vacation over the Independence Day holiday week. Yes, I know that sounds like the sentence doesn't match up, you go on vacation to recover from regular life, don't you? Somehow even enjoyable travel takes a bit of a toll.

Since I did go and spend some time at the lake, I thought I'd share a nautical themed item I created out of cast pewter, with a color and texture to look like old scrimshaw in the backing of it.

And this month's Art Bead Scene Challenge theme is one of my favorite japanese woodcut prints and it has a seven seas feeling to it, along with beautiful blue colors and inspiring mountain vistas.


I'm having a lot of fun mixing my media, and this piece has an adventure in publishing ahead of it! It's a secret project that will be showing up this winter, I can't wait. Until then, this little oval anchor will be sailing off to have its photograph taken, anchors aweigh and all that jazz!


I've also been mixing paper, glass and resin with my hand cast pewter to come up with invented vintage faux-tique medallions like this one. I'm enjoying the challenge of coming up with new and different combinations.

If you have something creative and bead-inclusive planned between now and Labor Day, share your vacation, class or beading plans, you might win a nautical-inspired bead too! What do you have planned for your end of summer?

Post your event ideas, get-togethers and summertime inspired plans and if your post wins, your nautically inspired hand cast pewter charm will be sent out to you quick as summer lightning!

Posted by Lynn Davis, who needs to get past the lazy days of summer and start getting ready for the end of the year season. Motivation!

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Speaking of motivation, don't forget to upload your photos for the August Monthly Challenge to the ABS Flickr site - the prizes this month are fantastic!

Beadmaker Interview - Patty Lakinsmith

1. What is your personal name, business name, website and location?
Patty (Patricia) Lakinsmith, and I do business by my own name and the name, "Plays With Fire". My blog is www.pattylakinsmith.blogspot.com, and the website where I sell my work is www.pattylakinsmith.etsy.com. My website (www.playswithfiredesigns.com) is sadly outdated and will be redone soon. I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in California near the Silicon Valley.

2. What kind of beads do you make? What kinds of processes do you use? What is your favorite beadmaking technique?
I am a lampwork bead maker, and make mostly organic focal beads, but occasionally surprise myself with a set or a clean graphic design. I work with soft glass, and have tried all kinds of techniques, including reduction, electroforming, enamel powders, frit, murrini - you name it and I've probably given it a shot. I've even used baking soda to produce beads that look like rocks.

3. How did you get into beadmaking? What are some of the important things you do for your business?
I feel like I got into beadmaking by accident about 6 years ago. On a whim I took a beginner's lampworking class, and was oddly fascinated by the danger and the difficulty. I had no idea what a good bead looked like, but kept practicing in my garage until I started seeing improvement. I worked on my own for several years before taking another class, practicing every lesson in Corina Tettinger's book, Passing the Flame. In the last few years I've been taking classes from people like Jennifer Geldard, Michael Barley, Tink Martin, Trey Cornette, and Andrea Guarino. I am eager to continue to grow and learn.
I began selling my work at local art and wine shows, then online through Etsy, and most recently at larger shows in and outside of California. Outside of what you would call "bead shows" I think it's important for beadmakers to make jewelry with their beads, so that they can interact with the public who aren't educated in jewelry making. I really enjoy talking to people who come into my booth at art shows, people who just assume that I went to the bead store and bought all of the beads in my jewelry pieces. Once they realize that I made each and every bead by hand, they take more time to really check out my work.
One other important thing I do for my business is to wear my own lampwork jewelry every day. It's a great way to capture people's attention and open a conversation about what I do. I also try to keep new work flowing into my Etsy shop. It's tough when much of your work consists of one of a kind pieces, but people like to feel like you're growing and not becoming stagnant.

4. What is your workspace like and how do you work in your studio? What is a typical day like?
My workspace is spread out through our small home, with an area in the garage for torching and cleaning beads, and an area in another part of the house for jewelry assembly and shipping. I am dreaming of getting a separate studio, perhaps a yurt or a pacific dome, where everything can be in one spot that I can call my own, and not share with bicycles, guest beds, exercise equipment, etc. It's usually pretty messy, especially in the days leading up to a show when I'm producing pieces like made, but occasionally I get it cleaned up.
I usually sit down at the torch with few preconceived notions about what I'm going to make, and let the glass inspire me. Sometimes I have something specific in mind to make, but mostly I choose colors that speak to me and let the glass tell me what it wants to do that day.
There are no typical days at my house. Sometimes I work early in the morning, sometimes late at night. I usually get up early and answer emails and Etsy convos over coffee, and then from there it's extremely variable. Some days I'll spend some time in the garden, some days it's errands or lunch with friends. I find myself going to the post office about twice a week, maybe more, just to drop packages off that I've weighed and stamped at home. One thing is consistent, however, and that's the fact that my best ideas usually come to me early in the morning or late at night while I'm lying in bed. Sometimes they are so persistent that they get me out of bed.

5. How do you stay inspired and motivated?
I have no problem with inspiration. I see it everywhere - the garden, the sky, animals, magazines, fabric. I usually have at least 4 or 5 different ideas brewing in my head at once. Motivation is pretty easy too, but the hardest time for me to get motivated is when I get an order to recreate something I've done in the past. It seems that I am most motivated when I have an idea of my own to explore, not someone else's vision of what I should make.

6. What type of beads and jewelry designs do you feel best compliment your art beads? Do you design your own jewelry too?
Organic jewelry designs seem best suited for my beads. I've been working with metalsmith Cyndie Smith (www.cyndiesmithdesigns.etsy.com) for about a year now, and I find that her fluid designs in silver, brass, and copper really compliment my bead style. We entered the ISGB and Bead & Button's Convergence exhibit with a pretty radical piece called Mean Green Mother Earth, which included copper flowers, leaves, and tendrils, and little one-holed "Meanie" flower head beads that had big lips, teeth, and tongues. We've had tons of fun with this theme, and have designed complimentary brooches and rings from this idea. Glass and metal are a natural combination, and Cyndie is a lot of fun to work with.
I design my own jewelry as well using my own PMC clasps and other findings, freshwater pearls, crystals, and silver wire. Most of it is pretty simple, but I've been attracted to charm or cha cha bracelet styles recently, and have designed some earrings that go along the same theme. It's fun to put a collection of related items together in that way.

7. What beady plans do you have for the future? Do you have new designs or ideas you will be exploring soon?
My to do list includes some electroforming (it's been a while since I've done that), and further exploration of the one holed bead theme. I've also been working a lot with the concept of gravity, and some surprisingly simple bead styles (for me, anyway).
I've been hoping for some time to collaborate with a bead weaver, and was thrilled to recently met Rachel Nelson-Smith at a local show. We're working together on a design for a magazine challenge, and I'm very excited about it. Her detailed work with seed beads just blows my mind, and the work she does really honors lampwork.

8. If you have a discount code you would like to give our readers, please list it here, including the expiration date:
Sure - just use the code "ABSAUG" for a 20% discount on any order from my Etsy shop, except items already in the "SALE" category.

The Holidays are Coming

Candy Cane Necklace by Jangles

Can you believe it? The holidays are just around the corner. Now is the time to start thinking about them. Before you so busy with the rush, plan out your shows, your promotions, and your open houses. Be sure to stock up on essentials like business cards. If you were thinking about an update to your website or Etsy shop, do it now. You see where I am going with this.

Gift Buttons by Tari Sasser

Then when October rolls around, you will be so prepared, you can focus on making jewelry for those holiday sales.

Red Bird by Heather Powers

Written by Jennifer Heynen of Jangles