{Song}beads

What have my handwoven {song}beads been getting up to? Here are some of my designs where they have been popping up recently (and a few not so recently!):

Some have sold, some are *mine* and some are available over in my etsy shop. 

Happy Post

Hello all! Here are some of the gorgeous handmade lovelies that have arrived or will be arriving with me soon. Don't you just love a good post day?

How sweet is this little guy? I love his sparkly turquoise ploominess. He's from Elukka.

Scorched Earth spiky droppers, in the most fantastic swirly red glaze. My Scorched Earth earrings have definitely been one of my best sellers this craft fair season. Got a few more on the way but I don't think they will be here in time for my last show, unfortunately. Ah well, all the more for my etsy shop!

Claire Lockwood has been making ceramic beads for a wee while now, and I have amassed a miniature collection (there are never enough ceramic bead artists in the world for me - I always have room for another in my collection - Bo Hulley, Kylie Parry, ChelleV2, Mary Harding, not to mention the ladies featured in this post....I could go on, and on and on....). These beautiful bead caps will be joining my others soon....

...as will these beautiful rustic roses. I have a thing about roses - in real life too. I always have - my Grandma had some absolutely beautiful old-fashioned roses in her garden, and bead roses always remind me just a little of them. Check out Claire's etsy shop - she had a huge update recently!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the little treasures I've been acquiring recently! 

Glasgow Craft Fair - this weekend

Hello hello! Well, I have been thoroughly rubbish at promoting all of my craft fair events this year. Really and truly RUBBISH! So, I thought I'd try and marginally redeem myself by letting you know about my last craft fair, which is this weekend. Ok, not a lot of notice I know...but it really is a goody, if you're around the Glasgow area. 

3d2d organise handmade events throughout Scotland throughout the year, and this includes a series of weekend events in the run up to Christmas. This is their final weekend as well, so if you're able, don't miss out on the chance to peruse the work of many, many fine handmade artisans, all in one venue. We are in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on both weekend days, from 10.30 - 5, and I for one will be completing my Christmas shopping over the course of the weekend! 

Here are a few of my new pieces which will be accompanying me this weekend (unless they disappear from my shop in the mean time!):

Christmas Flowers

Button Gardenia

April Showers

Kaffe

Spring Fayre 

End-of-day Beads

I have long been fascinated by the idea of end-of-day beads. 

"End of day" glass was any item made by the glassworkers in their own time at the end of the day using up the remaining molten glass in the pots. It therefore tended to be a mixture of all sorts of colours."

Glass Encyclopaedia

I love the idea of these serendipitous items - of inviting chance to take an active role in one's designs. Accidental beauty. I also like the idea of a quiet ritual; taking time at the end of the day to create something a little different - not without direction exactly, but with certain choices already made for you. And of course, at the core is an ethos of economy - making use of the scraps that your day's work has produced. Economical and practical as well as artistic. Upcycling has been around for longer than we imagine! 

Since starting to make my own handwoven beads, the idea of end-of-day beads has been on my mind. It's safe to say that I am NOT a tidy worker. Or a tidy anything for that matter! I often always end up with a colourful pile of mixed seed beads  - different colours, finishes and even sizes - when I've been stitching with beads. Not only messy, but also not the most economical way to work. I have little piles on pretty much every surface that I ever work on. 

So the other day, I decided to put the end-of-day idea into practice. I have a regular bead soup going on my current most-used bead tray, and the idea of sorting and separating all the different colours and finishes really didn't appeal...so, taking a little time to create for its own sake, I made a pair of beads with my end-of-day soup. 

I am really quite pleased with how these turned out. Of course, whilst it would be a lovely idea that whatever was created in this manner would turn out to be full of beauty, the truth is that they very easily could turn out to be very ugly and unusable! But these handwoven beads, created from days' worth of left-overs, are like tiny, handmade carnivals. Maybe it's because the beads are so small and the stitches so regular, but the colours work together, creating the right atmosphere, somehow. 

These stunning handmade beads from Donna Millard are examples of how a contemporary lampwork artist has interpreted this old glass--working tradition

...and some more traditional end-of-day beads, from Big Bead Little Bead:

What do you think of this glass-working tradition? Does it appeal to you? 

Edinburgh Snapshot

Fireworks Night