I don't often reach for these colours - fuchsia and juicy orange - but every so often they arrive on my worktable in the form of a pair of earrings or a bracelet of such. Aren't they juicy? Don't they speak of sunshine, orange groves and exotic flora and fauna? Toned down just a little with the addition of rustic golden-brown brass, I really love this palette. One to reach for a little more often, perhaps...
My colours of 2015 so far? Without a doubt, blue-turquoise and vibrant, saturated orange. I'm not sure if it's quite fair to call them my colours of 2015, as I think they were my colours for quite a bit of 2014 too....but looking back over January, they leapt out at me. Aren't they just a little bit wonderful together?
Here are a few of my pieces in this palette:
...and one of my favourites from 2014...
Some of these have flown away, but some are still over on etsy.
I have been lucky enough to have been published in the last two issues of the beautiful publication that is Stringing Magazine. Do you know it? If you are in the UK, it can be tricky to get hold of, but you can always download a copy right onto your computer or tablet. If you like making jewellery, or even if you just like looking at - and wearing! - gorgeous handmade jewellery, then it really is a feast for the eyes. It's one of those publications I've always longed to be published in, but never quite screwed up the courage to submit any designs to. Well, I'm not quite sure what changed, but back in May(?) (April? June? I can't remember now! Definitely back in Belfast at any rate) I got my nerve together and sent in a few pieces for their Winter issue.
I'm not sure I ever got round to sharing those which were accepted - a real and true honour for me, incredibly humbling and exciting to be sharing those pages with so many talented folk. The Winter pieces arrived back in the midst of craft fair madness, so they went straight onto the stand, apart from a dainty necklace and earring set which I knew from before I even sent it away was destined for my wee sister.
Fast forward to September(? I really am not good at remembering dates.), and it was submission time all over again. Well, I didn't get my act together quite so much but I managed to whip up a few pieces - earrings and a bracelet to submit, and some of them were accepted. Yay! They arrived back with me today, and here they are. A few PicMonkey snaps to share with you of them. (I forgot to shoot the bracelet - but that will follow).
I'm enjoying playing around with fonts at the moment. Really, I want to find one that works for me, but my style does tend toward the eclectic - why shouldn't my font-age? Which one is your favourite? Do you like a mix? Or do you think I should hone it right down?
Annoyingly, I just didn't get my act together in time for the Summer issue submission deadline, so you won't be seeing any of my work then. Hopefully I can be more organised, and get some designs submitted for the Fall issue - and fingers crossed, more of my work will be gracing Stringing's pages later in the year. It's hard work, but I think it's good to have to 'put yourself out there' every single time. There's something quite bracing about designing to a specific brief, but it doesn't have the added pressure (not quite the right word) of designing for a specific person. That layer of specificity and direction from the magazine, but then you are free to do whatever you like from that - you only have yourself (and hopefully the magazine!) to please.
And now for something completely different....One thing you may not know about me is that I am a HUGE Queen fan. I have been for most of my life; my Godfather of sorts recorded all of his original vinyl LPs onto cassette for me back in the early 90s. Needless to say, I wore them out.....
So I grew up with not only the Greatest Hits, which I don't know many people who don't love, but also all of the original 70s and 80s albums. I listened and listened and listened to them, I read biographies, I was thrilled when Made in Heaven was released a few years after Freddie's untimely death. (I even joined the official fan club a few months ago, god help me!!)
Never mind Bohemian Rhapsody, I Want to Break Free is one of the BEST music videos ever!
Two weeks ago, I had the experience of my life, going to see Queen + Adam Lambert live in Glasgow. Haters gonna hate, but Adam Lambert was AMAZING. Really and truly - that boy can sing - lungs of steel! Of course, he is not Freddie Mercury, but then, he's not trying to be - he's allowing this fantastic music to continue to be performed live - to live and breathe - with 2 members of the original band. (I think it's worth saying that John Deacon, Queen's bassist, was also sorely missed.) If you get the chance, I cannot recommend enough going and seeing them. Worth EVERY penny, and more. I can't help but feel that Freddie would be thrilled to hear a musician and singer of such skill tackling his incredibly challenging repertoire.
Queen (minus Adam Lambert!) have also recently released a 'new' track - one recorded (but not finished or released) back in 1984 but reworked and with original material added by Brian May and Roger Taylor. It's on their new album, Queen Forever - and really, that title says it all for me.
If you are a Queen fan at all, I defy you not to feel a lump in your throat watching this beautifully put together video that accompanies this track - Let me in your heart again.
It's the start of a new week; we've left January behind and thank-goodness, now it's June. What's that you say? It's actually February? Another month of Winter, essentially....?
Oh well. At least February is followed by March, and is blessedly short.
January may have been long, dreich and dark, but it's been quite a productive month for me here at Songbead. That opportunity that the beginning of a new year provides us with - to look back and take stock of what has come before - is never a bad thing, and it's made me reevaluate where I am in terms of life balance. I've blogged about it before, so I won't bore you with it again, but I have been considering taking on someone to help me one day a week for The Curious Bead Shop, to allow me to devote more of my time to designing, making and creative play. I'm hugely grateful for Curious and every single order that comes in, and I want it to stay that way - I don't want to begin feeling that it's swamping my week and stopping me from making and creating.
And so beginning this past month, I've been making a concerted effort to CREATE more. I've missed magazine deadlines already(!) but I have been keeping my etsy shop stocked, taking more photographs (despite the time of year i.e. poor light), and trying to keep my blog and Facebook page active. I mean, I love making jewellery. I like Facebook but I love blogs and that extra layer of the personal and intimate that they provide. So why not start the year as I mean to go on?
Here's a peek at what January looked like for me in terms of jewellery design:
As for February, it's time to create a few more necklaces! And to work on my silver-smithing skills, so I can start to incorporate bits and pieces into my jewellery - this past month, I have started a weekly class, and I'm LOVING it. But more about that on another day!
How about you? How's your January been? What does February hold?
Three wee bracelets for you today, all quite different from one another.
Most frequent readers will know that I *love* colour in general, but I think it's fair to say I tend toward to vibrant. I reached for the softer tones here though, and I'm pretty pleased with it's gentleness. We can always do with a wee bit more gentleness in the world.
This bracelet seems very 'me' to my eyes. I love flowers (especially in bead-form, it must be said!), I love turquoise and orange/red and I love birds. And if you add in a piece of vintage brass chain from Paris, it can't hurt, can it? Unfortunately this bracelet is an absolute pest to photograph. The chain section just doesn't behave when sat on a flat surface. Much better on the wrist. I hope you still get a good idea of it nonetheless.
This last one is a bit different in more ways than one. It's a return from Stringing magazine, where it was published in the Winter 2014 edition. The first issue with some of my designs featured - I was pretty chuffed! It was part of the issue's 'delicate femininity' section, and I love, love, love the palette which Stringing selected, part of which you can see below. Hand-cut tiny gemstones, a bit of organic rusticity alongside it's delicate palette and general dainty-nature. My quandary now is that I just don't know how to price this type of piece. It's unusual that I would use quite so many gemstones in one piece. I get most of my gemstones from Precious Sparkle Beads and honestly, the quality is second to none. So I am keen not to undervalue a piece like this with the wrong price. It may be that I just *have* to keep it for myself.....oh well, it's a hard life and all that!
