Spring is in the air

One of my favourite things about designing, either components or jewellery is the constant source of inspiration from the seasons. We’ve had it all here in the UK for the last couple of weeks, rain, snow, hail, frost, winds and blazing sunshine. But there is a definite change in the air and Spring is starting to show it’s here as the bulbs start to push up through the frozen soil.

Picture of the day

I love designing for Spring, it’s the start of a new year, the beginning of new life and the early mornings are starting to get lighter. 

This is my latest creation, hand carved earthenware beads with hand drawn images. I like the mixture of colour with the white carving adding in the detail. 

Blueberribeads

Like me, other component makers are busy making up spring designs, and I've gathered up some of my favourites to share with you today, all perfect to create some fresh new designs for the change in seasons.

HiddenRidgeStudio

Already there are more birds in the garden, soon they will be busy nest building and raising chicks.

NadiaTerra

And after the dark of Winter, Spring is a great time for using softer petal colours.

GillianMcMurray

SuburbanGirlStudio

MidgetGemBeads

GlassAddictions

The green shoots are the promise of the first flowers of Spring.

LindaLandigJewellery

SerenaSmithLampwork

THEAElements

TooAquarius

And everywhere the fresh greens of new leaves will brighten up the garden again.

WhoKnowsWhat

SerenaSmithLampwork

It's a wonderful time of year, full of new life and perfect to inspire some fresh and pretty designs.

Trend vs Fad

Remember Silly Bandz?

Credit: Tony Pettinato

If it happens you were living under a rock during the year that every human between the ages of 5 and 20 *needed* to wear 25 of these silicon bracelets at all times for fashion and for trading, then you didn't miss much. Basically, they were sold in packs containing lots of different shapes, each pack usually centered on a specific theme. They had a high perceived value because they were hard to find (scarce) cheap to buy, came in fun colors, fun to trade, and highly collectible.

What does this have to do with this blog? Well...nothing, really. However, they help illustrate the concept of a fad. 

What is a fad? According to Dictionary.com, a fad is a "temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group." Examples of fads: pet rocks, Furby, and beanie babies. 

So here's where it gets confusing. A fad is different than a trend, however the terms are used interchangeably. A trend is a more gradual and long lasting event. Generally, something trends over the course of several years and occurs in more than one sector. For example, a current fad I've noticed over the last year (or maybe 2...everything starts running together when you turn 40) in jewelry is the chevron. But if you pay attention, the chevron is everywhere....rugs, curtains, furniture, walls, clothing, and apparently even mouthwash, making it more of a trend. 

On sites like Twitter, Facebook and Yahoo, hot topics are said to be "trending," which adds to the confusion. I suppose "fadding" sounds stupid and also isn't a real word. Not that social media always cares about things like real words. 

So why should you or I or anyone else care about things like fads and trends? The answer varies.  

First, it's good to have the knowledge to recognize the difference. A fad will have a very short shelf life, so you probably don't want to invest too much of your scarce resources (time, money, etc) on a fad. 

Second, keeping track of trends helps you recognize different markets for your jewelry. This is not to say you should design specifically for trends, but knowing what potential customers are really into, and then planning for the crossover market can help you find a niche. 

Here are a few current trends that can ignite your jewelry designs:

-Coastal interior design and living: look in any catalog or magazine and it's splashed all over the pages. 

Atlantean Spike Pendant by Karen Totten

Seashell Cabachon by Diana P

-Eco Friendly products, recycling/upcycling: Environmental concerns and preservation are gaining a larger foothold as people worry about climate change and the large amount of waste humans produce. 

Upcycled skeleton key used in this design by Melissa Meman

-Four-legged companions: People are spending large amounts of money on their pets...healthcare, organic food, and accessories. 

Little Brown Hedgehog by Rebekah Payne

-Experiences: It's more important to buy experiences than more stuff. How can you make jewelry an experience?

-Jewelry that tells a story/is personalized/has special meaning: Pandora anyone? And before Pandora there were the Italian charm bracelets. People CRAVE jewelry that means something. Wouldn't it be awesome to give them that without the mass produced stuff sold in every mall? 

Talisman necklace by Jen Cameron using mixed media pendant by Jenny Davies-Reazor

To pay attention to current trends, look at catalogs like Pottery Barn, pay attention to news and human interest stories and how people spend their time. Here is a site that has some general trends that may help give you some clues to pay attention to. 

Do you pay attention to trends? How does it affect your jewelry designs?

Beading with Sharon Borsavage

I have long admired the work of Sharon Borsavage.  I asked her if she would make a few pieces of jewelry for this post using some of my lampwork beads, and if she would answer a few questions about herself and her inspiration!

 

Sharon lives in PA and her day job is a designer for a tile showroom. She states, "We help people pick out their tile for new homes, remodeling projects, etc. In the past few years though I do more bookwork than designing, but that is okay...I have worked there for 25 years! I do everything I guess you can say, but the day goes by fast and I love the people I work with and because we have a customer base of contractors and stores that have been consistent over many years I have a big extended family and I know many wonderful people!"

When she has free time, she makes jewelry and art. "I used to do a little polymer clay, and have saved some of the better beads I made. I loooove doing mixed media. It is a passion of mine and collage is another passion! My college background and degree is in Fine Art, so that is my first love. Inks, paints and paper make me happy!"

Sharon is mostly self taught. "I initially took a beginner wire work jewelry class many years ago, which fueled my love of making jewelry. I bought many books, and taught myself almost everything. The only online classes I have taken are from Deryn Mentock, of course one of the best in the business, and that was on bezel making, and some silversmithing. I was taught in college that you could teach yourself ANYTHING from a good book and peristence and practice. Of course classes are much easier! Oh, I have taken a silversmithing class online from Terri Brush that I liked a lot too!"

Sharon's jewelry takes on a lot of vintage feel.  She states, "A lot of my inspiration comes from flea markets and vintage shops. I buy a lot of vintage jewelry and take it apart. I love using little bits and pieces from it. I could spend hours and hours in these shops, and sometimes do! I am also immensely inspired by my fellow artists! Everything everyone creates inspires me to create!"

Sharon tells me, "My favorite materials are sterling silver, big baroque pearls when I can afford them..ha,...lampwork glass, and almost any gemstone! But seriously, put me in any bead shop and I start to have heart palpitations!"

You can see Sharon's jewelry in her etsy store, Livewire Jewelry.   Here are a few of my favorite pieces from her store!

Susan Kennedy
SueBeads Etsy Store
SueBeads Web Site
SueBeads Blog

On My Table: More Bead Embroidery!

Back on January 19th, I blogged about the bead embroidery piece I was working on for the bead cruise Alice in Wonderland-themed party.  Here's where I left off...

After playing around (adding and ripping out with massive frustration) with some fringe design and bail designs I finally finished the pendant...

This piece challenged me because I had not made this type of bail before.  I wanted to do a ladder-stitch bail but let's just say it wasn't being cooperative.  

After I finished the Mad Hatter, I was feeling full of Wonderland love so I decided to start an Alice pendant...

I don't wear pink often but this cabochon was perfect for all the pink seed beads I had in my stash.

I wanted to break out from just doing rows of backstitch over and over again.  I spoke (lots of texting, actually) with Jenny several times and she encouraged me and gave me lots of suggestions to help me step out of my comfort zone.

I made several mistakes along the way but they were all good lessons to learn.

Now I'm at the point where I need to decide on fringe and a bail design. Since I'm snowed/iced in, I'll be working on that today.

Because I can't seem to work on just one thing at a time, I also started on this piece, using my own porcelain seashell cabochon.  

I've been waiting forever to use these green and sea foam seed beads!

Here's the top portion all finished.  I made a few little errors on the side but practice makes perfect!

I knew this pendant needed more to it so I dug up this tiny fossil sand dollar that Jenny had gifted me and stitched it up with coordinating beads.

After connecting the two pieces, this is how the pendant currently looks.  I had tried adding a tiny bit of fringe to the bottom but was unhappy with all the results.  I'm going to go ahead and decide on a bail design and wrap this pendant up to wear on the cruise.  

If you have tried the basics and want to take the next step, call Jenny....OR pick up a copy of Dimensional Bead Embroidery by Jamie Cloud Eakin.  This is the perfect book to help expand your bead embroidery skills.  

Happy Beading!