Showing posts with label Preciosa Traditional Czech Beads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preciosa Traditional Czech Beads. Show all posts

Friday 13 March 2020

The Floribunda Story!

Hello everyone!

Do you remember Floribunda Bangle? Back in 2013 (Gulp! Was it really 7 years ago?) Preciosa Ornela gave me the opportunity to create a collection of work to showcase their striped seed beads. This was perfect timing for me because Mum had recently passed away, and having an important creative assignment that I could immerse myself in was just the thing I needed to be able to quietly process my thoughts and feelings as I came to terms with my loss. I spent several months experimenting with these beautiful beads, creating a variety of finished pieces - some wearable, some for decoration and some purely whimsical. One of the items was Floribunda Bangle.


I always knew that Flori wasn't shy. Big and bold, full of movement and fun, she was a popular girl from the moment she came to life and for several years after. She received lots of attention on social media, graced the cover of a magazine, became a calendar girl, was also selected to appear in the Playful Perfection book and even got a mention on live TV on JewelleryMaker.




Fast forward to the summer of 2019, when suddenly Preciosa Ornela asked if I could make matching earrings and a necklace so that a full Floribunda set could be used for an exhibition in Prague in 2020. I already had lots of work on at that time, but it seemed such a great privilege that of course I happily agreed. Now, I believe that 'Floribunda' is Latin for "many flowering", so I knew that to make a necklace worthy of being Floribunda Bangle's big sister would require a LOT of flowers. Of course I could have saved time and effort and made a single flower to hang on a chain, that might have looked lovely and elegant, but Flori wouldn't have approved, so I made a start.


I tried to do a rough calculation of how many flowers I would need to make, how much time I had and how many flowers I would need to make per day. However, I am not the least bit mathematically minded, and so I ended up having to make nearly double my original estimate to create a really dense cluster of flowers that encircled the neck. It took 80 flowers to fill a neckwire and to make matching earrings and each flower took approximately 1 hour to make. I beaded in the evenings, at weekends, on car journeys - every spare minute was spent working on Floribunda flowers and when I closed my eyes, all I could see were stripes!


Florence, my beautiful model, helped me a great deal. She patiently wore the part-made necklace, and at the end of each day I added a few more flowers, wondering how many I could make the next day, just how many more would I need to make and would I have enough striped beads to finish it? Beading is a wonderful satisfying pastime, but any professional beader will tell you that when the pressure is on, it can turn into something else. It was August and the UK was experiencing a heatwave, my clammy fingers kept losing a grip on the needle, the perspiration ran into my eyes, the Fireline thread cut into my fingers and made them bleed, but I had to keep going to meet the deadline. To keep me motivated, I tried to imagine a gorgeous catwalk model wearing a set of beaded jewellery that I had made.


After nearly two weeks, I was satisfied that I had made enough flowers to bunch up nicely on the neckwire and I breathed a sigh of relief. All I had to do then was make a couple more flowers for a simple pair of earrings and I was done. A few quick pictures were taken, some rough notes made and then the Floribunda necklace and earrings were carefully packaged up, ready to be sent to the Czech Republic for professional photography and to take their place in the exhibition. I crossed my fingers that everything would arrive safely.


And now, seven months later, here is the beautiful model wearing the full Floribunda set of bangle, necklace and earrings. When I look at the picture below, I can hardly believe that I am looking at my work. Despite my small frustrations during the making of the necklace and earrings, I am delighted to have been part of this, and I would like to thank Preciosa Ornela for entrusting me with this undertaking.  The pieces are currently on display at the Museum of Contemporary Glass Art Portheimka in Prague, representing beads and seed beads from the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads brand as part of the Stardust - Luxury Czech Jewellery exhibition. The exhibition runs from the 9th of March 2020 to the 14th of June 2020 and is open to the public.



I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about what goes on behind the scenes in the making of these pieces. I am already working on the next exciting project, so watch this space ...

See you next time!

Kerrie


Tuesday 14 August 2018

And the winners are ...

Hello everyone!

I'm going to keep this brief, as my father has recently passed away and there is a lot of work for me to do. But, I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer, so here are the winners of my International Beading Week contest in association with Preciosa Ornela.

The five first prize winners are as follows:


Carolyn Cave - Canada

Evgenya Mytsyk - Ukraine

Nadezhda Kochukova - Russia

Sally Kelly - UK

Sithara Alywn - India


There are also five small runners-up prizes which go to the following:


Eszter Molnar - Hungary

Iryna Migal - Germany

Monica Visconi - Italy

Nurshida Sweet - USA

Zuzana Ludvigova - Slovakia


And a special mention and small prize also goes to Anna for her entry, as she is only 13 years old!


Anna - Belarus


Thank you so much to everyone from around the world who joined in with IBW and entered the contest. Both myself and Preciosa agreed that it was incredibly hard to choose the winning pieces as there were so many wonderful, intricate and imaginative entries. If you have not been awarded a prize this time, please do not be disheartened, every entry I received showed hard work, patience and a love of beadwork - keep on beading!

Will the 11 winners please contact me as soon as possible with their postal address so that the prizes may be sent out.

Happy beading!

Kerrie 

Monday 30 July 2018

International Beading Week - It's Here!

Hello everyone!

Well here we are, after all the anticipation and behind the scenes preparation - International Beading Week is upon us! There are all sorts of great offers and events taking place all over the world, so be sure to check out the menu on the IBW websiteI've often said how much I appreciate the way modern technology enables us to connect, and I generally consider myself to be an international beader, but the build up to IBW has been a particularly exciting time for me. For the last couple of months I've been working with companies from the UK, Czech Republic and Germany, posting books to the USA, Portugal and Austria, answering beady queries from Cameroon, Nigeria and Canada and processing contest entries from the UK, USA, Ukraine, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy and India!

You still have one week to send me your contest entry photos to be in with a chance of winning a copy of my book and a kilo of beads from the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads brand, as shown in the photo below. Find one of my patterns, make it with beads from Preciosa and send me a picture, it's as simple as that - just imagine what sparkly things you could make with that lot!




For my next IBW initiative, I've teamed up with Beads Direct to design an exclusive kit, which has been launched today and is available to purchase from their website. Designed and written by me and beautifully packaged by Beads Direct, Pretty Pellets is a softly romantic looking bracelet made with PRECIOSA Rocailles, Imitation Pearls and Pellets™. You have the option to make a simple single row bracelet, or a more elaborate double row cuff style bracelet. Each kit contains sufficient materials to make two single row or one double row bracelet and comes in either gold or silver colourways.







We hope you enjoy making your Pretty Pellets - be sure to join in with the International Beading Week buzz and share photos of your bracelets on Facebook on either my page, Beads Direct or on the International Beading Week page using #IBW.

Happy International Beading Week!

Kerrie 

Friday 25 May 2018

Mix and Match Flower Bracelets!

Hello everyone!

What's this? Nothing on the blog for a year and a half and then two entries within ten days?! Well, as I hinted in the last blog post I've just had my 85th pattern published. This time it's a fun summery project 'Mix and Match Flower Bracelets' which you can find in issue 87 of Bead and Jewellery magazine which is out now.


A couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to celebrate my 50th birthday in Madeira, where I discovered that cork is used to make everything from jewellery to clothing. I learned that cork is a sustainable natural product harvested from the Quercus suber tree (cork oak) and I believe that most cork forests are actually in Portugal and Spain. While in Madeira, Simon bought himself a cork wallet and it's such a beautiful soft material that most people don't realise what it's made from when they see it. I treated myself to a cork bracelet which I sadly lost, so I was very pleased when I later discovered that I could buy the cord and incorporate it into my own jewellery designs. I love the look and feel of the natural cord, but I've chosen to use pastel coloured cork cord from Endless Leather for these pretty little bracelets as it perfectly compliments the lovely transparent and opaque PRECIOSA rocailles I've used to make the flowers.






I've called this project 'Mix and Match' because these simple flower shapes are made in two layers, which means you can slide them on and off the cord and jewellery findings to change the colour combination for alternative looks. I decided to make my bracelets in delicate pastel colours of yellow, apricot and rose, but if girly isn't your thing, you could easily make them in darker or more muted tones, or even go for bold neon colours for a completely different look. The cord is only 10 mm wide so these also make great stacking bracelets which is in tune with the current festival trend.

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy project, and don't forget you can also use this pattern if you want to have a go at winning the prizes I am currently offering in my contest.

Have fun and see you next time!

Kerrie 


Wednesday 16 May 2018

International Beading Week - Competition time!

Hello everyone!

It's been a little while since I updated my blog, but here I am, and with news! I've been involved in National Beading Week since it began in 2015, but this year it has morphed into INTERnational Beading Week and I'm delighted to be one of the ambassadors. International Beading Week takes place from the 28th of July to the 5th of August this year and there will be all kinds of exciting worldwide beady activities taking place. Keep a close eye on the menu at the top of the IBW page as details of events, special offers and freebies will be added soon. I have several things planned, but the first thing I wanted to tell you about is that I am holding a contest which is open internationally.




There are five fantastic prizes on offer (more on that below) and to be in with a chance of winning there are two main requirements: the first is that you make something using one of my patterns, and the second is that it must be made using seed beads and/or beads from the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads brand. It could be one of the patterns I sell via my website, one from my book Playful Perfection, one of my free patterns available from the Preciosa Ornela project page or one of the many that I have published in books and magazines over the years. I actually did a count yesterday and was quite shocked to realise that I have published 84 different patterns (soon to be 85!) so there are plenty to choose from, as you can see below.








You could make a simple pair of cufflinks in a couple of hours, or you could spend considerably more time making one of my floral lariats for example - from beginner to advanced, there is something out there for everyone. It doesn't matter which project you make, whether you make an identical piece or adapt it. You might like to change the colours, turn a bracelet pattern into a necklace, try using different sized seed beads and beads, whatever you wish, but it should be clearly identifiable as originating from one of my patterns. Some of my designs call for specific types of beads, so unless you want to have some fun seeing if they work with other types, choose your pattern carefully. When you have finished your piece, take a picture of it and either post it on my Facebook business page and tag me, send me the picture via Facebook Messenger or email me (address can be found at the bottom of my website). Please make sure I have a way to contact you should you be one of the lucky winners, and if you are, we will then need your postal address to send you the goodies. The contest will be judged by both myself and Preciosa Ornela and the final five will not necessarily be selected due to the complexity of the piece, but rather the workmanship, attention to detail and overall pleasing appearance.




Preciosa Ornela is generously providing five equal prizes of a copy of my book and 1kg of beads (yes you read that right - one whole kilogram of beads!), which, as you can see from the sample photo above, is a whole lot of beautiful beads. So if you want to increase your bead collection, or maybe experiment with some new shapes that you've never tried before, it's well worth having a go at this contest! I'm so glad to be in a position to be able to embrace the spirit of International Beading Week and share the beady love worldwide, and I'm really looking forward to seeing which piece you decide to make. The contest is now open, the closing date is the 6th of August 2018 and the winners will be announced on my blog the following week. Good luck everyone!

Kerrie 

Wednesday 23 November 2016

Playful Perfection!

Hello everyone!

I've written a book! My poor old blog has been very neglected throughout 2016, but back in May I dropped a hint that I was busy working behind the scenes on a big top secret project which I can now reveal - the Playful Perfection project book in association with PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads™.



I spent the best part of a year planning and writing this book, and with enormous help from Preciosa Ornela, the result is a 150 page hardback book containing 30 projects divided into 4 sections: Necklaces, Bracelets, Other Jewellery and Decorations. Each project includes a paragraph about my thoughts and inspiration behind the design, useful information about the piece (such as size, technique and difficulty level), a list of required materials and tools and step-by-step instructions with detailed diagrams. The projects use a variety of widely available shaped beads and easy to source seed beads and findings.


Playful Perfection is actually a collection of some of my design work with Preciosa Ornela over the last 4 years, and so it pulls together 19 projects that have previously been published in various international publications and also includes 11 brand new and exclusive projects. Some of the older projects have been reworked (for example Pirouetting Pips which was originally published in the Australian publication Digital Beading Magazine as a delicate gold and silver bracelet is now a striking black and white choker style necklace) however, please be aware that only 11 of the projects are new to publication and so you may already have some of the others in your pattern collection. If you would like a sneak peek inside the book, there is a video showing all the projects here.


The book will be available from distributors of PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads and bead stores around the world, but there is a limited supply of signed copies of the book for sale directly from my website which will be available on a first come, first served basis. This is a substantial book weighing close to 1kg, so the postage costs are quite high. It will be dispatched using standard Royal Mail services and prices include a signed copy of the book, packing and postage broken down into within the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. I will work as fast as I can signing books, hand writing envelopes and walking to and from the Post Office, but I am a one woman show and despite being a gym bunny I can only carry so many 1kg books at a time, so please allow sufficient time for delivery. Please also note that the upcoming holiday season may cause postal delays and is beyond my control.


Other exciting news is that I've also teamed up with The Bead Shop (Nottingham) Ltd. who will be hosting a book signing event on Wednesday the 14th December from 5pm until 8.30pm. I'll be there signing books and chatting to people and the store is offering anyone who purchases a copy of the book at the event a £10 gift voucher to spend in the store. But it's not just me - this is part of a late night shopping event and so there will be local artists selling handmade items, mini workshops and even festive refreshments, so it promises to be a really fun evening.


Writing my first book has been an amazing and very rewarding experience but it has also been enormously hard work. I have put my heart and soul into producing the very best work that I can and I am happy with the end result because it is very 'me', so I do hope that it brings you many happy hours of beading enjoyment. This book has my name on the cover, but its creation was very much a team effort and so I would sincerely like to thank Preciosa Ornela as a whole for the opportunity and the continued support of my work, the Preciosa Ornela team members and graphic designer for a huge amount of technical help and patience and my husband Simon and my friends for all of their encouragement, reassurance and practical help - thank you!

Kerrie