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Penny: Posted on 30 July 2012 20:52
This month in my series of gemstone information sheets, I’ve written about Labradorite as it is
another of my very favourite gems.
 Labradorite
is a beautiful stone that initially looks a dull brown / grey / green colour
from a distance, but on closer inspection has beautiful needle like veining or
inclusions inside it, and gives a fantastic blue green iridescent glint (or
‘schiller’) when the light strikes it .
Labradorite
is said to strengthen intuition and aid clarity of thinking. I love this stone
and use it for rings and pendants as well as in necklaces.
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Penny: Posted on 14 July 2012 18:24
Memory wire is a great, easy to use way to create quick jewellery, or to create a solid base for more complex jewellery designs.
 This is a steel wire, pre-formed into coils, available in ring, bracelet and necklet sized coils. It is called memory wire because it keeps it’s coiled shape, it is particularly great for wrap around bangles. It is usually available from most bead shops in either silver of gold coloured finishes.
Whether you thread beads directly onto the wire, or you use this wire as a base to attach other wires, fabrics or other materials to – it is a very useful item to keep in your jewellery making kit.
Other Ideas for Memory Wire - Create solid (rather than wrap around) multi strand jewellery, using spacer bars to separate the rows and hold them together.
- Try loosely plaiting lengths of sparsely beaded memory wire for a completely new effect.
- Use memory wire as a base to decorate and wrap with other wires, beads or yarns.
- Try using a single row, or multiple rows as a watch band.
- Use ring sized memory wire to make wine glass charms.
See my FREE DOWNLOAD HERE for full information on how to create a simple memory wire bracelet and for lots more useful tips. |
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Penny: Posted on 08 July 2012 11:56
 I spent an inspiring afternoon last week at ‘New Designers’, the UK’s most important exhibition for graduate designers and I wanted to share here some of the artists that were highlights of the show for me. Taking place over two weeks and now in it’s 27 year, New Designers is an event full of innovation & inspiration. I always try and make time to visit this show, particularly in the first week to see the Jewellers and Metalwork and see the exciting new work on show. This year was as exciting as usual, there was far too many fantastic ideas to talk about them all here; – I was excited to also see a display from Loughborough University (where I studied) and I haven’t been able to find for the last few years. Some of the individual jewellers that particularly stood out for me include the following; - Anna Walsh – super stylish and very fun – play games with your fashion – the ultimate solution for anyone who always fiddles with their jewellery!
- Fern Jelleyman – bright, fun & colourful braided necklaces inspired by climbing ropes and accessories
- Frances Andrews – totally brilliant – stick on temporary jewellery transfers from her ‘Faking It’ collection – I love them!
- Lydia Miriam Jones – fantastic statement African inspired necklaces using rope and other unusual materials to create stunning effects
- Olivia Hope Charalambous – love the repeated forms in her jewellery, especially the effervescent necklaces of silver cups with little flashes of colour
- Stephanie Walton – stunning & colourful moulded polymer bangles and rings – just love these bright colours and the shapes
- Tyra Jane – I particularly loved the simple but beautiful, sci-fi inspired shapes in her stylish bangles AND they glow in the dark too…
There was also a lot of fantastic work by textile and ceramic artists when I visited (more disciplines on show the following week too) but the show is so big I ran out of time to look at everything – there’s only so much great input my brain can take in one day! Look out for these jewellers in the future and make a date to visit New Designers next July to see next year's graduates! I highly recommend it either for inspiration for your own work, to check out the latest trends and buy from the newest up and coming designers! |
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Penny: Posted on 01 July 2012 21:22
This month I've created a fact sheet giving more information about another of my favourite gemstones - Fluorite.  Fluorite is a stone I use a lot, because of it's beautiful range of colours and the lovely banding it often has within a single stone. As it is one of the softer stones and easier to chip or break, I use it predominantly in necklaces where it won't get knocked about too much.
Fluorite is also sometimes known as Fluorspar or Blue John. It's a stone that comes in a variety of translucent glassy greens, blues, purples and yellows, often with bands of different colours within a single stone.
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