Process pics. Midnight Flowers

Once a friend of mine who is hooked on making dichroic glass gave me a few cabochon-like articles. The idea of my future creation came to me immediately when I took those beautiful pieces of glass sparkling with different colors. Far more precious than a handful of loose diamonds, I decided that it should have been something night, mysterious and enigmatic...


I added to dichroic glass cabochons seed beads, bugle beads, accent beads, Swarovski crystals, Czech crystals, faceted black onyx rounds, and almost black dyed freshwater pearls.


The most painful work was to bead around cabochons because their shape differed from the shape of regular cabochons with sharp edges. I applied on the necklace my lovely Russian leaves and three-dimensional flowers of different colors with crystals and pearls in the middle. I filled the space between flowers with coral-like branches, and the necklace seemed to be finished. My friends told me, "Great work!", but I felt not satisfied, and put my creature aside for a while.


Only in about a month I realized what else needed to be done! I added the third layers to the middle bottom flowers and covered a little bit cabochons with the coral branches, it was the last touch!


Midnight Flowers was submitted to the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads 2008 Beading Contest held by FMG (Seed Beads Category) and won Judge's Favorite Award. Here is the full slide show of creating my necklace:

Midnight Flowers

Beading mania by Patrizia Tager

 
Interview with jewelry artist Patrizia Tager

Our guest today is incredibly talented bead artist from Israel Patrizia Tager (Triz), she was very kind and agreed to answer our questions. We believe that you'll be glad to know Patrizia and read her short story on her passion, the name of which is beading! Thank you, Patrizia!

1. Triz, where are you from and where do you live now?

I was born in Milan, Italy where I lived till I was twelve. My mother is French and my father is British, and when I was 12 my family moved "back" to England. After graduating from college at the age of 22, I decided to move to warmer climates, as I cannot stand cold and rainy weather, so I moved to Israel, where the sun shines eleven months of the year. I'm still in Israel today.

2. What is your education and occupation?

I graduated with a B.A. Hons in Fashion Design from the American College in London (renamed The American Intercontinental University, London). I studied photography for two years in Israel and then in my perpetual quest to find myself, I went on to study Social Policy and Criminal Justice. I currently work as a desktop publisher for a medico-legal publishing house as well as working on my own beadwork and teaching intermediate/advance bead embroidery workshops.


3. When did you start crafting and what was your first craft?

This is so difficult to answer! I've always, as far as I can remember, been doing one form of craft or another. This is mainly due to the wonderful nanny, Paola, that looked after my sisters and I when we were little. She was with us for many years and was incredibly talented and resourceful. We used to make hand puppets and create the most beautifully decorated puppet theatres all made out of cardboard boxes. She also taught me to knit and to crochet and, in fact, introduced me to my early experience with beadwork by showing me how to make a loom out of a shoe box and taught me to make loom-woven beaded bracelets. Coming from a completely artistically-challenged family, she was my artistic angel sent from above. She ncouraged, praised and inspired me.


4. How did you come to beading? What inspired you?

As I mentioned above, I was introduced to beading by our nanny Paola, however those days were long forgotten once I moved to London and it wasn't until about 3.5 years ago that I was reintroduced to this wonderful world of beads. When my son turned one and started attending day-care a couple of times per week, I found myself desperate to get out of the house for a few hours and do something creative. The local shopping center had a beading shop and I went in to enquire about taking some classes. I took four basic beading classes, where I learnt to make a beaded ball and a couple of other beginner's projects. I became completely and utterly hooked with this medium. It was as though I found myself, finally! The four classes weren't enough, I desperately wanted more, so I went out and bought every magazine and book I could find on beadweaving and for a year I spent all of my free time trying out different techniques. It became my true passion verging on obsession.


5. How did you learn making your beadart works?

During my "learning" year I researched the subject extensively, especially on the Internet and became familiar with some wonderful bead artists. I discovered a whole world that I did not know existed and became aware of the endless possibilities of creating with these tiny little beads. I applied my earlier knowledge of design to this new medium which led to the creation of my own original pieces.

6. How is main work associated with beading? Does it help you to bead?

Sadly my "real" job has no associations whatsoever with beading and in fact it is an encumbrance to my creative flow and designs, but it's a job and it pays the bills.


7. What are your favorite techniques and media? Why?

Frankly, I love all the techniques I have learnt so far. Some I may find easier to execute than others, but if I had to choose a favorite it has to be bead embroidery. I love the freedom it allows. Whenever I'm bead-embroidering I feel as though I'm painting with beads. I see the beads as my paint and the various sizes and finishes of the beads as my brushstrokes. I find this technique incredibly liberating.

8. Are there any bead artists you try to follow?

There are so many bead artists that I'm truly in awe of, my favorite by far is Sherry Serafini. I think her work is not just stunningly beautiful but also genius. Her attention to detail and her workmanship are superb !!! David K. Chatt's beaded sculpture and jewelry are out of this world! The Lone Beader's amazing beaded artworks always leave me inspired and amazed at her creativity, originality and execution of her gorgeous art!


9. Where do you find images for your beadwork?

Absolutely everywhere; I look at everything: nature, architecture, antiquities, fashion, fabrics, art, colors, and other bead artists. By far my greatest inspiration comes from my own memories and life experiences - e.g.: my latest finished pieces, Frozen Waters Cuff and Frozen Waters Earrings were inspired by my childhood memories of holidays in the Swiss mountains - the colors, the brightness, the reflections, how the incredibly clear blue skies reflected off the snow and the frozen lakes. Obviously the memories are idyllic rather than factual, as I haven't been to Switzerland in over 20 years nor have I seen snow in over 10, but from those memories I get snippets of inspirations which I then translate into my work.

10. What do you think is your greatest achievements in beading?

My greatest achievement is winning the last two EtsyBeadWeavers' challenges for my works Let My People Go and
Black Panther!!! I'm so grateful that people like my work enough to vote for it! I'm also proud of how far I've come using this medium in such a short space of time!


11. What do you plan to improve in the future?

There is so much I still want to learn, for example, I have never tried the Russian stitches and I love how they look, I just haven't got round to trying them out yet! I learn something new every time I create a new piece - new challenges arise with each new design, I always strive to make my next piece better than my previous one. I see my beadwork as a learning journey, much the same as life!

Thank you, Patrizia! We wish you best of luck and a great success!

Beaded jewelry by Patrizia Tager

About artist:

Patrizia Tager, Herzlia, Israel
E-mail address: patriziatager@hotmail.com
Blog: triz-beadingmania.blogspot.com
Etsy: Triz Designs

Is recession really affecting the sales of jewelry?

I've just been musing...back in December I ran a 10% off offer on all my jewelry on my blog and Dawanda shop. I had really hardly any sales, whereby I truly wanted to help people save some money by buying it cheaper.

Interestingly enough, sales started to pick up soon after the prices went up to normal. And what's more interesting, the mid-higher end pieces are going better than the cheaper ones. For example, I've just sold today this Queen's necklace, one of my chainmail pieces, which seems to go nowadays much easier than the Euro 15-18 earrings. I know people like my jewelry, they are buying them, I mean look at the feedback that I'm getting, so it's definitely not that.

One of my New Year's resolutions was to offer cheaper - yet still quality - jewelry so more people can afford it, but it seems that things are turned upside-down. I guess it shows that no woman can say 'no' to a beautiful piece of jewelry, or something to pamper oneself with, and recession has no saying in that at all! Speaking of which, I just got hubby to buy me Dior's J'adore *gulp*. Don't I have a sweet hubby? And boy that perfume smells like heaven...

Bit of personal boasting

I guess artistry runs in the family. While I am good at creating handmade silver jewelry, my brother's passion is playing classical guitar.
I got this very short video of him playing classical guitar in a known Berlin cafehaus. I really love the relaxed atmosphere of that place. Nothing like the coffeeshops here in Cyprus.

So may I present, my brother :)

Cloisonne, Et Al

I've been working with cloisonne a bit; it seems that when I get some cloisonne on the site, it sells (a good thing), but it does make keeping the cloisonne page full difficult. Cloisonne has been around for a long time - supposedly since the Yuan Dynasty in China (approximately 1279 A.D.) although some sources say that it originated in the Middle East and was perfected by the Chinese and the French (in fact, the term cloisonne is French). Little wire filaments (usually gold) are applied to metal then filled in with enamel. The cloisonne can be made with base metal, bronze, copper, brass, gold-plated, goldfilled, or genuine gold, or sterling silver. The cloisons are the spaces or sections within the wire that are filled with enamel, thus making the design. All of the Cluny Grey Cloisonne is on one page: the Cloisonne Jewelry page.For me the challenge is finding cloisonne with sterling silver filigree instead of gold since sterling silver is very popular now. I've been finding also that much of the silver cloisonne that I've come across tends to be very finely made - usually a bit superior to the gold cloisonne (which is usually gold-plated or goldfilled). The three bracelets that you see here are some of my favorite cloisonne colours mixed with, top, Swarovksi crystals in Dark Indigo AB, the red with a long cinnabar bead and tube "bangles" from Thailand in vermeil, and below with cherry quartz. I've used vermeil and goldfilled components with the cloisonne.
Below are a couple of other pieces I will also be posting soon: a Turquoise Bracelet with the addition of pink chalcedony and pretty lampwork beads of pink and turquoise; a double-stranded Garnet Necklace with a pretty cross pendant with garnets and green and black onyx.

Contest News: Leslie Turtle will be choosing the contest winner of the "Name the Necklace" contest. We've had quite a few entries (customers are sending their entries to the clunygre @ clunygreyjewelry.com address). I will post some of the finalists in the next day or so.

Blogs: Got an honourable mention in Marie Cramp's blog about beginning jewelry-making. She's located in Calgary (why does Canada so appeal to my imagination?) and you'll be hearing more from her, I'm sure. See her blog at: Skye Jewels.

A woman after my own heart: L.L. draws, loves animals (volunteers at her local nature center), has cats, and on top of that, loves Tiffany's and Louis Vuitton! See her blog at Tiaras and Talons.

My jewelry at Dawanda

Well after some discussions with friends and some deep thinking, I've decided to keep my jewelry at Dawanda. Any new jewelry I make, I will post directly on my blog, however while existing stock lasts, I leave them at Dawanda. Once I sold out, I will close shop. This will give me the time to open the shop under my own domain, which will feature only jewelry created in 2009.

Now that I came to the decision, I feel relieved :) Sometimes it's not which decision you take, but you take a decision is the important part.

On another note, I've been asked what type of jewelry was my best seller in 2008. On the quick, I'd say herringbone jewelry and border wrapped cabs. But I will check my stats from the database and post back here the results, with some pictures of what has sold.
It's funny because I thought that chainmail jewelry would be the best seller, and border wrapping is a thing of the past. I guess the truth proved me wrong :)

Colour: Monochromatic or Mixed! CONTEST

I love to read passages that start with "there are two kinds of people in the world..." because of course there never are. But I am still always interested in the way many would divide the world and feel that their choices often reveal a great deal about themselves. So...there are two types of people in the world: those who like great expanses of one colour, with maybe a touch or two of another, the monochromatics, and those who prefer colours many and mixed. Now to show you how ridiculous such a statement is, I will announce that I am both. Of course, to add an element of veracity to the statement, I will say that when I dress, I prefer the monochromatic to the many: no prints, good solid colours that make a statement whether the statement is gentle, muted, loud, or strong. In jewelry, however, I love to mix as you can see from the unusual bracelet below. While I personally prefer to wear the aquamarine bracelet that you see above, I delight in creating and looking at the bracelet below. Circus colours, brightly coloured and patterned lampwork beads, and just a hint of sterling silver - can you hear the colour? It is a cacaphony. The aquamarine bracelet is music, beautiful, but definitely not the 1812 Overture. Debussy?
The last two pictures are of the same ruby necklace. If it were music, what would it be? Send me the name of a piece of music that you think would make a good name for this necklace and win a pair of Swarovski earrings in the colour of your choice!



If you are interested, not just in jewelry but in all types of art, see Best of Artists, a great site that concentrates on art from painting, pottery, and photography to sculpture and jewelry. And yes, yours truly has been listed: see, Best of Artists: Cluny Grey.

Dawanda is finally introducing listing and sold items fees

I've just received today a pre-invoice from Dawanda. This is two fold:
1. We are to pay for all sold items starting from June 08 a 5% fee
3. Dawanda is introducing new listing fees (it was free until now), which is depending on the price of the item.

This is the new scheme for the listing fees (separately of the 5% commision on each sold item).

Items up to value 10.00 EUR cost 0.10 EUR per item listed
Items of value 10.01 EUR - 20.00 EUR cost 0.20 EUR per item listed
Items of value 20.01 EUR and above cost 0.30 EUR per item listed
Listings are now running on a limited time of 120 days, starting on the day of listing.

Now I don't mind paying, we all knew it was coming, however I find that being less known than Etsy, and having much less traffic and sales, Dawanda is introducing a very steep pricing structure.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Etsy has 3.5% commision and a flat fee of $0.2 for each listed item.

Dawanda, has a 5% commision, and depending on the item listed, it can cost you up to 0.3 Euros (which is approximately $0.4 - double than the Etsy listing).

Also I think most of us were under the impression that the fees will be introduced from 'now on', not going back to mid last year. A couple of us have been just hit with a major fee that we have to pay by Feb. 23, which we didn't count on.

I guess what I've always preached but never really put into place, I will have to actually do: start my own shop under my own name and domain, so I can control exactly what I'm paying and when.

If you have a shop at Dawanda right now, what do you think of these new listing fees? You might just convice me to keep my items there for a bit longer if you have the best argument...or to open my own shop :-)

Gemstones, Swarovski, and Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is always a whirl of last-minute gifts - people seeking presents for those they care for and want to remember on the holiday. In this business, I've been surprised, pleasantly, I must say, by how many men buy jewelry gifts or make arrangements for them well in advance of holidays whether Valentine's, Christmas, or a birthday. Strangely enough, it is often women who seem to wait until the last minute and decide that they want an extra stocking stuffer or that they want to get their daughters or daughters-in-law something for Valentine's Day. I'm surprised, I suppose, because my husband will wait until Christmas Eve to buy a Christmas present for me (but he always does a great job, so I'm not complaining!).
While we do have a special page with a few suggestions for Valentine's Day jewelry gifts, the best gifts are those that are meaningful to the recipient in some way. For instance, the amethyst bracelet makes an especially good gift if you know that she has a February birthday, since amethysts are the February birthstone. Or maybe you know that she is just crazy about amethysts - or even wears purple often. Some of the bracelets below are great for those women who take their faith seriously and wish to wear it. The gold-filled Salvation bracelet that you see below has a special meaning for Christians. The gemstones, or in some cases Swarovski crystals, each is a symbol of the progression of one's faith. The black bead represents being lost in sin; the red, the blood of Christ; the blue, faith; the clear bead (or in some cases a white bead) represents purity of heart or a clear heart; green, for growing in faith; and finally, the gold bead represent Heaven with streets paved with gold. I always try to add other Christian symbols as well, and most of my Salvation bracelets will have a sterling silver or goldfilled cross charm or a prayer box attached to them. The following 4 bracelets are each an interpretation in gemstones or Swarovskis of the Salvation bracelet:

Two more bracelets - just for fun. The fire agate and chalcedony bracelet, above, is an attempt to recreate a favorite bracelet - often very difficult to do because the special lampwork beads are so hard to come by. And, below, a sweet freshwater pearl bracelet with Swarovski crystal butterflies has a fresh, ingenue appeal.

We're offering FREE Priority shipping now until Valentine's Day!

A quick detour to another hobby of mine

This post is really not for everybody, but if you are at all interested in what is called Internet Marketing, I've set up a an online diary for my journey in the world of online marketing. It's a quite interesting world out there, and I'm learning lots as we speak. And many of the things I'm learning there I can apply to promoting my jewelry as well. If you're curious, head over to my Internet Marketing Blog and let me know what you think. Beware, it has nothing to do with jewelry, so if jewelry is your only passion, you might get bored there. But if you're interested in the new possibilities of earning money out there (think of stay at home moms, or people who lost their jobs or folks want to start out on their own instead of being stuck at their 9-5 jobs), it's something you can pick up very easily anytime.