Two weeks ago I found myself in Royston teaching a lovely group of ladies who all belong to the Budding Beaders. I was teaching the Poinsettia project which I originally designed to appear in my book, A Beaded Christmas Table. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these ladies and hearing about their group: it had originally started after their regular evening class was cancelled due to funding cuts. A couple of the ladies from the class decided to find a venue so that everyone could carry on meeting up and beading together. They meet every Tuesday evening and work on different projects together, then once a month the group invites a guest tutor to teach a workshop on a Saturday morning. I feel very privileged to have been invited as one of those guests.
A real highlight of this workshop for me though, was the chance to see and hold a vintage bouquet of French Beaded flowers. I have often read about bouquets surviving from the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries, but I never thought I would be lucky enough to see one. These flowers were apparently made by French convicts who, I’m told, were forced to make flowers to sell in order to earn money to pay for their food. It is amazing to me that these flowers have lasted so long – the wire showed no signs of decay, the embroidery silk around the stems was still fresh in colour and the techniques were absolutely recognisable, so I was really thrilled to see this. It was such a concrete reminder of the direct links we all create as we continue crafts that have such a long tradition.
From tradition and history to innovation and the latest products to reach the beading market. Two days ago I was lucky enough to attend the Swarovski new product launch event in London. As a
girl who loves a bit of sparkle, sitting in a room surrounded by Swarovski beads and other design materials is pretty much my idea of heaven! I’ve come home with a little box of samples and a head full of ideas. It was fascinating to hear about the ideas that have sparked the new collection: there are a few new cuts whose facets create stunning effects, like the ‘Vision’ stones that appear to have a tiny bubble of glass inside the faceted stone, or the Sun Pendants that combine crystal with dull glass to imprint a tiny sun emblem inside the stone. Then there are the new shapes, like the cross and arrow beads, plus sew on designs, new hotfix and the gorgeous Crystal Fine Mesh which feels and behaves just like fabric…imagine a dress made entirely of Swarovski crystals! It’s safe to say that I feel a few new designs coming on and I have a suspicion that you may see a little more sparkle finding its way into Bead Magazine as well.
Speaking of Bead Magazine, tomorrow is a big day for me: I will get to hold my first issue as editor of the magazine. It receives its official launch at the Big Bead Show at Sandown park, so I confess I’m a little nervous as I really hope everyone will like it! I’m also going to be teaching a workshop, doing a little beading demo and going to the British Bead Awards, although this year, as editor, I haven’t been allowed to enter the awards myself! It’s going to be a big day for me, so I think you can look forward to a report on the show on here soon…
