Saturday 11 April 2015

Hematite & Mixed Metals...

Do you ever get those very specific requests where, no matter how you fiddle and restring and try different beads, there is absolutely no way the colours are going to work?

That was my dilemma today at the market. I'd been asked to mix hematite with "green glass" beads. The beads I had should have worked but no way this bracelet was going to come together. Gave up on that, thinking, ehhh, she's probably not even going to come back.

Instead, I dug out some brass birds I've been wanting to play with and, oh, boy, now we're cooking. Added some copper jump rings and even better.

Hematite, brass birds, copper jump rings as spacers and a big-holed pewter bead to hide the knot on Stretch Magic.




I think what really works is the contrast between the glossy black hematite and the matte vintage goldy-brass of the birds. That little flash of copper makes the birds pop.

Then my customer showed up. Uh oh. I showed her the glass beads I had been playing with and she liked them well enough, but when I showed her the bracelet... She loved it!! It was a bit too big for her, so I made another one while she did her shopping. Et voila, she's a happy camper.

If you're interested in ordering this particular bracelet, it's $35, shipping and handling is extra. Please email me for availability, or to order something made just for you.

Thanks for looking!

2 comments:

Brenda said...

I love visiting Barbara at the market on Saturdays. I relieved her of a bracelet and a sterling silver ring this past Saturday and I haven't taken them off yet. They're very comfortable be accuse I don't feel like I don't have anything on. That's Barbara though. She doesn't sell anything that's shoddy or uncomfortable. Her prices for her jewellery and beads is very fair and people shouldn't whine about her prices. I make jewellery, too, and I know what she's paying and the time and efforts she puts into her pieces. If she doesn't care for the end product she'll unstring it and try it a different way. Also, she greets me with a smile. Maybe it's because she knows I'll buy something, which I'm always happy to do, or maybe it's the Latte I bring in for her. Everyone should visit her booths at the Antique Mall. She's got some dazzlIng items there, too!!
Brenda Russell

Barbara said...

Awwwwwww [wipes away a tear or three]. And the smile is definitely for the latte (and your company, of course). Some people call me grumpy. Sheesh. It's caffeine deprivation. I'm amazed and so happy to hear people tell me they never take off something I've made, they like it so much. Thank you so much, Brenda! Hope to see you this Saturday.
B