Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. This is my space to record my creative adventures in jewellery making.

I took up jewellery making at Easter last year. I hadnt intended to, and didnt have any interest in it. However, as a favour to a colleague, I popped into a little bead shop which had opened locally so that I could report back to her on what they had. From that very moment I was hooked. The wonderful staff there showed me the basics. No expensive class or fuss; they just taught me crimping and let me buy the basics and the beads I wanted. I have never looked back and absolutely adore learning new skills and techniques.

I don't sell my jewellery as the demand to produce identical items to a timescale and profit margin would take the pleasure out of it for me. As it is only for me I can make exactly what I want, when I want and am not limited to what beads I choose to use. I can simply go with what takes my fancy. If something doesn't work or doesn't suit me then I chop it up and make something I like better. This is not to say that I would never set it up as a business but right now it is purely a relaxing hobby, something that can be picked up and put down as I fancy.

Although I do not sell the pieces I make I do occasionally make gifts for friends. This is a pleasure for me as I enjoy trying to make something that is ideal for that person, or says something personal to them at a time when they need it.

From learning the basics I have rapidly expanded my skills and find a real sense of achievement in learning a new technique, either by being shown, or by working it out by looking at something and replicating it. However, I am a complete dilettante and once I've mastered something I immidiately want to do something else, or do it differently. This is why I wanted to keep a beading blog. As I move on, it is easy to forget the thrill of achievement of finishing a piece, or to recall the lessons learned. So what better way than to keep a blog as a rolling record of what I've made?