Behold Becky's Beautiful Beads

I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason - whether it be good, bad or indifferent. In this case, meeting Becky Mason on Etsy was a VERY good thing. More on this later.

Above is one of the most gorgeous lampwork beads I have ever seen. It is called "SEA TURTLE SANCTUARY" and this is what brought me to Becky. I found it in a Treasury that my good friend Sharon had made. I was immediately drawn to it - like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I found myself drawn to her shop and immediately hearted it. Even Mark was in awe of her amazing talent. After reading her Profile, I sent her a message of how much I admire her work. Becky replied... more on this later.

Oh, the Sea Turtle Sanctuary bead has since sold, but you must check it out to see the rest of the details of this beautiful piece of art.

Above is Becky's "PREHISTORIC OCEANIC HISTORY - 3 - a handmade lampwork focal bead with fish bones and barnacles" and I am in LOVE with it!

Becky Mason is Lampwork Artist & Jewelry Designer and comes from a very talented family. She was selling on Ebay for about 5 years until Diane, her talented Lampwork Artist sister who already had an Etsy shop, suggested that Becky set up her own Etsy shop as well. I suggest you read Becky's Profile to find out more about this very talented artist. It is very impressive and will make you that much more of a fan.

This lovely piece is titled "WILD MUSE" and a must see! I just can't explain enough how truly amazed I am by Becky's talented hands. She simply amazes me. Truly she does. In fact, it would be a lot easier for you to just run on over to her shop, or her website to see for yourself. Also check out her sold items - WOW!

Oh. About the "more later part". I'll make this short because this blog feature isn't about me, but I wanted to tell you how my new addition came about. Becky wanted longer & heavier gauge headpins and strongly suggested I make them for my shop as well. So I did.

Like they say: "if you build it, they will come." Bada Boom, Bada Bang! Thank you Becky, you ROCK!

Happy Creating Monday!

Rocki

Elfin Earwires Go Hollywood!

I don't usually blog twice in a row about my creations, but this is BIG time news for me!

My Elfin Earwires hit the big time! Okay, they are not ACTually going Hollywood, but close enough in my eyes! Although I can't disclose too much at this time, I am able to announce that my Elfin Earwires will be in a well known jewelry magazine!

That's right! In a MAGAZINE! I'm still tickled pink about it and have to slap my face a couple times a day just to keep it real.

So HOW did this happen, you ask? Well, again without going into too much detail (for now at least), one of my faithful customers and a very talented fellow Etsian submitted one of her fabulous creations using my Elfin Earwires to the magazine. She let me know that she submitted them and then when they were accepted to be featured! Not only will my earwires be holding the gorgeous creation made by Sue, but my shop name/link will be included in the feature!

Who is this AWEsome person, you ask? Sue Beads - creator of her Handmade Lampwork Beads! Oh and this isn't the first time Sue has had her creations in a magazine. Her Chinese Lantern Earrings that she designed was featured in the July 2008 Bead Style magazine.

You can also find Sue's other Etsy shop at BellaHannahJane and her blog at Sue Beads.

I cannot tell you how very exciting this is for me (and for Sue as well I'm sure). Mark is very happy for me too. In fact, last night he made a comment of how cool it is to be able to connect with people from all over the world, including Internationally, work so close together and end up in a magazine. Thank you Sue! Wow. Truly wow.

So there you have part of the nutshell. The rest will be disclosed as soon as we're able to do so.

Still slapping my face,

Rocki

Color My World - Inspire My Life

So I was playing around the other day with my colorful little glass beads and thought of an idea. I know I know - I'm sure others have thought about it as well AND have done it without us even knowing it. But it came to my mind all the same so I ran with it.

Speaking of that, what hasn't been done a million times over in the art world? We are all inspired by life, nature, our surroundings, events, each other, magazines... actually everything is inspiration to us. Many, ideas in the art world have been repeated over and over again without us even realizing it. We come up with an idea, put our own spin on it, and make it truly our own.

Wow... sorry. I was just thinking about another thread I came across where people were bickering about who made what first, so and so was copying, was it the chicken or the egg, yada yada yada. I don't read those threads - just breeze over them. Please don't get me wrong, I know that there are some people that actually copy and cheat and that is terribly sad (karma), but some are truly mere coencidence. One day I was getting ready to post one of my new crystal anklets until I came across one EXACTLY like mine that had just posted!! I mean, almost to the T - colors and all! I sort of freaked and thought, wow - that's weird! I may or may not post it.

Back to topic... so when I was playing with my idea, I thought how fun it would be to make a pair of earwires that could be changed out with lots of little glass beads. Nothing too fancy or difficult mind you, just something fun and colorful. So I came up with my Color My World earring kit. Oh, and I'm getting ready to make another earwire for this little kit - something with a little more flavor I think.

Inspiration: arousal of the mind from sources of life, art, ideas and so forth; a product of your creative thinking at work.

Happy day and peace to all,

☼ Rocki

Bead Bugs Marathon

One thing I enjoy about being a part of Etsy is that you get to meet, talk with and make friends with so many people from around the world that you wouldn’t ordinarily get the chance to. For instance Kim, creator and owner of The Artful Salamander.

The art and craft world has been a part of Kim’s life ever since she was young. Her mother is a talented craftswoman who now does traditional bead embroidery and leatherwork for historical costumes. When Kim was younger, her mom had a small business making stuffed animals. Even her family has a strong tradition of making handmade gifts for Christmas and birthdays.

Kim’s Etsy shop is new, but she is not new to selling. Besides Etsy, she also sells her creations at one of the local Farmer’s market where she lives - one of the older sections of Calgary that has lots of trees, a couple of parks and “a friendly neighborhood where people actually talk to each other”. I guess one downfall is that “the weather can be kind of insane”. She also sells at Christmas craft fairs. This works out well for Kim as she had returned to school for a degree in Psychology and needed a flexible way of earning money, and to keep her grounded.

Kim heard about Etsy “through the Craftser forums, it’s perfect for my needs right now – and there’s the bonus of meeting yet another community of creative, vibrant people”. How very true! With the daunting research of what it would take to sell via a personal website (shopping cart, secure payment system, etc.) Kim obviously selected Etsy. Good choice Kim!

The Artful Salamander, Kim’s Etsy shop, has some very unique ”beaded art, jewelry and more”. Her “Bead Bug” pieces are colorful, creative and very realistic, if I don’t say so myself (don’t worry, they don’t bite). The shop name is very interesting to me - this is what Kim had to say about how she came up with her shop name: ”Salamander Designs” was something I started using several years ago when I had some wall quilts in a friend’s shop. I was working with a research and conservation project on amphibians at the time, and I’ve also always loved the medieval alchemist’ conception of the salamander as a Fire Elemental – such a contrast between that and the humble reality”.

Unfortunately when she went to register her domain, there was already a “Salamander Design” out there, but they sell office furniture – that’s a far cry from the creative work that she makes. So, Kim came up with “The Artful Salamander” – I think that is a fabulous name!

We are all inspired by one thing or another. When asked what inspires her, she said “what doesn’t?” Nature sparks her imagination, talking with other artists & crafters, magazines, browsing through beads shops, etc. Sometimes she even awakens with every detail in mind of what to make!

If you think this doesn’t keep her busy enough, she aspires to become a Counseling Psychologist. What are her plans? I couldn’t word this better myself: “It’s fairly likely that I will end up with a practice that looks like a cross between a craft studio and a bike/outdoor outfitter’s shop – I believe strongly that connecting to the physical and natural world is crucial to keeping ourselves in balance, as human beings. Maybe a book one day…”

Make sure to check out Kim’s Etsy shop and her main website blog at www.theartfulsalamander.com. You will be amazed at the detail of her work!

Happy Monday and Peace to all,
☼ Rocki

Yes, you can forget how to ride a bike “ow” (that was 3 years ago), but that isn’t going to stop Kim from one of her goals this summer to complete at least one brevet (bike ultra marathon) with the Alberta Randonneur Association: http://www.albertarandonneurs.com/

Beautiful Beads!

Where do I begin to tell you about Milmine Design’s gorgeous Lampwork Beads? Guess I’ll start with where I met Karen. Actually, I’m not sure if it was through Etsy or Flickr first, so I’ll credit them both for finding my new friend.

Karen has an addiction – glass. Let me tell you, she is wickedly talented with turning a rod of glass into an amazing bead of art. Every time I see one of her new pieces I am simply blown away. Karen’s work is not only beautiful, but absolutely jaw dropping!

Speaking of jaw dropping, when you visit her Etsy shop, and you must, you will notice not only is her work stunningly beautiful, but she takes great pride in creating every piece of art. I love her descriptions too – very informative.

Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be at Milmine Design’s?

Much love,

Rocki