Ceramic Beads on Etsy and Berks Bead Bazaar

Just a really quick post today to show off some beautiful artist handmade ceramic beads!

All of these in the treasuries have been kiln fired in their various glazed finishes.

Ceramic Bead Collection Treasury

Ceramic Bead Collection 2

All ceramic beads (earthenware, stoneware or porcelain) must be fired in a kiln to be called "Ceramic".

However, not all ceramic beads need to be finished with the traditional high temperature (1750 to 2300 degree F. glaze temperature ranges).

There are lots of ceramic bead makers and artists that finish their ceramic work by painting with an air dry medium or something that can set a lower oven baking temperatures.

These painted layers are applied, wiped off, layered, dried, and often sealed.

Here is a beautiful example of a "cold glazed" Artist made kind of ceramic beads by 

Rey of GreyBirdStudio:

Porcelain Beads (Cold Glazed) by GreyBirdStudio

More to come on glazing and firing techniques and care and use of beads with different finishes…

And this weekend, if you happen to be close to Reading, PA (USA) swing by the Berks Bead Bazaar Saturday and Sunday!

There are many artists, suppliers, and bead & jewelry educators selling kits!

Berks Bead Bazaar Website CLICK HERE.
Staci Louise (items pictured above) will be there!

Beads Beads and More Beads

by Staci L. Smith

It is that time of year again, where I make beads non-stop for a month or so in preparation for the Berks Bead Baazar.  

Berks Bead Bazaar is such a wonderful little bead show.  Yes, it's little, BUT the vendors there are top quality.  You can go there and get everything you need, and cut out the 600 other people you have to walk by to get to them (like at larger bead shows).  

Here is a great post about the show from Joan Miller last year:  The Little Show that Could

It was the first bead show I attended (where I fell in love with art beads), and the first bead show I sold my beads at as well.  So, its special to me.  The artists are top notch- plus they are plain old fun to hang around with too.  

This year B.B.B. has made a blog and a Facebook page.  You can follow along as us beady gals and guys prep.  You can get previews of what you may find there, and there may even be some artist interviews.  

I hope you can stop by if you are in the Reading PA area the first weekend of March.  I also hope you don't mind the million pictures of beads I may, (most likely will) bombard you with.

So, these are some of my newer style beads.  I am having fun adding color back into the mix.  I kinda took a break last year, and really dug into my earthy, dirty and ancient muse.  This year, there will still be ancient- but I was missing color.

I am also trying to make some new hearts this year- I get bored easily, and didn't look forward to making more hearts.  However this style with the black and colors really worked well to intrigue me enough to make more hearts!  I am smitten with them.

I also made some new owls.  I wasn't going to do the owl thing, I really wasn't........but then I challenged myself to make owls that were still my style.  So I made some tribal ones last year, and these are my newest ones.

I have also been obsessed with making earring pairs in polymer.  I began doing them for me- so that I have some easy earring assembly down the road, but I am making more then I can use, so to the show they will come!

I leave you with the view from my back porch.  We have had the snowiest winter this year in the north east.  Its wonderful, (except I hate driving in it)....but it makes for good bead production.

I am off to paint more beads, and bake more beads and paint more beads................you get the picture.

Berks Bead Bazaar - The Little Show That Could

by Joan Miller

When I was asked to do a guest post on "Love My Art Jewelry" it was right before the Berks Bead Bazaar in Reading, PA.  I have been running this show with my friend and lampwork bead artist, Louise Mehaffey, since 2002.  I started to think about the history of our show and how many people we have been a first for over the years.  I took a little survey at the show and found out it has been a lot!

 Patti Cahill Lampwork Beads on 2013 postcard. 

                                           
First a little history of our show.  I had been working the art/craft show circuit for about 10 years with my line of porcelain jewelry.  I had started to make more of my own beads to use in my work and Louise had added lampwork glass beads to her long repertoire of glass techniques. We were both ripe for a change.  Not one to wade slowly into the shallow end  I had already talked myself into a spot at the Best Bead Show in Tucson coming up in Feb. 2002.  July 2001 while exhibiting my jewelry at the Guilford Handcrafts Expo in CT, I kept having ladies ask to poke through my bead boxes.  They wanted to buy beads. One of these ladies told me about the Ct Bead Society show in North Haven, CT coming up in Sept.  I thought to myself it might not be a bad idea to at least do one bead show before jumping on a plane and going to Tucson so I grabbed Louise and off we went to our first bead show............with one minor hitch.  The bead show was Sept. 15, 2001. Four days after Sept.11.  What do we do? Do we go?  The bead society had decided to carry on so CT hear we come.  It was surreal looking up river from the Tappan Zee bridge and seeing the two columns of smoke rising from the towers.  We were not expecting much.  Our husbands thought we were crazy. The bead show was about 20 tables in a banquet room at the Holiday Inn.  Not the 10x10 full booth set-up deal we were both used to at fine craft shows.  What a breeze.  We sold lots of beads, had a great time and travelling together with a few cases of beads was a revelation.  We were so excited on our way home we planned the first Berks Bead Bazaar.  Hard to believe we just finished our 12th year!

Not quite sure how this happened but the BBB has been a first show for many successful bead vendors.  In the early years it was to fill the show and later it became more of a mentoring situation.

Probably one of our happiest accidents was our very first year.  We had a bunch of artist friends that had been informed by Louise that they were giving us $40 and were showing up with some kind of bead inventory.  We had NO commercial vendors.  I had put our show on every free calendar listing I could find and somehow Renu and Serita who were selling finished jewelry at the time found our listing and called us up the week of the show.  They have gone on to run the very successful Innovative Beads Expo as well as continued with their stone and silver business, Expo USA International and their brick and mortar store, Beads Mosaic is their latest addition.

Another of our firsts, Alice St. Germain.  This is not a direct quote but I do remember her saying something to the effect of "This beads for money thing is working out well."  Sadly we missed Alice this year due to the flu.  Alice has been with us every year since the beginning.

Lisa Peter, Joan Miller, Staci Louise Smith

In 2007 Lisa Peters joined us for her first BBB.  She claims she did everything wrong and ate leftover Chinese food reheated on the coffee pot burner in the hotel room for two days.  Thank goodness she remembered the two bottles of wine.  What I do remember is that Lisa was so busy saying goodbye to everyone at breakdown that she left two shopping bags of her stuff directly in the middle of the floor and drove off.  

We were thrilled to have Staci Louise Smith join us last year for her first bead show.  Staci says she attended the show as a patron first and then stalked us until we took her.  Very stealthy Staci.  I never even knew we were being stalked.  

 Leslie Pope of Twisted Sistah who arrived her first year saying "I'm Twisted Sistah and I don't know what to do."  I think she figured it out.LOL

Marti Brown has also been with us since year one.  A long time friend from the craft show circuit she remembers us plotting our first BBB over dinner in Tucson. 

Dona Jones takes a brief break from the craft circuit every year to join us in the bead world with her wonderful torched copper charms. BBB was her first bead show.  

Jennifer McGinithin is one of our newer recruits and counts the BBB as her first and only bead show.

BBB was also the debut for MyELEMENTS by Yvonne Irvin.  I remember meeting Yvonne for lunch at Chili's and she showed me the new stuff she was working on........of course she had to come and join us :)

Meg Maxwell Filmore almost didn't make the list.  I forgot her humble beginnings when she started with us selling beaded scarf kits.  Bead My Love still sells the scarves but they are now known for so much more.

And I of course can't leave out our youngest first, 8 year old Julia Smith, assisted by Chloe Minutella(with the spider on her head.) 

There are others who have come and gone over the years and if I have left anyone out please add yourself in the comments.  Thanks "Love my Art Jewelry" for letting me blather on about the show that is near and dear to my heart.  Beading really is a community and I think we have built a show that embodies it. Every year(especially since moving to FL) I question whether its worth the hassle of running a show but by the end of the show I am ready to sign up for another year.  The next  Berks Bead Bazaar will be March 1 & 2 , 2014 at the Inn at Reading, 1040 Park Rd., Wyomissing, PA

Bead Show Wrap Up

by Staci Smith

 

 

I know I did post after post about bead show prep....here are some highlights from the show. 

 

 

I was between Lisa Peters Art, and Dona Jones of Kindred Designs. Both are very creative women I adore, and love to spend time with. I was close to Joan Miller Porcelain, and Greg Graup as well. I didn't get lots of pics of everyone, but I will link to a post that will have all those pics when its up.

 

My booth all set up.

 

 Julia got to have her own little spot the first day because my neighbor couldn't make it in.  she even made her own sign.  She created all her own beads, from the sketches to the painting and sealing of them.



 

We had lots of fun at the hotel- love my girl time with my Julia!

 

Saturday towards the end of the show, Marsha Neal came by with her daughter Chloe. Julia had been looking forward to them coming ALL day long.

They were instant friends.



 photo by Marsha Neal

 

 

On Sunday, Dona, my neighbor, made it in, and she promised Julia she would share her table with her. Dona and Julia hit it off, and they just hung out together all day long. Dona brought her a box full of super girly craft supplies that kept them both busy. Seriously, my friends totally spoiled her, but its fine with me, she's a great kid.

 

I know, I know, what about the beads? 

 

Here is the stash I came home with.

 

Here is a close up of my stash from Lisa Peter Art

 

 

 

I also got some cabs from Greg Graup. He had some new freeform cabs this year, and of course, I love the organic rustic look of them. I also got some really great rutilated quartz cabs that I would like to use in some chunky rings.

 

 

 

I got these from Dona Jones. I love her sawed metal charms, and this crab was screaming to be paired with sea glass.

 

 

I hit Joan Miller's stash of crackle bone beads, her daggers, and got a newer highly textured one I couldn't refuse as well.

 

 

and last but not least GEMSTONES!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

So, it was worth all the work.  I had a great time hanging out with beady friends from around the country, and lots of memories made with my daughter, who sold quite a bit by the way (I am one proud mama!!!)

 

If you want to read more detail about the show, you can check out my personal blog here..............

 

I know I spent a lot of time posting pics of my process, so I also did a blog on the design of my beads, and how they evolve.  You can read that here.  (There is also a giveaway on this post)

http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/2013/03/the-art-of-design-beads-in-shop-and.html

 

I also listed bead in my shop, finally!!!!!!!!!!  You can check that out here.
www.slartisanaccents.etsy.com
 

 

thanks to all of you!  It was fun to be able to share my process of prep with you all and be encouraged!



BEADS beads and More Beads

by Staci L. Smith

I am still up to my elbows in beads, but at least, they are all done now!  I am finally ready for the bead show.  It's really a lot of prep to re-stock inventory at the beginning of the year.  Once I have a full inventory for Berks, the rest of the year I can just do small batches as needed, but this, well, this was a HUGE undertaking.

 

Each metal clay bead is hand formed, or molded, or stamped and cut out, dried, sanded, fired, cleaned, tumbled, patinated, sealed, waxed, and has the holes re-cleaned.

 

Each polymer bead is hand formed, fired, painted, painted, painted painted, (yes, some have up to 5 layers to get the effects I like) and sealed.  The painting is very labor intensive!!!!

 

The last of the prep is pricing, and I will be finishing that up this morning.  It is my least favorite part.

 

I always do a mock up of what my table will look like as I prep, so I know where I need to fill in as I make beads.  Here she is, all ready to get packed up.  I leave tomorrow for the show.

 

You can compare where it was a week ago, to where it is today.  Here is last weeks post http://www.lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-bead-show.html

 

Here is the whole display, complete with jewerly samples and all.

 

Here are some close up shots of the trays of beads I will be offering.  After the show there will be a massive etsy update! 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for letting me share my progress.  I promise to post about something other then making beads next post.

 

I think I actually feel ready for this show.  Which is odd for me, there is usually a whole list of things I feel I need to do that never get completed. 

 

Do you ever feel completely ready before a show?