Look to us for top trends in 2010
All our projects reflect how our magazines, books, videos, and designers are ahead of the curve when it comes to keeping up with the latest materials, styles, and trends. Be sure to browse the Interweave Store regularly so you can keep up, too. And to help Beading Daily bring jewelry-makers closer together, comment below on the trends in materials and hottest jewelry styles showing up in your corner of the world.

Again, Happy New Year!

It’s not only a new year, but a new decade! Can you believe it? Just think about what you were doing ten years ago. I was the editor of Beadwork magazine with a toddler toddling about, a wild-man kindergartner, a husband getting his umpteenth degree, and a really bad hairdo. Now I look at my deep-voiced 6' 3" boy, my door-slamming hormone-challenged girl, and my professor husband, and think . . . where did the decade go? 

But instead of getting too wrapped up in lost time, I think I’ll celebrate instead. For one, I’ve got a better hairdo, and that alone is worth celebrating. I’ll also celebrate this new decade (and my 100th blog!) by perusing all 1,035 projects in the Interweave store and picking out a dozen of my favorites. Disclaimer: This was a near-impossible list to make. Have you been to the store lately? There are lots and lots of wonderful projects there, my friend—you’ll have a hard time choosing, too.

1: Sky High Ring

Janet Kay Skeen’s pancake-stack rings are so whimsical and so wonderfully Janet.

2: Frosted Flower Necklace

This sculptural brick-stitch wonder by Kerry Slade is so delicate and pretty.

3: Jeweled Pea Pods

Janice Berkebile’s simple wireworked pods have a contemporary flair, like something you’d drool over at a museum shop.

4: Tribal Shield Copper Earrings

Tom and Kay Benham’s copper design is simple enough for beginning metalworkers to do, plus I just love that they are in this store, even though this is a beading site!

5: Turquoise Couture

These right-angle weave earrings are not only beautiful, but Jennifer VanBenschoten’s design is brilliantly and simply constructed.

6: Beaded Victorian Earrings

Dale “Cougar” Armstrong’s wire and bead earrings have an elegance in a class of their own.

7: Waves of Pearls

This tour de force necklace by Miwako Nara is amazing; I know—I’ve made it this monster . . .

8: Biker Bracelet

Kate McKinnon’s tough-chick bracelet is one of those that would go with anything, but the way it’s constructed makes it incredibly durable.

9: Nautical Star Purse

Scarlett Lanson has outdone herself with this architectural masterpiece.

10: Golden-edged Ruffles

Shelley Nybakke’s signature free-form style comes shining through in this elegant and flowing project.

11: Minnesota Winter

Design genius Tina Koyama creates incredible beauty, simply with strung seed beads.

12: Ellipse Necklace

Marcia DeCoster shows us once again why she’s the right-angle-weave master with this uniquely shaped double-decker necklace.

Merle White, editor in chief, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist:

Brass Mobius Circle Pendant by William Fretz
August 2009
When I was in elementary school, I used to wear those stretchy hairbands to keep my hair out of my face. They always became twisted and wouldn't lie flat and smooth. "That looks like a Mobius strip," my father told me, "a circle with no inside or outside." Intrigued by the new word and the paradoxical concept, I ran my finger around the band's in-and-out contour over and over again, amazed that such a thing could exist.

I've been fascinated by this form ever since. When we received William Fretz's Brass Mobius Circle Pendant project for the August 2009 issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, of course it became an instant favorite: now I know how you can make a mobius strip on purpose! There's also a variation with a beautiful, green-and-brown patina as well as a polished, Rich-yellow brass finish. And while the design is compelling exactly as shown, the project is really an exploration of constantly creating new forms from a flat sheet.

Each one presented challenges of irregular shapes as well as significant sizes which had to be accommodated. She had to make jewelry that would lie comfortably when worn and create a beautiful original setting that would adequately secure the stone without overpowering it. The agate on the cover was beautifully carved on both sides, so she created a two-sided pendant.

I needed to get it to her at the Tucson shows, and mailing wasn't a convenient option.  Rather than pack it, I had the treat of being able to wear it on the trip, to bring it to her!

Helen Driggs, managing editor, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist:

Cab/Bead Earrings by Michael Boyd
September 2009
I’m a huge fan of Michael Boyd because he taught me how to cut stone. We became fast friends during his advanced lapidary workshop at Metalwerx, probably because we are both happy geeks who love rock and metal with equal passion. His earring project is brilliant: most jewelry makers have stone beads they’ll never use.

Once you get into metals, you’ve typically got lots of leftover stone beads just sitting there, unused. Michael’s solution? Cut those buggers in half and make cabs out of them. Heck, most of the work’s already been done anyway. You just saw those beads in half, set them, and forget them. You don’t even have to grind and polish!

Helen Driggs, managing editor, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist:

The Illustrated Cool Tool Guide by Sharon Elaine Thompson
May 2009
The thing I love about this feature is the glorious shots by our photographer Jim Lawson. Those are my tools, and he made them look fabulous. It took us three long days of setup and lighting to get all of those shots, but the results were well worth it.

There is a ton of good information in this feature about tool categories, names, and uses. Sharon’s writing style is informative and fun, and I love the quotes from the pros about specific tools they use in their own work. If you are new to the craft, this feature will help you learn the names and uses of most of the basic metalworking tools you need to make jewelry.  

My Metal Seed-Bead Romance

I know, I know … you run into beads you love all the time. But I'd like to talk about a different type of love. I’m talking about head-over-heels beady luuuurrrve. The kind of giddy euphoria that makes you spend all kinds of money you don’t have buying every available color. Once you have them, all other beads pale in comparison, and you spend all your time with your new love. That’s the way I felt when I came across my first tubes of metal seed beads.

       More about metal seed beads

• They are made with a brass base and coated with different finishes.
• The finishes are very stable, much like that of metal findings, and the finishes certainly don’t rub off.
• Since this type of bead is made entirely of metal, they are heavier than other beads of the same size.
• You can readily find these seed beads in sizes 11°, 8°, and 6°.
• These beads are very uniform and have a more rounded profile than glass seed beads. Since these beads are pressed into shape from sheet metal, they have a seam along the side. 
• Be careful as you work with them with thin thread because if the seam is separated at all, your thread can slip into that seam and not only distort your stitch but the thread will be very prone to breakage.
• It's best to use braided or thermally bonded beading thread with metal beads. These stronger types of thread hold up better to the beads' sharp edges.