Month: April 2011

Hey – last’s week’s survey recap was fun – so – in the spirit of Hollywood – let’s do a sequel! (This month’s survey is here.) A while back, we asked: What’s your favourite colour or colour combination? Be specific! Do you wear it? Predictably enough – Blue came out a strong winner – with the earth tones coming a close second – but every colour had it’s fans – red, purple, pink, orange, black, white, and even clear! All except for poor old yellow- no one sings the praises of yellow! And the consensus was that you wear your …

Well it seems that my ideas for metal clay posts seems to be waining. Perhaps it is due to the many things I am trying to juggle and the lack of focus this can create. I read Jen’s post (from Thursday this week) about planning and it made me smile as I idealize planning but often find myself flying by the seat of my pants too. This disappoints me but sometimes that pressure can allow to stumble on new things. I have so many things I want to do…get into the garden and clean it up and welcome my new …

Recently I met a friend for coffee because she was buzzing with excitement and wanted my advice on her new venture. My friend makes jewelry but hasn’t had much success in selling it. She was convinced that this was it, she had the most brilliant idea and the money was going to roll in like crazy. Heck, she was talking about hiring help. Her idea? She was going to set up an Etsy shop!!! Well, she wasn’t going to set it up because unfortunately she’s not really good with computers and refuses to learn, can’t take photos and hates to …

If you’re a beginner looking to learn the basics of jewellery making, you have options this month. From basic bead stringing to lampworked beads, its really up to you. Marilyn Gardiner, a long time instructor with beadFX, is teaching her Bead Stringing 101 class April 16th, 10am to 12:30pm. You’ll learn how to make a single-strand bracelet and/or necklace. Here’s another beginner class for you: Introduction to Art Clay Silver, April 30th 10am – 5pm. In this class you will learn the fundamentals of working with Art Clay Silver. We will mold, shape and texture this revolutionary material to create …

Each month, we have a little contest where we give away a prize or gift certificate, and while you are entering, we ask a question – just a little something to help us understand you and remind us of what else you might want (back in the early days – we had to be careful that we didn’t stock only blue beads – based on personal bias … ). Thought you might be interested in the answers from March. It fun to read what you say – and really fun when someone says exactly what you are thinking! The question …

Good news at BeadFX, they are now carrying Metal Clay Artist Magazine. A proudly Canadian conceived magazine started by Jeanette LeBlanc, Canadian Metal Clay Artist at the helm. This magazine was debuted at the Metal Clay World Conference in Chicago in 2009 and has grown with international contributions and includes articles in French as well. This month’s magazine is featuring Sterling Silver Clay!!! Find out more at http://www.metalclayartistmag.com/ It is a great source of inspiration and ideas. Stop by the store and pick up a copy. Enjoy! Heather