Gemstones in color - RED

 If you ask me "what is the one thing that I like most about jewellery - I would say "color"!! Jewelry without color does not appeal to me and I am huge fan of colored stones.As its been a long time since I posted information about gemstones in the blog  I am going to do a small, seven part series on colored gemstones.
There are numerous colored stones - both precious as well as semiprecious and they are all extremely beautiful. But I am going to choose 7 colors - the 7 colors of the Rainbow and discuss the various gemstones in those colors.


Lets start with Red
 

Ruby: Considered as royalty among gemstones; more beautiful and more expensive than diamonds, rubies are the stones of passion, strength and desire. Named after its hue (ruber), rubies are made up of corundum, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide. You could figure out the origin (location where the ruby was mined) based on its color - Myanmar,- pure reds, Vietnam - pinkish rubies, Sri Lanka- soft pastel pinkish reds, Thailand - dark red to burgundy, Kenya with translucent stones with juicy pure reds, Madagascar with pure transparent reds; but it is not conclusive. Rubies showing  no signs of heating are very rare and command a premium as most rubies are heated almost to 2,000 degrees in order to maximize the red and remove secondary colors of blue and brown. This heat is also  said to improve their clarity.

 
Spinel Rubies : Often confused with rubies, Balas rubies are rose tinted spinels that belong to aluminium section of the larger spinel family. Named after the location they were found, the Badakshan province (Afghanistan), they are indeed similar to rubies as they have similar hardness and durability, vivid color, and brilliance. In addition to beautiful rich reds, spinel can be found in a range of colors like blue, green, yellow or colorless.


Garnet: Named after the pomegranate (a granatum), garnet is a brialliant, durable and affordable gemstone. It is a group of six closely related minerals: almandine, pyrope, grossular, spessartite, andradite, and uvarovite. Though green (Tsavorite, demantoid) and blue garnets are available, red and wine colors (purplish red to pink rhodolite and sunset orange malaya), are the most popular ones. Garnets are said to protect their owners from nightmares and safeguard them from accidents far from home. 


Zircon: Though Zircons are generally considered as diamond alternatives, natural zircons are ancient materials on Earth which can be colorless, green, blue, yellow, brown, orange or red. Zircon is not to be confused with Cubic zirconia (discovered in 1937) a man-made compound of zirconium, oxygen and yttrium, which can be dyed in any color.

Refer here for more information on gemstones

That's it for now, come back to learn all about Orange gemstones.If you have any more information to share about gemstones, please share them as comments and I will include them in the post.
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers

Jewelry Trend - High Voltage Neon

 Couple of years back when neon become a trend, I for one very much doubted its staying power. I have seen neon come and go various times in the past and felt that it would die again as a fad. Boy, I was Wrong!! Neon has been around for almost 2 years now and I am sure that it will continue to rule the roost (atleast in jewelry and accessories) for another 2 years.
"High voltage", one such a neon crazed Jewelry trend for SS13 by Jewelry Stringing Spring 2013, proves my point. Readers of beading daily would also know that Retro baby another neon inspired trend is bound to be back next winter. So without much ado, Here are some bold retro style pieces in neon brights- reflecting the color blocking of 60's and the bright plastics, geometrical shapes and neons of the 80's
 

Neon hit earrings

 Princess of pop: Inspired by the plastic culture and neon trend of 80's, this necklace has been created with enamelled acrylic beads in bright colors of pink, blue and yellow for a stunning effect

All Seeing eye: Inspired by the color blocking of the 60's, this necklace has three eye beads - two enamelled rhombus beads with stone and the turquoise nuggets focal with the all seeing eye patterns. It showcases the mood of the swinging sixties - bold, bright and spiritual

Click here to see my last year's Neon creations 

I hope you find it interesting
Cheers

Every Color has a story - water trails

When I say the words- cool, soothing and bliss in summer, most of you would associate them with the color blue. That's simple because we tend to associate these words with water and even though water is technically colorless, we prefer to think of water as being blue in color.
The color blue is timeless, suits all skin tones (there goes the secret behind popularity of blue jeans!!), stands for uniformity, precision and

So for this month's color palette, I am taking you on a water trail. Indian beaches arent the perfect havens for summer holidays but Indian lakes are. These large  water bodies provide a cool backdrop for fun family activities like boating, lounging and having picnics. This particular photo was taken during one such boat ride on the Ramappa Lake, Palamet, Warangal. Let me tell you its story.

A long time ago, to be precise in the 13th century(1213 AD), there was a kakatiya ruler named Ganapati Deva who wanted to build a temple to honour lord Shiva in linga form as Ramalingeshwara. This temple then slowly came to be known as Ramappa temple, after the chief sculptor whose name was Ramappa. It is said that the general Rudra Senani took 40 years to build this architectural marvel on a 6ft high platform with a cruciform plan.
In order to follow ancient traditions, the Kakatiya rulers wanted to constructed a tank adjacent to a temple. Eventually they ended up creating a 2000 ft long earthen dam that connects a semi circular chain of hills to form a an artificial lake of 82 sq km. This engineering marvel of an irrigation system is free from problem of silting even today.

Nandi Mandap, Ramappa temple

There is nothing touristy about the lake (inspite of its closeness to the Pakhal Sanctuary), nor does it boost of many facilities, but the lake in itself is quite breathtaking. 
Check color palette usage below

Color Palette Illustration

NOTE: All palettes come with Pantone color pickers (solid coated, solid matt or process coated). You can use the convertor in the pantone website to arrive at the exact shades for your end use whether it is textiles, paint or paper.
You are free to use the color palette in any and all product design work, but please refrain from putting it in your portfolios and give due credit.Thanks!!
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers

Five tips to make your exhibition successful

As Designers and crafters we all participate in exhibitions as it is one of the best and cheapest ways to understand the market, gauge it and eventually sell our designs. There are millions of posts on net talking about how one should attend exhibitions, what sort of displays to make, DIY posts detailing packaging, cards, banners etc. Most of it is great advice but the more exhibitions I attend the more I realise that many practical issues where never covered in these posts. So here is my list of  "5 things to make your exhibition successful" ( from a designer's point of view about exhibiting in India)

1) Use  Clean & sturdy multi level displays:  I love having interesting displays at exhibitions and I have tried everything from forms and busts to DIY earring holders and ring containers and have been frustrated with all of them. Its an easy guess that white forms and busts show off jewelry the best, but they get dirty very easily. Thats why, These days I am loving options like jute and linen. Also a good display cannot be at just one level. But as tempting as it is to put up more vertical displays to conserve space, I have learnt not to do it the hard way. A gush of wind or an excited child runs to your stall to grab a colorful bracelet, everything tumbles on to the floor, leaving behind broken beads and bent clasps. So my rule of thumb is - (a) not to use displays that are more than 8" in height

(b) put unbreakable items on vertical display and breakable precious one on slopes or flat ground

I found these adorable linen jewelry displays here

2) Customize your space - color it up:  Unless you are paying big bucks, and you are displaying in a high end gallery,  there is  going to be no ambience. The truth is most of the time we just get a table, a measly white table cloth with not even a wall to support our banners behind us. So what do we do? Instead of putting the logo banner on the table, try putting it up like a bunting. A Pennant string trim attached to a 5" wide logo strip will give your stall a celebratory feel. You can customize the colors to match your logo.You can also use a silk timing in the color of your choice around your table edges - maybe a nice teal or rustic brown?!

3) Have a Mirror: I tell my students this every time they do a retail store visual merchandising product - Please have a mirror!! People (women) like to look at themselves looking beautiful, they need to see how the stole drapes or the earring lights up their face. Yes a bigger mirror is always better, if there is a wall close by hang one at eye level. If not you can put one on your table - that which has a handle and can be easily lifted and held in one hand. Decorative mirrors can be used as displays too

4) Have Trays or checkout out baskets: When you hand out a tray or a check out basket to a customer you are not only giving them a container to hold their purchases, you are emotionally making them shop for more items at your store. So capitalise on it!

5) List your price in the brand Tag: Many of us sell wholesale, retail as well as direct so I understand that its not easy to print a price directly onto your brand tag as you dont know who your buyer is going to be. But dont let that stop you from putting a price on the tag, atleast in pencil. Believe me, its easier to give some a discount from a retail price tag rather than referring to a price sheet everytime a buyer asks for a price. Pick up cute printed tags here and stamp out your price and brand name on them.

Those are my top tips for now. If you have any more tips or experiences to share, do post in the comments section. I love reading all your comments. You can pick up all the supplies listed above and more at the Store Supply Warehouse

I hope you find it interesting
cheers

 Disclosure: This post has been brought to you by Store Supply Warehouse. All opinions are my own.

Paper Machie Jewelry

I have been playing with paper machie as long as I can remember. Dipping strips of paper in water and letting them dry out on a hand fan was my favourite pastime as a child...Ofcourse then I didnt know that paper machie was a craft technique. Over the years I have made many items with it - bowls, containers, art works once I even tried a vase but it never struck me to make jewelry with it, until recently. One of our readers asked me if I did paper machie jewelry and I was like - Ya! I could totally do it!! so I mashed some paper, moulded it into beads, sanded, painted, glazed  them and here is the result.

Grapes

Candy Floss

A rock of green

I specifically went for an Indian touch because thats what sells here, but I really love the pink set for its more contemporary.
Though paper machie is cheap ( newspaper which is the base is basically free) and looks easy, its a long process that requires a lot of patience. Also I had a lot of difficulties with coloring the beads, many left out spots were visible only after I glazed and sealed them and so I had to go over them with paint and sealant again. But the whole process was very satisfying and comforting.
Well for now, these are the three pieces that are available...If anybody is interested, just give me a shout.
Hope you find it interesting
Cheers

Bridal Series - Laos Bride

I recently happened to read about a Laos wedding and found them fascinating similar to Indian weddings. When I read about the groom's party stopped at the front gate of the bride's house and asked questions and demanded money for entrance, I was instantly transported to my cousin's wedding in march, where I had a lot of fun holding up my then would be Brother-in-law at the gate, asking him all sorts of silly questions. That got me hooked into writing about Laos wedding attire for this month's Bridal series.

It is said that these days, more and more couples have both the traditional Lao marriage ceremony and an informal wedding party for friends. This post is about the traditional ceremony attire.

Clothing: The bride, or naang saow, wears a traditional Laotian wedding outfit consisting of sinh- a Laotian silk skirt, and paa bien, a scarf, both made from raw silk. A sinh consists of 3 parts, the houa sinh (waistband), pheun sinh (body, main part) and the tdin sinh (hem) and the Sinh fabric is first made (bought) and custom sewn into a skirt.
Sinhs have different designs -sinh mii ( ikat), sinh muk (supplementary warp technique), sinh chok (discontinuous supplementary weft technique, sinh mai kom (twisted multiple silk yarn technique), sinh khan (vertical striped design) and sinh kaan (horizontal striped design). The Shirt or the blouse, has a mandarin collar, that is embroidered and embellished with metallic thread, sequins and normal beads. It looks similar to the Indian Zardosi work.

The same embroidery is often repeated at the bottom hem of the blouse and that of the sleeves. The scarf and the skirt are usually made from bright colored patterned jacquards. However some brides also pick a simple off white self jacquard and get it embroidered to match the blouse and jewellery.
Traditionally, the Groom gets dressed up usually with white or cream coloured silk shirt and a traditional silk salong (baggy pants) in red, blue or offwhite along with a matching sash.  Even if the groom wears a regular suit, he still wears the ceremonial sash (Blue and white checked) for a bit of traditional touch.

Jewellery: In Lao tradition, the bride wears gold jewelry to enhance her appearance and to indicate her status.This is said to bring significance to the bride. These pieces are either handed down in the family as heirloom items at the time of marriage or rented just for the day. The jewelry is typical - the bride wears a necklace (with a pendant), earrings and bangles.  She wears a waist belt to hold up her skirt and a brooch to keep her scarf in place.
The jewellery is not plain but rather ornate, often crafted with traditional motifs or decorated with beads and stones. I found flowers and leaves to be the most common motifs and almost all pieces have beautiful mesh like patterns.

*creative visualisation

The groom wears one or two gold chains (with or without a pendant), a waist belt  and shoulder chains (long sash like chains running from one shoulder to the opposite waist - similar to Atkan or Vaikaksha of ancient India).

Brides of certain communities also wear a beaded shoulder chain instead of the groom

Laos Bride

Hairdress: The hairstyle and its ornamentation varies depending on the family's wealth and the region of Laos they are from. Some brides wear their hair as simple buns adorned with golden flower pins but the Laotian brides are well known for their traditional bun hairdo embellished with ornate gold tiaras or mesh like bands. Brides who do not have traditional ornaments wind ornate beaded gold chains around the bun and embellish it with beaded tassles, pins and head pieces. 

In the process of the wedding the Baci (Basi) ceremony takes place.White cotton strings are tied around the bride and groom's wrists invoking the spirits to bless the couple, the  ceremony and the people attending it. These add charm and sentiment to the the bridal ensemble.

Click here to read a vivid account of the Laotian wedding ceremonies 

Image Credits:

NyeNoona 
kristin Greenlee Photography

That brings us to the end of this month's feature 
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers

DIY Patterned wire pearl ring

Have you seen patterned wire before? I have, in numerous ads of sites that flood my inbox everyday tempting me to work with them. Alas, I do not find them in India and its too expensive to import wire. Then one day, as I was getting ready to go to a wedding, I realised that something was pricking my hand. One of the metal bangles that I was wearing had come apart and was pinching my skin. You might wonder how this is possible...I wondered the same - I had never seen or heard of a metal bangle break before!!
I removed it and kept looking at it for a few minutes and that when I realised that it was nothing but a strip of patterned wire, hence was flimsy and prone to breakage. So I did what any decent crafter would do - upcycle it :) I made a pretty pearl ring out of it and here is the process.
Note :You dont need a broken metal bangle to make the ring, just get 1-2mm wide patterned wire strip thats not too flimsy.Check out cool tools for patterned wire!

 Materials Required
- Patterned brass wire strip  - 1mm, 6-8" long
(or) Thin metal bangle (2.6 or 2.8 size)
- 1 pearl
- 28g copper wire
- 28g gold wire
- wire cutter
- Nose pliers

How to make the ring:
1) Use an existing ring to learn your ring size on the mandrel.

2) Straighten out the patterned wire, wrap it around the designated size, 2-3 times till the entire wire is used.
 
3) Cut 12" of copper wire and wrap together the edges of the patterned wire. When you are half done,Remove from the mandrel, add in the pearl and continue wrapping. 

4) Take 8" of the gold wire and insert it into the pearl and keep wrapping at its base so as ot form a birds nest. (You can use the same wire, I just wanted the two tone effect so I used 2 different wires)

5) tuck the ends into the wire nest. Your Patterned wire aka recycled bangle ring is done

 I hope that you find it interesting
Cheers