BeadyBead

Check out the bottom of this post to see the new links!

Come see the latest promotion from Tupperware Brands.

Enquiry and ordering through sophie@beadybead.net

Thank you!

Christmas is coming! If you are planning to get personalized gifts such as beaded jewellery, bookmarks, key chains or handphone straps, do drop us an email to let us know your requirements.

If you have jewellery that needs to be repaired or requires a make-over, don’t hesitate to let us know.

>> Insert from Ubin: Guys! If you don’t know what to get for your loved one, give Sophie a budget. With some basic info like their favourite colour and jewellery type (be it a necklace, bracelet or earrings) Sophie will be able to make you a special and unique jewellery gift to present to your loved one!

Plans for 2009

We will be writing jewellery and gem related articles for this newsletter. These articles will also be posted in the website, under the Blog category. We hope the information from each article will generate interest and awareness about jewellery. Do share your opinions, knowledge and questions through the “Comment” section in each post.

Sophie is also planning to start classes, designed specifically for children, youth and adults. These classes will allow students to learn skills through projects relevant to their age groups. More details at a later date.

A trendy gentleman stands enquiringly over the silver clay demonstration. ChingChing’s fingers work non-stop as she explains her work.
“There are many things you can do with the clay. You can brush it, ply it and I have even used a regular pencil sharpener to get the clay into the shape I want,” she quips.
She goes on to explain to a growing crowd that it only takes ten to fifteen minutes to make a small pendant.
“The clay is very versatile; you can make anything you imagine. As soon as the clay dries, you fire it and there you have it, a 99.9% silver pendant.”
Another crafter, Sophie, moves in closer to a couple who are showing keen interest. She presents them with a clipboard, so that they may write down their contact information. ChingChing continues to chat with them.
“Where are you from?” she asks. The young man answers, “I’m from HongKong, and she’s from Taiwan.” Indicating the young lady with him.
“That’s nice! Hongkong, Taiwan, and now in Singapore huh?”
“Yes,” he smiles. His lady friend smiles too. They leave the booth and move on to view the other craft on offer at the marketplace.

Every first weekend of the month the red dot museum hosts an eclectic mix of artists, musicians and handicrafters in a mad bazaar aptly named MAAD. The acronym stands for Market of Artists And Designers. Small ’stalls’ consist of single meter square tables while larger display booths comprise two or more tables.
Each stall is as unique as the crafters who manage them, with craft ranging from do-it-yourself sock dolls to finely handicrafted jewellery like necklaces and earrings. Some of the more exotic stalls feature recycled coffee sachet bags, hand painted t-shirts, clay whistles with personalized ambigrams and carefully arranged coloured paper ear-rings!
The market place covers three halls, with the air-conditioning intensifying the further you venture in. The crafters and artists seem friendly and are genuinely eager to share more about their craft. If anything interests you, do not hesitate to engage the crafters in conversation. After all, the only next time you will get to see them again will be in a month’s time.
Do set a budget before you come here, as there is a high chance you will empty your wallet if you come unprepared for the ingenuity of the place. I would dare say even hardened shoppers who have ‘been there and bought that’ would be pleasantly surprised by the originality and verve of both crafters and craft on display here. Items go for between $10 for designer passport cover to $200 for a unique transparent biscuit tin lampstand. You may have noticed that my descriptions of the items here are a little long winded, but there really isn’t an easy way to describe these one-of-a-kind offerings.
Live bands are scheduled to play here after 2pm; although from what I heard, listener discretion is advised.
I really enjoyed the outing to the red dot design museum today. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an afternoon free on the first weekend of the month.

The red dot design museum is located at 28 Maxwell road and is a 3 minutes walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT. It is host to MAAD on the first weekend of each month. Opening hours are from 11am to 8pm and admission is free for MAAD.
For other information, please visit

Red Dot Traffic
Red Dot Sg
MAAD’s website

Squidoo!

Visit Beadybead.net!

The Art of Jewellery making

Many things can be said of Jewellery making. It is truly an intricate craft that has transcended aeons by being passed down through generations. It is now a global industry that has witnessed the spawn of entire organisations being devoted to this line of business. It is an art that brings together many charming materials. Also, it is a great hobby; it is relaxing, engrossing and creative.

Materials

Jewels of course! Obviously, these may be expensive for the lay person, especially if you are just starting out. Choosing beads as a working material becomes the natural choice as beads are also used heavily in the art of craft making, and they are normally made of glass, plastic, or stones. Other materials used are found readily available at local craft shops.

Actually, all you really need, apart from a few materials, are the ideas.

Techniques

Some personal skills required to become a jewellery maker are very good hand-eye co-ordination as you would be doing precision handwork. Options include working with hand and power tools and keeping up with new products and trends is a must for the budding jewellery designer!

Conclusion

Jewellery making is rapidly becoming one of the most popular crafts at this time. It is a lot of fun and a great hobby to have. The range of materials and tools available means that jewellery making is accessible by anyone who wants to try it.

I brought my beading student to visit some beading shops. We started in Arab street by visiting Digvijay Sequins (89 Arab street). They have a wide range of Swarovski crystals and glass pearls.

We next proceeded to Sunshine plaza at Bencoolen street. We first visited Beadhub, which is located at the ground floor at a corner of the building. I like to get my eye pins and head pins there as they are more durable. Another thing I like about Beadhub is that they clearly describe and label their merchandise.

We also visited Egems, which is a few shops away from Beadhub. Egems have a great selection of gem stones. They have both expensive and lower priced stones. The owner was kind enough to show us some of the more expensive stones. We also dropped in to Beads Workshop. They have an interesting selection of glass beads.

Lastly, we headed down to Peoples’ park centre at Chinatown. There, we visited Mix & Match and Shinobeads. Mix & Match is good to visit if you need crystals, as they have a vast range of them. We found some pretty glass beads at Shinobeads.