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July 2, 2008
Wow....what a crazy month its been! I’m looking back thru my diary for the month on June - no wonder I’m exhausted. I have stuff on every page! It must have been really important if I had time to write about it my diary!!!
I do want to share with you some exciting news... last week I met with the people at the Canberra Glassworks and I am proud to announce that my work can now be purchased in their gift store, “The Gather”. My head is still spinning and I still can’t believe the news is real. I am both proud and honored to be involved in this world class institution.
Sarah Hornik has also been keeping me busy in the last few weeks! I was lucky enough to be able to take a 4 day workshop with Sarah during her time in Brisbane, Australia. It was interesting to see how others use various styles and techniques and incorporate them into their own beads .... now I have to continue to experiment and see how they fit in with my own repertoire!!! We covered lots, and lots of stuff and I would like to thank Sarah for generously sharing her wealth of knowledge and expertise with us.
I hope she enjoyed her time in Australia ..... there is so much to see and do but definitely not enough time to squeeze it all in. I wanted to share with you a photo that Sarah took of me during one of her classes - but I want to ask her permission to use it before I post it here. Watch this space.
The “beads to go”, “bracelets” and “necklace” pages have been a little neglected lately.... promise to attend to this asap. Till next time, take care.....
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June 1, 2008
Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month! Wow... first day of winter and for the first time since moving to sunny Brisbane in Queensland, I am actually feeling the change of climate. The change of weather has sent us all scrambling for warm clothes, socks and long sleeve tops. Warm soups and casseroles have been on the menu now for the past week and I’m trying to remember where the mobile heaters were tucked away?
Looking at these coloured rounds makes me feel much warmer though! For the first time in a long time, I have some bead sets up on the beads to go page, along with some new silver lined beads. Soft, satin finished rounds in pastel transparent with silver threads ~ Yum! I’m not too sure what I’d do with these rounds ... they were fun to make and a real lesson in patience!
There are some new pieces in the earrings page as well and new necklaces and bracelets. (These will be added later this week.) My “experimental” play with the Beadmaking 104 Glass from Kulger has seen some fabulous results this week. .... I will post these later this week. I have had a bit time to give this task a some serious attention.... first cab off the ranks were using some of the (and older) silver loaded glass - the results are just amazing. Sorry to keep you all in suspense .... you’ll just have to come back and have another look later this week. Till then... be good and take care :)
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May 21, 2008
Wow .... already week 3 of May! How fast time flies. I spent some time in Melbourne the week before last and promised you some photos from my workshop with master bead maker Akihiro Okhama.
Its taken me a while to get back into the groove of things so is one of my pictures...I have more but for some reason, I cant get them to stay on the page.
Of course, there is lots of other stuff happening in the background too. I guess one of the most exciting things is that I am now an “official” glass tester for Kugler, German manufacturers of glass for bead makers. I am very excited to be part of this project - my glass package arrived while I was away and I am looking forward to exploring and experimenting with their product, Beadmaking 104. I have used this product before, formally known ask ASK Glass. The colours are rich and intense. I was surprised to see that original palette of colours has been extended with the addition of several transparent and clear. Watch this space for progress reports!
I have a quick sale happening for the remainder of the month on May on the beads to go page - your choice of any three silver lined beads for $75. I have some cute new earrings up on the earrings page so have a quick look and let me know what you think! They are so much fun to make and look good too!
Have a great week ... back soon to post more Aki photos....
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May 6, 2008
New stock has now been posted on bead, earring and bracelet pages ... have a quick look!
My colours for this autumn are cool denim blues and muted greys along with soft pine and eucalyptus tones. Perfect for the cooler weather and go with almost everything in the wardrobe. More pieces will be posted as soon as I return next week. In the mean time, my work can be viewed on line here....
The silver lined beads continue to disappear as fast as I make them. If you see something you like, send me a quick e-mail and I can put it aside for you. I can’t always reproduce bead designs and colours ... they are unique and usually “one-off pieces”.
This week I fly down to Melbourne to take part is a workshop run by Japanese Glass artist Akihiro Okhama. I am looking forward to learning new techniques and skills from the master of floral and butterfly murini. We are also using Satake Lead Glass - this is very different to the 104 (coe) glasses I normally use. Watch this space for updates - see you next week.
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April 19, 2008
Don’t you just love roses - I do!!! They’re one of my absolute favourites. I love the delicate, soft layers of petals ... all the colours and of course (if you’re lucky) their scent. These were given to my by my boys for my birthday earlier this week.
Things have been very hectic this week. I’ve been working on the finishing touches to a new collection that will live in the Emporium Gallery in Brisbane. With summer long gone, I have opted for softer blues, denims and pale grey along with some lovely, soft golds and autumn milks and honey .... hhhhhhhmmmmm ..... delicious!
In the next week or so, I will be adding new pieces for sale on my website. Stay tuned for red hot items on the necklace and bracelet pages. Have a great week.... Liz x
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April 7, 2008
Ok - its been a while since I updated my blog ..... I’ve been a bit busy! Besides, both the boys are now on holidays so getting a bit of time to myself seems like a long, lost memory. I did manage to take some time out last week and spent some time with the kids at the beach.
I bought these shells at the Eumundi Markets from a local shell artisan. They are my inspiration for my beads this week. I’ve been on a bit of “shell” kick for some time now .... new colours, patterns and shapes will make a nice change from the usual ones tend to make. I will post these up over the next week to show you.
On the bead front this week, I have some new large hole silver beads. You can find them here....But you’d better be quick, they go fast. If you see something, just send me a quick E-mail and I’ll do my best to help you out. There are some new earrings on this page and some funky new bracelets here.
I’m loving the cooler weather ..... so a change of colour and styles is in the wings. I have some lovely hematite lustre glass that give a beautiful soft rose glow to the finished bead. I have used some in the Autumn Pink bracelet. New denims and soft beige colours on the drawing board too .... watch this space over the next coming weeks. Let me know what you think of the new pieces.
You may have noticed my photographic style has changed a little (or trying to). I’m still experimenting but it doesn’t look too bad. It’s a lot harder than it looks ...
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February 12, 2008
As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches I have been madly making lots and lots of heart beads. I love making these beads but I’ve also been enjoying making my large hole beads, which are lined with silver rivets. Yes, they are challenging and quite tedious to make; but as you can see, its well worth the effort!
You can see these beads close up and personal on the “beads to go” page. I already have a several on hold, so grab em while they’re hot! These will be the last ones I make for a while as I am waiting for more supplies to arrive before I make any more.
Have you noticed that the pink cored bead in the bottom left of the photo below is different to the others? This is my first and only attempt (actually, I lie here because I made several others which did not survive the process.) to silver core my beads with sterling silver tubing. Lots of time and practice requires to make beads like this ....and definitely not for me :) I have a lot of respect and admiration for my fellow lampworker buddies to core their beads entirely by hand.
 
I am taking a short break at the end of the week and will be back towards the end of the following week. If you are interested in purchasing any of the beads featured on the beads to go page, please contact me via email. Have a great week and if you are romantically inclined, enjoy St. Valentine’s Day.
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January 30, 2008
This week, Australian’s celebrated Australia Day - we had a fabulous long weekend but it was busy and hectic as usual. A surprise phone call mid week saw the arrival our dear friend Deb. So, lots of running around, lunches out and time out in the spa were the norm for a few days. We did however, manage to find time time relax( ha ha) and catch up with friends at an Aussie Day BBQ. It was a wonderful evening and great to catch up with people we hadn’t seen for a long time. Thanks Chris and Linda, it was grouse, mate!
The long weekend was also a perfect opportunity to head up north again to visit the Eumundi Markets. It definitely is one of my all time favourite places to visit .... fresh food and produce, groovy hand made items and lots on interesting people.
I caught up with Tina Cooper at her gallery and bought myself a very cool genie bottle. A gorgeous hand blown perfume bottle made by Sean O’Donoghue. It came complete with a perfectly ground glass stopper but NO GENIE!!!!
Last but not least, my boys are now back at school for the start of the 2008 academic year. They both had a very relaxing and stress free break, but I could tell that it was time for them to go back. *thank God for that*
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January 14, 2008
The big web site “clean-out” continues and over the weekend I started to stock my Etsy Store. It will replace the current “e-shop” attached to this web site. It is a secure way to purchase items over the internet and so much easier as paypal is the method of payment. I have been thinking about it for a long time now, and I know the changes will work. All sales will be in US Dollars but as the Aussie dollar is so strong at the moment, its the perfect time to buy. Australian buyers will need to contact me for my bank details as payments will be via bank transfer. If you have any questions, please contact me. I’m sure we can work something out!
 
On the bead front this week sees new (again) raku sets. I just love these coin beads .... the surface colours are amazing - purples, blues and turquoise. Yum! I been hooked on floral too. I just love the detail. It reminds me of when I was a child ...my mother taught me to embroider when I was about 5 years old ... I can still remember the tiny flowers she had drawn out on the cloth for me to sew over. It’s all in the detail! There will be several new “wild flower” sets available towards the end of the week. These will also be posted in the etsy shop. Drop by and have a look!
Oh, and before I forget ~ I promised to show you some groovy beads I made whilst groovin’ to some new music .... it seems there was way too much groovin and not enough attention being paid. See here for the results - they’re a real cracker! I’m blaming JT entirely. It was all his fault!
It has rained here in Brisbane every day since the start of the new year. I’m not complaining ‘cos we really need this rain to fill our dams ... its also perfect weather for making beads and updating websites .... I promise the work on the changes this week. I really would like to finalise the “new look” soon.
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January 1, 2008
Happy New Year to you all! How did you spend the first day of the rest of the year? We took advantage of the wet weather and decided we would head off into the city to check out the new Andy Warhol exhibition now on at the Gallery of Modern Art (or GoMA) in Brisbane. Even though we had already seen lots of what was on show, the Warhol works are always fun so see again and again. We had our family portrait taken - al la “Warhol” style. Very hip and happening, don’t you think???
On the bead and jewellery front, the Christmas page has now been removed and the final few items have been placed on the bracelet and earring pages. I will tidying up and re-design the look of the webpage over the next few weeks. I was hoping to have my “blog” on the home page by now but it hasn’t happened as yet...
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December 26, 2007
 
Well, I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! Our was very relaxing. Santa was very generous this year with lots of goodies for all of us. I managed to score myself a very cool ipod docking station, complete with speakers for my studio. I am lucky girl and have spent all morning listening so some very inspiring music. I will post some pictures of the beads I made this morning, all inspired by the very suave Justin Timberlake and Matchbox 20.
We spent the day with family in the city. We had a fabulous shared lunch and then went for a long, long, long walk along the Brisbane River walk. The weather was perfect for walking and cooling down after the “big” eat! 6 km + later and we were all feeling a little “walked-out” but much better for it, I’m sure! We came home to a very refreshing spa. The spa space has been a long time coming and now that its all come together, I plan to be making the most of it.
Over the next few days I will start to make some changes to the web site. I have decided that the entire site needs a bit of face-lift. The first thing you will notice, is the blog. This will now be housed on the home page ... small but informative and complete with pictures. A good place to start if you want to know what’s happening and what’s new. I will keep you all informed of the changes and exciting new outlets for my jewellery. Watch this space !!!
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December 19 2007
Don’t you just love market shopping? It’s one of my favourtite things to do, especially when you’re away from home and in holiday mode. I spent a few days at Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland last week. The weather was beautiful and perfect for swimming, eating out and lazing on the beach with a good book.
I was lucky enough to be in the area for the Eumundi Markets which are on Wednesdays and Saturdays and not far from the trendy Noosa. Of course, I was there for both days and took my time exploring new stalls that I missed on the first day I was there.
I caught up with some friends and checked out all the fabulous stalls with hand crafted goods and jewellery. Met a lovely lady who was selling water lilies from her dam. Couldn’t buy them as we were leaving the next day but she let me photograph them. No wonder Monet was nuts about this delicate flower!
The “Christmas 2007” page will be removed at the end of the month and all available items will make their way to either the earrings, bracelet or necklace pages. There will be new bead sets up for grabs early in the new year. Apologies to those who’ve been waiting patiently for new work .... its been a crazy few weeks.
Not long to go before the year is over. The website will take on a new look in 2008. Stay tuned for some exciting changes, and interactive Blog and special sale prices during the month of January. Till then, I wish all my family, friends and customers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous new year ahead.
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November 26 2007
Christmas is coming - have you noticed? Well, the shops are full of stuff already! I have been working on a lovely and elegant Christmas collection for the 2007 festive season. For the time being, I have created its own special page...
“Beautiful baubles and beads that shimmer in the light...that’s what my jewellery is made from.”
You can access the page from this link, or from the home page. Just click on the Christmas 2007 icon. The photos below are a “sneak peak” to the collection .... they are a very different style of “Christmas Bead” ~ I’m sure you’ll agree! Of course, any piece of jewellery from my collection will be the “perfect” gift for that special friend, mum or sister. Send me an e-mail if you’re interested in any of these pieces.
   
I have been experimenting with some of the new silver reactive glasses available from the US at the moment. It’s been a challenge to incorporate them into some of my regular styles and designs. The Australian dollar has been strong enough to lure me into finally getting some to try.
There are so many to choose form - the colours are just amazing, and of course the silver content of the class makes it so much more costly than the regular style of glass. Still...have to try the “new” for myself. The new sets up for grabs on the beads page will show you some of my “play time” results :)
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October 29th 2007
This year is certainly flying along, already were at the tail end of October and my posts on this blog have been less than regular. I so many things to do and such little time to do them in...(well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it) !
Recently a friend brought back some special glass for me....hand made veiled cane from Canada. Caliente Glass, operated by Michelle, specialises in hand pulled glass, renown for its beautiful lustrous qualities... yum! Below are the beads I made last week while I was playing...then it turned serious and I strung them into this beautiful necklace.
On the bead front this week, I have some new sets up for sale at feature some new glass that is loaded with silver. It produces some fabulous reactions when worked in the heat, left to cool slightly, and then reintroduced into the flame.
I also have some new earrings and necklaces for you to have a look at. New bracelets and matching pieces will also be available at the end of the week. These will feature a “sea” theme with lots of beautiful teals, blues and turquoise on show! Make sure you come back to have a look.
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September 19, 2007
Thank you to all our friends and family who attended our “Spring Fling” celebrations at Mad Monnies last week. It was wonderful to see you all there....stay tuned for more details as another champagne sioree is planned for later on in the year.
This week I helped Margaret Campbell-Rider (director of the Red Hill Gallery) put together another exhibition of my work at the Hilton Hotel in Brisbane. It was very exciting to be involved in the process ... and very exciting to see my work on show again. Drop on by and have a look - the collection is display on the 6 floor, adjacent to the lounge and dining area.
This week on the bead from sees the long awaited large hole beads up for sale. I know it’s been a while since I said they would be available but they are time consuming and complicated to make and then of course, line with the silver rivets. They are beautiful and very fashionable at the moment. I am doing a bit of research at the moment and thinking seriously about coring them with silver tubing. Stay tuned for further updates.
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