Monday 17 October 2016

"Impromptu in A Flat Major - a collection of jewellery in black and white"

My new exhibition is currently on in Gallery at 12, Eccleshall Staffordshire.
 As soon as I was allocated a month I started thinking about a theme and title for it,  I knew I wanted all the pieces to be made in black or white or a mixture of both, so that was the theme sorted, the title was a bit more tricky! having played around with ideas for a while, I decided I wanted it to be musical, I had considered briefly calling it 'manuscript jewellery' or 'ebony and ivory' - but then it occurred to me that A Flat major had 4 flats - B,E,A,D spelling....!  and as I rarely know what I am going to make with my beads until I start making it is all quite Impromptu.
With the theme and the title decided I then had to make the jewellery along with the displays, I also had to photograph it all, price it up and list the items.
Most of the pieces I made specifically for the exhibition - a few I had made earlier but fitted the theme nicely so I included them too, in total I made over 150 pieces, safe to say I really am now enjoying working with coloured beads again, whenever I can - I found it quite hard to stick to my self imposed theme of black and white and had to resist putting the odd red bead into the mix-

"Impromptu in A Flat Major - a collection of jewellery in black and white"


earrings displayed as sheet music 


 most of the necklaces and bracelets are either hanging from trebles clefs or resting on quaver rests


some of my knitted, crocheted  or woven tiaras and crowns




beaded black and white cuffs







beaded black and white pendants

crocheted bead necklace

knitted masques

a tree full of stone pendants each stone is wrapped in crocheted wire and beads, the stones themselves came from Black beach, Isle of Mull 



As you can see, I have made jewellery in a variety of styles,suitable for many different occassions.

This exhibition will close Thursday October 27th,


handmade jewellery by Angela Smith 

Friday 22 April 2016

Purple Friday

A purple day for Prince -  to contribute to this very sad news from yesterday here is a selection of my purple beaded jewellery - such a sad day yesterday - #PrinceRIP 

















Thursday 7 April 2016

SBS Shop is now GO!

I am so excited to announced that a new #sbs venture has been launched today and I am included in it!
#SBS stands for Small Business Sunday - a twitter award set up by Theo Paphitis - Business magnate and entrepreneur best known for his appearances on Dragons Den.
I have been part of the #SBS community on twitter now for over four years, you can see my winning tweet if you scroll down this page and look in the right hand column.
Today Theo Paphitis announced the launch of the SBS Shop.
As a winner of #sbs I have my own store on there which currently has around 30 pieces of my jewellery, hopefully as sales happen I will add new items onto there but please please visit my store and take a look!
here are just a few of the items currently on sale there

Stella - blue 

Dawn - earrings 

Iona

Bumblebee

Carnelian bracelet
these are all one off items as are all my pieces, so once they have sold they have gone, I might make similar replacements but no two items will be identical

Handmade jewellery by Angela Smith 

Tuesday 29 March 2016

Summer knotted necklace on silk

After a lot of deliberating, playing around with various design ideas and beads, I have finally come up with my afternoon project for my May workshop.
I don't know about you but after the gloom of this years winter I am desperate for some sun and heat and with that in mind I decided that by May we will definitely be gearing ourselves towards a long hot summer, well we can dream any way!
I think that my chosen design for a summer necklace will be perfect to wear with both cotton dresses and summer tops.




I have knotted cats eye chips onto coloured silk, this sample necklace is 16 inches long but attendees of the workshop will be able to make their necklace any length they choose .
I am also hopeful that there will be time to make a pair of matching earrings and possibly a bracelet too
The workshop itself is on May 7th 1,30 - 3,30pm at Lily's Secret Vintage Tearoom, Swan Pit, Gnosall. I will have been hosting a jewellery making workshop there in the morning and I do offer the chance to attend both workshops with lunch.
Please contact me for further information or to book your place!

10.30 am - 12.30 pm  Jewellery Making
£26 includes all the materials plus tea/coffee 
You will receive instruction from myself on various bead jewellery making techniques - then you will be able to choose from a large selection of beads to make your own jewellery including  simple, earrings, bracelets and necklaces. If you are a beginner hopefully by the end of the morning you will have confidence to make many more items in your own time and tackle simple jewellery  restringings and repairs too! If you have already attended one or more of my basic jewellery making sessions before then you are might like to take your jewellery making to the next level, maybe making a multi-stranded necklace for example. You will also have the opportunity to purchase extra beads, findings and tools   

1.30 pm - 3.30 pm - summer knotted necklace on silk thread.
£26

To book the full day the cost will be £49 to include all your materials and hot drinks plus soup and sandwiches 

Friday 26 February 2016

Swarovski remains as popular as ever

I have been making beaded jewellery for over twenty years now and although I have seen many types of beads come in and fall out of favour, one type has remained a constant in my stock throughout - Swarovski crystals. It would seem that you just can't get enough of sparkle!
When I first started making jewellery I would combine Swarovskis with plated bead shapes such as hogans and roses - now I combine them with pearls, either freshwater or Swarovski and / or diamante beads.
Today I made a few pairs of earrings to add to my depleted stock, as I have my first fair for 2016 at the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust March 5th and 6th, next week after this weekends workshop I will make a few more pairs as I still have gaps in my display.






handmade jewellery by Angela Smith