Some of you might remember how much I enjoyed my trip to Murano when I visited Italy. One of the highlights of our entire Italy trip was visiting one of the glass factories there. Even before that, I had a fondness for the beautiful glass beads that are the unmistakable legacy of the glass industry there.

Murano Glass Gifts Co. carries some of the finest glass jewelry, beads, and hand-crafted gifts in the world. Its selection boasts a wide range of brilliantly colored and intricately designed glass pieces, including Murano glass vases, bracelets, earrings, pendants, and necklaces for everyday wear and special occasions.

Murano glass is a complex form of art that originated in Rome in the 9th Century and has emerged as one of the most coveted art glassworks in the world. Murano beads are created when chemical silica is heated to very high temperatures and is crafted by the artisan using a highly skilled glass blowing technique. As the Murano glass begins to cool, the jewelry craftsman will add a unique combination of coloring agents to give each Murano glass bead or jewelry piece its unique design and color.

***FREE STUFF ALERT***

Murano Glass Gifts Co. has made it possible for me to give away TWO $25 gift certificates here on Jewelry&Beading!  If you win, you can apply the $25 gift certificate to any jewelry item in their entire online catalog!  To sign up for a chance to win, just leave me a comment below telling me what type of Murano glass piece you would like to have.  If you tweet this contest, leave me a second comment and you’ll be entered twice!  In a week I’ll be randomly drawing two winners from the comments below.

Artbeads offered me my choice of some of their gorgeous Valentine’s Day selection of beads, and I couldn’t resist this bunch:

That gorgeous bead at the bottom, the glass Kalera bead, is decorated on both sides!
By adding some SoftFlex beading wire, a few seed beads, crimps, and a head pin, I turned these into a necklace that I’m going to wear for Valentine’s.  Tomorrow, I’ll share the step by steps with you.
Beads and findings shown above:
Black, White, and Pink Kalera Bead
GOOD N PLENTY Fire Designs Hand Blown Furnace Glass Beads
Czech Glass Druk Beads Rosaline/AB 8mm
Vermeil 14mm Twisted Heart Toggle Clasp
As regards …read more

Think twice!  But do it if it’s really your dream.
Too Precious, an award winner by Kaytee
More than two years ago, Kaytee of Simplexities had some very wise advice to share.  At the time, she gave me permission to repost her list on another blog, which has since gone defunct.  (See, not only jewelry businesses, but also jewelry blogs are a tough business!)   The advice is timeless, so here it is for those who are thinking about launching your own jewelry business this year:
1. LOTS of people have “just started making jewelry” and are pretty good at it and after a …read more

Sheryl Stephens sent me her list of the top 10 jewelry and beading bloggers that she enjoys reading in answer to my Question of the Month. The last one listed is her own
Send me your list (please include the urls) and I’ll be delighted to post the people that you love to read. Make sure you include your own site!
Kate McKinnon – www.katemckinnon.wordpress.com
Marcia DeCoster – www.maddesignsbeads.blogspot.com
Beverly Ash Gilbert – www.beverlygilbert.blogspot.com
A Bead A Day – www.abeadaday.blogspot.com
Kerrie Slade – www.kerrieslade.blogspot.com
Lorelei’s Blog – www.lorelei1141.blogspot.com
Cynthia Thornton/Green Girl Studios – www.cynthiathornton.blogspot.com
Melanie Brooks/Earthenwood Studios – www.earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com
The Beadiful Life – www.beadfx.blogspot.com
The Babbling Beader …read more

Jasmin Malik Chua, at Ecouterre, has interviewed the eco-fashion giants to see what might be the newest and biggest eco-trends for the coming year.  Several statements by these “movers and shakers” centered around a wish that the sustainability issue would become less superficial and more of a way of life.  Worrying about your suppliers’ sources, adopting green practices, and reducing waste shouldn’t be used just to stamp the word “GREEN” onto our products.

Other buzzwords besides “organic” and “sustainable” that I saw in the interviews which might relate to us as jewelry designers were “pre-owned”, “vegan clothing and accessories”, and “convertible …read more

Barbe Saint John – New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts:
Are you a follower? Barbe has a giveway for her blog readers.

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi did “knot” stress out making this new necklace!
Cindy Gimbrone aka the Lampwork Diva
With the help of Vintaj brass, Cindy whips up a set of tethered butterfly earrings with her bronze floral charms.
Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie reveals the delicious ingredients she received for the Bead Soup Party.
Lorelei’s Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei’s blog has a new look. And she heads to cooking school!
Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!
Kim Miles! Who makes prettier Valentine’s day, or “just for …read more

Darren Rowse over at Problogger posed the question a few weeks ago, who are the bloggers that you consider to be Bloggers to Watch?  Darren’s world focusses on, of course, blogging itself, so while most of the suggestions he got are folks who blog about blogging, I started thinking that most of us probably prefer reading about beads, beading, jewelry making…

So, do you want to share your list of  Bloggers to Watch?  If so, put together your top ten (please include their urls), plus an additional  link to your own site too, and send it to me to share with …read more

“And just think…..all I ever wanted was a box of 64 colors!!”
So says extraordinary bead artist Cassandra Graham. You’ll need to set aside some serious time to take in all of Cassandra’s gorgeous pieces on her website, Wilde Jewels. Amazing pieces live there, like this delicious piece called Empress, voted Best in Show at the Lebanon Festival of the Arts, 2005.

Cassandra considers herself a lucky woman, having managed to make her living as an artist.  She started as a painter, and later decided to try beads and jewelry during a sabattical from painting.  Visit her site and see all …read more

I’ve totally fallen in love with Jennifer Stumpf’s pretty etched metal pendants.  She sells them through her etsy shop called It’s in the Metal, where she also features finished jewelry.   Here’s one of my favorite little pieces:

A wonderful combination of copper and sterling silver, they are etched, stamped, patinaed, drilled, and signed on the reverse.   If you’ve seen the Fall 2009 issue of Stringing magazine, you’ll recognize this particular pendant.  There are others that I love as well.

Images: Jennifer Stumpf

Nature by Design: New Directions in Fiber & Jewelry Biennial Exhibition
Deadline: 02/19/10
New Directions in Fiber and Jewelry series is a “redefinition” of Art to Wear, the fiber and jewelry biennial that has been hosted by Larson Gallery for nine years. New Directions in Fiber and Jewelry offers a broader platform for fiber and jewelry artists beyond garment or wearable art. This year’s theme is Nature by Design. Submissions may include wearable objects in fiber and jewelry media as well as sculpture, wall hangings and other mixed media work.
Night and Day, Stringing Magazine’s spring challenge
Deadline: 03/01/10
Challenge yourself by creating a piece …read more