I’ve often heard designers claim that they don’t pay attention to trends. In fact, I heard a number of the designers from Bravo’s Project Runway show makes these claims in their early interviews this season. And you know what? I think that’s a big line of whooie. I also think there’s a big difference between following trends and paying attention to them, monitoring them in a way, and I subscribe to the “pay attention” attitude.

Here’s a few examples of what I’m talking about. A number of years ago when I was still on the art show circuit, the angel craze started up. They were everywhere, and hey, I liked them, so I bought a gazillion angel charms and made a lot of jewelry with them. Know what? I still have a good number of these charms. While it was a trend I liked, I made the mistake of blindly following it, and it bite me in the you know what.

On the other hand, I’ve noticed that there’s a trend now toward larger accessories in general – big bags, chunky shoes, and, yes, big jewelry. I love hoop earrings, so I decided to make a few pair of super big hoops and post the projects. My readers loved them, and they ended up being a huge hit too when I wore them out. I was inspired by the trend rather than blindly following it, so it worked out for me.

So, what do you think? As designers, should we care about trends or is it better to ignore them?

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Diva Dangle Earrings

Filigree Flower Hoop Earrings

Here’s another Hoop Link if you are in the mood for a few more hoop earring projects.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading