The publishers of Bead&Button also have a lovely magazine that is designed for those who are a bit less interested in seed bead projects and who would prefer more quick and stylish projects. There are good beginner projects here, but these are not just beginner projects…make no mistake about that! BeadStyle is designed for those who just don’t have enough time to complete huge complex projects, and it is published in between each issue of Bead&Button.

***Free Magazine Alert***

I’ve got three free copies of the March issue of BeadStyle to give away!!  Simply leave me a comment below, and next Wednesday I’ll draw three lucky names out of the hat!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Autumn Cascade by Stephie Hall

I am so fortunate that Stephie Hall of Stardust & Sparkles contacted me about this new magazine! She’s been watching it develop, and has graciously offered to give us all her review of what she’s seen so far!  You can see Stephie’s work at her website listed above, or buy the beads she uses to make her designs through her eBay store: Princess Jewellery

Bead magazine is a bi-monthly UK publication and relatively young at only 8 issues old. As such it is only just starting to develop into a magazine on par with the larger US publications, moving from what was a shaky start with sometimes bland and uninspiring designs to its current 8 month issue which includes a number of stunning jewelry pieces. Nonetheless, I still find many designs lack dimension and depth.

Aimed primarily at the beginner to intermediate beader, the projects are mainly basic wirework and seed bead designs, easily completed by most beaders. Personally I found nothing in the current issue that would challenge me and I consider myself an intermediate jeweler. Instructions are super-easy to follow with a good selection of accompanying pictures.

Features and articles centre around UK artists and events, which is a welcome change for those of us living in the UK – while we’d all love to attend the Bead & Button show, details of UK events are more useful! The noticeboard section also includes details of numerous UK beading groups, classes and events which is great if you despair of ever finding anyone as obsessed about jewelry as yourself.

Bead magazine also runs their own internet based ‘TV’ channel. The channel features numerous how-to presentations given by expert beaders and is useful for those who like to see a technique demonstrated. Presentations feel quite homey, presented by ‘real’ people which is a refreshing change – they don’t have the intimidation factor that a more highly polished presentation would perhaps give. The programs are available by subscription.
On the whole, I like this magazine and it’s interesting to see it mature. I do find the most inspiring designs come from the readers pages and the artist profile articles rather than the how-to designs though. The magazine is available on subscription worldwide through the Bead website.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Ann Dee Allen, editor of Bead & Button magazine, graciously answered several questions for me that I thought all of us would like to know about their newest special publication!

Jewelry&Beading: Over the last few years, interest in different vintage styles has grown tremendously. Why do you think this is?

Ann Dee Allen: We are seeing a resurgence of interest in the authentic and the creative in the same period. There is universal appeal for the authentic — a more inherent, lasting concept — and contemporary, creative ideas that say, “Take a look at this!” Current vintage styles value both ideas and blend them together.

J&B: What was in your mind as the mission for VintageStyle Jewelry magazine?

ADA: As with any idea that “sticks” after its initial conception, VintageStyle Jewelry developed as we worked on it. Initially, we noticed a widespread interest in vintage clothing and accessories, particularly embellished styles. It seemed clear that people wanted to learn how to create vintage-style jewelry using an authentic, personal approach. As jewelry designers, the editors are impelled to find different ways to use jewelry components. Keeping an eye out for vintage pieces or contemporary pieces that have a vintage appeal was natural for us. We thought our readers would like to take both old and new components and use them in their own creative ways.

In addition, as the complete beading resource, we simply could not publish an issue that left out information about finding vintage components, using older jewelry pieces, and tapping jewelry history. All of the project instructions and tips are as thorough as our Bead&Button magazine articles. In VintageStyle Jewelry, the article “Creating a collage à la Miriam Haskell” offers specific details about jewelry design. Our jewelry restoration article is loaded with information about how to care for your jewelry.

J&B: Do you hope to expand this special issue and perhaps some day have it become a quarterly magazine?

ADA: We will definitely watch reader response to VintageStyle Jewelry to gauge the demand for future issues. It was a challenging project for the editors, and we loved creating it. To see it in print is extremely gratifying. We’ll have to wait to find out what everyone else thinks. Whenever any of us has a passion for something, we stay awake at night and think about what we can do next. At Bead&Button, we often say, “What if we published a (story or publication) on . . . ?” If we could follow through on every idea, we would be thrilled!

There you have it folks! It’s up to us to let B&B know if we want to see more issues of this special publication!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading