The Beads You Can't Have, Part #1
This title, on screen, looks kind of "mean"... I did not mean for it to sound that way, as I hope you will understand when you read the post. But hey, it made you look.
I have a confession to make: I am still not finished unpacking the suitcase from my trip (AKA the suitcase from hell). It's still sitting there by the door, unzipped, apparently containing some random stuff that I don't actually need. Tonight, I finally got around to unpacking the sample beads I had brought with me for my classes - unbubblewrapping, to be precise. This took longer than I expected, because I had to spend a few moments fondling each one before putting it back in the display case. Hey, I finally have a display case! Yet another plus to the whole teaching thing.
People I talk to almost always expect me to have a huge stash of beads lying around. Sometimes they seem surprised to discover that I don't carry a sleek and shiny briefcase (or duffle bag?) full of beads to sell or just show off.
"Bring lots of beads to Europe with you", quite a few different people advised during the month before my trip.
"But... WHAT beads?"
The odd truth is - I don't keep a lot of beads for myself. Why? I can't really say. It might be the little voice that says hey, if you made this one and you like it so much, you can always make another one just like it... even though I know that's a lie. It might be my competitive nature, which is usually there to remind me that if I keep a bead, almost no one will get to see it but me. Besides, a girl has to make a living.
"You know, the beads. The pile of beads you keep locked in your cupboard."
"Ummm... I have a box of cracked beads. And a few orphans and fuglies... no, wait, I sold those on eBay last week. There are a couple of beads I don't want to sell... oh! And this one here!" I point, excitedly, to the focal on my neck.
"But... what about your inventory?"
"I don't have an inventory."
"How can you NOT have an inventory?"
"I don't know. I just don't. I make beads, I sell them online - that's just the way it works."
"So... then... what the hell are you doing here, sitting around talking to me?!"
So... the month before my trip, it was clear that I was going to need an inventory. I was working like crazy (stressed out, as I think I may have mentioned a couple of times), trying to make as many beads as possible. I had five different bead boxes going: (1) Beads for eBay; (2) Beads for Etsy; (3) Sample beads for my classes; (4) Beads for sale in Europe; (5) Fuglies! I have no plastic containers left in my kitchen.
I know the question on everyone's mind: How do you decide? Well, I guess I just let the beads make their own decision (how's that for a diplomatic reply?) I needed sample beads for my classes, preferably good ones, so I was working mainly on a few particular styles. The best one or two from each style went into the 'Sample' box.
Some of the beads I make seem to inherit a bit of the competitiveness thing - when those come out of the kiln, they make it very clear that they'd like to show the world what they're made of. Those get divided between eBay and Etsy. I like to believe I have an instinct for it, but in quite a few cases, I am wrong.
Some beads were jumping off the mandrel, yelling: "We wanna go to Europe! Take us with you! Take us with you!" - so those got bubblewrapped, tagged and carefully packed into display case #2 - but not before I gazed at them for a while, thinking about how actually having an inventory is a new and nice feeling.
Some beads were just fugly.
But there is yet another category - the one for those special beads. The ones that come out of the kiln literally glowing (not with heat, the other kind of glowing). Look at me. I am perfect. Stroke me. Turn me around. Don't you just love me? You could never part with me. I will probably abide to Murphy's Law and stay stuck on the mandrel, or even worse - crack. But in case I make it off this metal stick in one piece, you know you will never be able to sell me. I'm a keeper.
Keepers are rare. There are very few of them, but each one is special to me in its own way. So, to finally get to the point - I thought it would be fun to show you some of them, all together in one place.
Euphoria
After a few months worth of focals - perhaps even hundreds - this was actually the first one I decided to keep.
Long Beach
This one couldn't decide if it wanted to go on eBay or not. Whatever, I'll just sell it, I guess, I thought to myself. I got all the photos ready, wrote the description, had my mouse pointer on the 'Sell Your Item' button - but just one second before the click, I made the decision: this one is going to be mine.
Lady Lavender
This was the very first bead I made in this style. I didn't have the heat control required for this technique down yet, and it cracked - so I got to keep it. You don't often smile when you discover a crack in a bead.
Present Perfect
It did not take long to come up with a name for this bead. It's kind of sci-fi, futuristic, maybe? No, not future. Present. Present Perfect. With a name like that, it just had to stay. Indi made this one into a beautiful necklace for me, as you can see in many of my Europe photos, if you look closely.
It is also probably my best Terra bead ever.
Smoke Machine
Sell ME? Are you serious?
Untitled
Sometimes, it can actually be nice when beads don't need titles. This bead was made using only black, clear and some frit from StrikingColor.com. Besides falling in love with the colors right away, I was happy with the idea of getting so many different textures in one bead, just by playing with the frit. I like the minimalism. You don't see that in my beads very often.
The One that Inspired the Postcard
I like the right side better than the left... I like it so much, it was all I needed for my postcard.
(Have I mentioned I've been including postcards with my recent orders, and will continue to do so until they run out? It's a limited edition.)
I almost lost this bead in Belgium. We went out to lunch one day and I had it on my neck, on a stupid-cheapy-change-a-bead pendant thingie. I went to wash my hands, and as I was looking in the mirror, I realized the bead was gone. Just as I was reaching the verge of complete and total panic, Q, the man who can, found it by the car.
The New Wig-Wag Thing
The most recent keeper - my favorite colors, and a new direction I plan to explore further!
In Part #2, I will show you my collection of 'Sample Beads' - keepers in their own right. I haven't photographed them yet - and I really want good photos for these, so that will probably happen when I can get good lighting. Light grey skies work the best for me, because they are bright enough, yet neutral. It's been annoyingly sunny here this past week.
I have a confession to make: I am still not finished unpacking the suitcase from my trip (AKA the suitcase from hell). It's still sitting there by the door, unzipped, apparently containing some random stuff that I don't actually need. Tonight, I finally got around to unpacking the sample beads I had brought with me for my classes - unbubblewrapping, to be precise. This took longer than I expected, because I had to spend a few moments fondling each one before putting it back in the display case. Hey, I finally have a display case! Yet another plus to the whole teaching thing.
People I talk to almost always expect me to have a huge stash of beads lying around. Sometimes they seem surprised to discover that I don't carry a sleek and shiny briefcase (or duffle bag?) full of beads to sell or just show off.
"Bring lots of beads to Europe with you", quite a few different people advised during the month before my trip.
"But... WHAT beads?"
The odd truth is - I don't keep a lot of beads for myself. Why? I can't really say. It might be the little voice that says hey, if you made this one and you like it so much, you can always make another one just like it... even though I know that's a lie. It might be my competitive nature, which is usually there to remind me that if I keep a bead, almost no one will get to see it but me. Besides, a girl has to make a living.
"You know, the beads. The pile of beads you keep locked in your cupboard."
"Ummm... I have a box of cracked beads. And a few orphans and fuglies... no, wait, I sold those on eBay last week. There are a couple of beads I don't want to sell... oh! And this one here!" I point, excitedly, to the focal on my neck.
"But... what about your inventory?"
"I don't have an inventory."
"How can you NOT have an inventory?"
"I don't know. I just don't. I make beads, I sell them online - that's just the way it works."
"So... then... what the hell are you doing here, sitting around talking to me?!"
So... the month before my trip, it was clear that I was going to need an inventory. I was working like crazy (stressed out, as I think I may have mentioned a couple of times), trying to make as many beads as possible. I had five different bead boxes going: (1) Beads for eBay; (2) Beads for Etsy; (3) Sample beads for my classes; (4) Beads for sale in Europe; (5) Fuglies! I have no plastic containers left in my kitchen.
I know the question on everyone's mind: How do you decide? Well, I guess I just let the beads make their own decision (how's that for a diplomatic reply?) I needed sample beads for my classes, preferably good ones, so I was working mainly on a few particular styles. The best one or two from each style went into the 'Sample' box.
Some of the beads I make seem to inherit a bit of the competitiveness thing - when those come out of the kiln, they make it very clear that they'd like to show the world what they're made of. Those get divided between eBay and Etsy. I like to believe I have an instinct for it, but in quite a few cases, I am wrong.
Some beads were jumping off the mandrel, yelling: "We wanna go to Europe! Take us with you! Take us with you!" - so those got bubblewrapped, tagged and carefully packed into display case #2 - but not before I gazed at them for a while, thinking about how actually having an inventory is a new and nice feeling.
Some beads were just fugly.
But there is yet another category - the one for those special beads. The ones that come out of the kiln literally glowing (not with heat, the other kind of glowing). Look at me. I am perfect. Stroke me. Turn me around. Don't you just love me? You could never part with me. I will probably abide to Murphy's Law and stay stuck on the mandrel, or even worse - crack. But in case I make it off this metal stick in one piece, you know you will never be able to sell me. I'm a keeper.
Keepers are rare. There are very few of them, but each one is special to me in its own way. So, to finally get to the point - I thought it would be fun to show you some of them, all together in one place.
Euphoria
After a few months worth of focals - perhaps even hundreds - this was actually the first one I decided to keep.
Long Beach
This one couldn't decide if it wanted to go on eBay or not. Whatever, I'll just sell it, I guess, I thought to myself. I got all the photos ready, wrote the description, had my mouse pointer on the 'Sell Your Item' button - but just one second before the click, I made the decision: this one is going to be mine.
Lady Lavender
This was the very first bead I made in this style. I didn't have the heat control required for this technique down yet, and it cracked - so I got to keep it. You don't often smile when you discover a crack in a bead.
Present Perfect
It did not take long to come up with a name for this bead. It's kind of sci-fi, futuristic, maybe? No, not future. Present. Present Perfect. With a name like that, it just had to stay. Indi made this one into a beautiful necklace for me, as you can see in many of my Europe photos, if you look closely.
It is also probably my best Terra bead ever.
Smoke Machine
Sell ME? Are you serious?
Untitled
Sometimes, it can actually be nice when beads don't need titles. This bead was made using only black, clear and some frit from StrikingColor.com. Besides falling in love with the colors right away, I was happy with the idea of getting so many different textures in one bead, just by playing with the frit. I like the minimalism. You don't see that in my beads very often.
The One that Inspired the Postcard
I like the right side better than the left... I like it so much, it was all I needed for my postcard.
(Have I mentioned I've been including postcards with my recent orders, and will continue to do so until they run out? It's a limited edition.)
I almost lost this bead in Belgium. We went out to lunch one day and I had it on my neck, on a stupid-cheapy-change-a-bead pendant thingie. I went to wash my hands, and as I was looking in the mirror, I realized the bead was gone. Just as I was reaching the verge of complete and total panic, Q, the man who can, found it by the car.
The New Wig-Wag Thing
The most recent keeper - my favorite colors, and a new direction I plan to explore further!
In Part #2, I will show you my collection of 'Sample Beads' - keepers in their own right. I haven't photographed them yet - and I really want good photos for these, so that will probably happen when I can get good lighting. Light grey skies work the best for me, because they are bright enough, yet neutral. It's been annoyingly sunny here this past week.
Sarah, what an absolutely stunning collection of keepers; they are really beautiful and capture some of the fantastic journeys of discovery you've taken in pushing your ideas and creativity.
One thought though - if you have beads that talk they surely must be worth a lot more money than even the most stunning beads?
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john, they may talk - but only sarah hears them!!!
these pictures just show why we just knew that sarah would be the best artist to invite to break our duck at the new studio..
i need these pics in high res, VERY high res please!!!!
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Hi Sarah, your keepers are stunning....
My favorite is "the postcard", I fell in love with it at first sight.....
Thanks for sharing.....
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