It's not what you use but how you use it that counts. That's a design philosophy well worth remembering. Using simple techniques, a creative designer can come up with stunning designs with color and pizzazz. The trick is to find put the right things together using inspirational sources. This book shows how you can do just that.
I received Anne Potter's
Global Style Jewelry: Inspiration and Instruction for 25 Exotic Beaded Jewelry Projects
from Interweave | F+W Media for review. It is a book I had been eager to have a look at and it didn't disappoint.
The author, who has a healthy dose of travel lust, organized her book like a world tour, covering all five continents. She sometimes included fascinating historical tidbits as well as the descriptions of the different artisans she had encountered during her travels.
Each design is either inspired by a city or country. The author had many great ideas so choosing a sampling for this review was not easy!
The bib style necklace on the front cover is the Incan Quipu necklace (Peru). It was her interpretation of traditional quipus. These knotted strands were the Incan way of accounting.
The Gaudi Tile bracelet below is a resin clay based design inspired by
Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain which was designed by famed architect, Antoni Gaudi. He created many mosaic pieces.
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| Gaudi Tile Bracelet inspired by Spain |
The Iznik Tile earrings is a simple design with clever wiring of components. The brass, color and shape choices were in keeping with traditional Turkish architectural designs. In the suppliers section at the end of the book, the author lists where she obtained many of the components used in the book.
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| Iznik Tile Earrings inspired by Turkey |
There were a few memory wire cuffs in the book, each with a different color palette inspired by a place. The cuffs all looked spectacular as there were multiple strands. I loved the African inspired Maasai cuff (not shown) with its nod to African trade beads.
The opulent Aspara cuff below also included a wire wrapped crystal chain section. The wire "pin" which linked all the strands together should have been at least 16 G so it doesn't bow as below.
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| Apsara Cuff Bracelet inspired by Cambodia |
I also loved how she linked many brass filigrees for her unique take on Indian bridal henna art! The result is this bracelet which included a finger loop.
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| Mehndi Hand Bracelet inspired by Gujarat |
Simple beading techniques can also be used for mandala style jewelry as shown by this example :
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| Print Block Earrings inspired by Bagru |
The large rose beads do remind one of Frida Kahlo!
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| Frida Kahlo Earrings inspired by Mexico |
This book is a delight for beginners as well as those stuck in a design rut. Truly inspirational with many tips on how to use components and simple techniques well!
DisclosureI receive books and products for review. I also receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation.
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