Bead Brunch, Sunday, July 1

Bead Brunch for July will highlight the work of Beadissimo Instructor, Stephanie Riger. Stephanie teaches three classes on the summer schedule: Bead Crochet, Crocheting with Wire and Macrame Bracelet. (pictured below)

There will be two demos. One at 10:30 on Crochet Techniques and one at 11:30 on Macrame Techniques.

Stephanie's classes are fun and informative and are appropriate for all levels. There are still spaces remaining, so consult your schedule and give us a call. We will be happy to register you over the phone. Hope to see you on the 1st.

PMC was a blast...

...last Friday. Kate taught Intro to PMC on Friday, June 22. Most of the students had never touched Precious Metal Clay before. (PMC consists of microns of fine silver suspended in an organic "clay" binder. Shape, dry and refine the clay then fire in a kiln and presto...a piece of fine silver that looks like it took HOURS to fabricate.)

Here are a few shots from class:

One student using a mold to shape the clay.

(The mold is the light purple object at the top of the photo).

PMC also shaped with a mold.

Check out the same piece as it's drying on the hot plate.

(The one with the red stones at the middle right of the photo.)

After the pieces are dried and smoothed, they are fired in a 1650 degree kiln (with the door closed).

Clasps before firing:

Clasps after firing, polishing and embellishing:Two photos of Kate's finished clasps that she fired in class. These are samples for the upcoming PMC workshop in the fall that will focus on Making Your Own Clasps.

The next Intro to PMC class is Saturday, July 21, 10-5. Check out PMC class information here.

AF Imports Trunk Show in July

Do you like wood beads? Specifically really nice wood beads and other naturals like shell and horn?

Like these?

Angela and her gigantic inventory of beads will be at Beadissimo on Friday, July 13, 10-7 and Saturday, July 14, 10-6 for a Trunk Show. These are the beads of summer! A great selection and great prices.

Bead Brunch Demo Recap...Setting a fused glass cabochon

Thanks to all who came to Bead Brunch last Sunday, June 10th. In honor of the Fused Glass Trunk Show the demos were setting fused glass in metal and PMC. If you missed the show, Weir Glass will be back in late February for another Trunk Show.

The first demo focused on using PMC3 with fused glass. More on that demo in a future post. However, for those of you who were at the demo and wondering how the piece turned out, it did survive the kiln firing and looks great.

The second demo was about using fused glass as a setting in sheet silver. The steps are outlined below and include bonus "after" photos of soldering and setting the piece in a ring.


Step 1: Choose the piece to be set and measure the thin bezel strip (28 gauge) around the setting. The strip should fit snugly around the stone. Solder bezel closed using hard solder.






Step 2: Solder the bezel strip to the backing of the setting using medium solder. Here I used 22 gauge sterling sheet cut to a circle using a disc cutter. Check the solder join all around to make sure that the piece is completely soldered to the plate. If there are gaps, lightly tap them flush with a rawhide hammer to close and resolder.


Step 3: Cut a ring band from 18 gauge ring stock and size to fit. Close join using medium solder from the inside of the band and draw it through the seam using the torch.








Step 4: Even the ring band by using a flat file and filing on both edges.









Step 5: Solder finished bezel to ring band using easy solder.









Step 6: File and polish ring and set stone.









The ring is ready to wear.

Can I Just Say...

...that I really like peyote stitch, says Kate...
Pictured at right is the Peyote Stitch Cuff. The class is coming up on August 23rd. I am in no way a seed bead stitch expert, but Peyote Stitch is all I've ever needed to help me design some really nice pieces.

Here are a few more photos to share the seed bead love.

These beads are also peyote stitch in a free-form style.

Cuffs in the process...
Seed beads might be just the thing you need to bring new life to your beadwork....

Do You Fuse?

We've got fused glass on the brain at Beadissimo. Bead Brunch and a Fused Glass Trunk Show are coming up on June 10th. Pictured at the left are some beautiful samples of the fused pieces that will be at the show.

Kate will be doing both demos. At 10:30 Kate will show how to make a pendant combining fused glass and PMC. (A sneak-peak from our class on August 2nd.) At 11:30 she will bezel set a fused glass piece in sterling silver so it can be worn as a pendant.
The Trunk show starts at 10 AM and will have many lovely fused pieces that are all ready to wear on a cord or you can take the design further and create a lovely beaded necklace around one of these beautiful centerpieces. Hope to see you at the show.

Kate Teaches at Beaducation

Have you always wanted to take a PMC class but do not have the time or live too far away to travel? Now Kate's PMC class is as near as your computer screen.
Back in late 2006 Kate filmed one of her most popular classes Introduction to PMC for Beaducation, an on-line class website created by Wire Guru, Lisa Niven Kelly.
It was a fun class to film. We did it right here in our own classroom. It covers all of the basics that you need to work with PMC.
The website is now up and running and ready for you to check out. (And stay tuned...Beadissimo's own class video series is on the way! We'll keep you updated!)

Meet the Teachers

Beadissimo’s first Meet the Teachers event was held Friday evening May 11th. Thanks so much to all of the instructors and students who attended. You made it a really fun evening!

Each customer who enrolled in the store that night received a $10 gift card towards merchandise at Beadissimo. We had cheese and wine (snacks are very important to us!) and all of the class samples were on display for students to look at and touch. Instructors Natalie Cohen (jewelry design), Colin Mahler (chain making), Sarah Caligiuri, Karin Smith, Heron Saline and Yehuda Tassa, (filigree), (pictured at left speaking with owner, Christine Griffith) were all in attendance.

In the photo on the right, you can see Beadissimo sales associates and instructors Karin Smith (Pearl Knotting) and Sarah Caligiuri (Basic Stringing and Wire and Beads and Chain) chatting with instructor Heron Saline (Stone Magic). You can also spot a few of the great samples that were on display.

Our next Meet the Teachers event will be scheduled for September. We'll post the dates soon so you can mark it on your calendar.

Classes Summer 2007

Check out the new classes for June-September 2007. All of the class descriptions are up on the website. We have some great classes and instructors this summer at Beadissimo. Metalworking is all the rage and we have quite an impressive line-up this summer. If you love metalwork (or want to try it out) you can check out what we are offering here.