All That Sparkles: Photos from our 3rd Annual Jewelry Collective!

We are proud to say that this year’s Jewelry Collective was our most successful to date! 16 local artists displayed their work here at Blue Door Beads through December 22nd, and it all started with a wonderful Opening Night on Thursday, December 17th! Below is a collection of photos we took that night, and you can see more close-up examples of each artist’s work by visiting our More Fun Stuff page. Enjoy!

Katie setting up her jewelry display. We want that wooden swivel box!

Katie’s completed display, streamlined and lovely — gift boxes included!

Janet and Cheryl (Bellacarisma) having fun setting up their jewelry!

We liked the subtle elegance of Cheryl’s display — very clean lines, and easy to see her pieces.

Janet had lots of cute textured “trees,” and she featured her work at different heights for variety.

Chau (Beaded Girl) and Dawn (Dawn Boyer Jewelry) were getting in the holiday spirit! 🙂

Chau kept her display simple so people could happily pick up and try on her jewelry with ease!

Dawn’s “earring trees” were super cute, and she enticed customers with candy — yum!

Jewelry by Tanya Moss of Laurels & Moss — a perfect example of letting jewelry speak for itself. Her dainty gold-filled pieces stood out against both her clean white and dramatic black jewelry busts.

Sara giving Kelly some encouragement during her set-up.

Jewelry by Kelly Rathmann of Subtle Spark Jewelry. Kelly’s display was low-fuss, with subtle texture and a range of shapes to keep it intriguing.

Jewelry by Stacy Presson of Joyful Jewelry. Stacy’s display was another great example of featuring jewelry at different levels to add visual interest.

Karen Deford posing with her jewelry (D4D Creations).

Karen’s colorful jewelry showed up nicely against her dark blue, subtley-patterned backdrop.

Revola of Revola J setting up her vibrant display!

Revola’s big, bold jewelry called for an equally bold display with lots of shimmer and shine!

Danya of Jolie Bijoux. Danya’s delicate pieces looked terrific on her rustic, vintage-style box!

Courtney of Feisty Kitty Jewelry

Courtney’s whimsical, seasonal display. We loved the snowflakes & candy canes!

Phred Swain-Sugarman of ph.RED. Phred used a creative mix of romantic pieces (perfume tray, ornate frame) and pops of color to show off her upcycled pieces.

Phred, Courtney, and Danya with their lovely jewelry!

Sydney having fun serving champagne to all of the guests!

We had a full house all night long!

Our fabulous artists! Left of overhead light (L-R): Margaret, Cheryl, Katie, Stacy, and Revola. Under light (back to front): Janet, Danya, Chau, Courtney, and Dawn. Right of light (L-R): Karen, Phred, Tanya, Kelly, and Vida.

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Happy Holidays & Bead Merry!

Sydney & Lydia get into the holiday spirit by wrapping some boxes for decoration!

Fall & Winter are a couple of Blue Door Beads’ favorite seasons. Not only is the weather crisp enough for us to break out our chunky sweaters & scarves, but new customers are coming into the shop, excited to get started making their holiday gifts!

Of course, we’re always happy to help anyone who would like assistance in making jewelry, but we especially enjoy the enthusiasm that newbies bring to the shop. They come in with a mix of emotions — glee, anxiety, excitement — and we explain that it’s all part of starting out on a beading adventure when you’ve never done it before! We show them all of the beginner-friendly projects and kits we have, make sure that they’ve given themselves enough time to get lost in the creative process — and before they know it, they’ve dived deep into the world of beads, and their lives have been changed forever! (We assure them that this isn’t a bad thing. :-))

Very often, people who are new to the shop this time of your are actually not jewelry-makers themselves, but are rather shopping for gifts for the beader(s) in their life. We have lots of goodies for them, too: pre-made chainmail kits, snowflake forms for making holiday decorations (a great stocking-stuffer!) and tool kits for every level of beader, no matter what kind of jewelry they enjoy making.

Check out the holiday gift ideas below, and then swing by the shop soon to get everything you need for a very sparkly holiday season! Bead Merry!

A close-up of some super cute ornament earrings!

Tool kits are perfect for anyone wanting to make earrings, necklace, bracelets, and all sorts of bead-related projects!

Turning Jewelry-Making Inside Out

The anthropomorphic feelings of Pixar’s Inside Out (L-R): Fear, Disgust, Sadness, Joy, and Anger. Photo courtesy of screenrelish.com

It should come as no surprise that customers of all ages have recently come into the shop singing the praises of Pixar’s latest movie, Inside Out. Although the staff here at Blue Door Beads hasn’t seen the movie yet, from what we have heard, the film contains some good messages for kids — as well as adults — regarding feelings. One customer decided to use her young daughter’s current infatuation with the themes & characters of the movie as a teaching moment:

Mom approached us in the shop and asked us which stringing material we would recommend for what she hoped would be an ongoing project for her daughter. When we asked her what she meant by “ongoing,” she said she hoped that her daughter would be able to string beads into a bracelet, but then also be able to continue to add beads over time. We recommended she start with an extra-long piece of colorful linen, so that her daughter could wrap the bracelet around her wrist several times. She could start with just a few beads now, but eventually fill up the entire bracelet if she wanted.

We asked what the significance was for her daughter to be able to add beads over time, and Mom explained:

“In the movie Inside Out, the main character has a range of different feelings about how things are going in her life. Sometimes she’s happy, sometimes she’s sad, sometimes she’s angry…..and sometimes she has those feelings all in the same day.

When my daughter came home from school yesterday, I asked her how her day was. ‘My whole day was BAD!’, she said. When I asked her, ‘Your whole day? Are you sure?’ she replied, ‘Yes! When so-and-so was mean to me today, it made me so angry!’ I gently told her, ‘Well, sweetheart, that was only one part of your day. Let’s talk about the other parts, too, and discuss your feelings from throughout the day.’

My goal is, when she comes home from school, to have her sit with her project while we talk about her day. Each time she describes an emotion she had, she’ll add the emotion’s corresponding color to her bracelet. [In the movie, joy is yellow, sadness is blue, disgust is green, fear is purple, and anger is red.] I would like her to see that it’s OK to have a wide range of feelings, and she can then do something constructive with those feelings, and together they can create something beautiful.”

We congratulated Mom on her incredibly thoughtful and original project idea, and we asked her to please come back to the shop with her daughter so we can see how her bracelet progresses. After they left, we discussed how refreshing and heartwarming it was to see a parent truly engaging with her child, wanting to support her in a creative endeavor while also teaching her some life skills, and genuinely enjoying spending time with her.

We carry a wide range of beads in all the colors of the rainbow! Mix and match to suit your taste, mood, or feelings for the day!

In today’s world, adults and kids are prone to being constantly connected to their favorite electronic device. We invite anyone and everyone to come to the shop, disconnect from the outside world (even for just an hour!) and create something at our work table. It’s fun, it’s easier than you think, and no matter how you were feeling earlier in the day, we’re pretty sure you’ll take home some feelings of happiness after you’ve spent time creating at Blue Door Beads!

The Talented Artists of our Second Annual Jewelry Collective

We wanted to give you a taste of the amazing creations that will be featured in our Second Annual Jewelry Collective, which begins Thursday, December 18th, 2014 from 6pm-9pm during the Piedmont Avenue Stroll and will continue through Monday, December 22nd!

Local artists, many of whom are Blue Door Beads customers, will be featuring their work for sale throughout the five-day span, and will be available for schmoozing during The Piedmont Avenue Stroll happening Thursday, December 18th, from 6pm-9pm. They will be presenting a wide range of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings made of gemstones, crystals, glass, and more. Although the 18th will be the night to meet the artists, their work will be at the shop for sale through the 22nd. Enjoy a selection of handcrafted artisan jewelry that you will find nowhere else around, and finish up your holiday gift shopping!

We are so excited to be featuring such incredibly gorgeous jewelry by so many talented artists!

Bracelet by Sabrina Hom of Ophelia’s Jewels

Necklace by Benita Ranbdle of Nita Carol Designs

Necklace by Cheryl Hayward of Olivia Hayward Designs

Necklace by Anne Marie Foley

Hand-cut wood and brass necklace by Kelli McGiven

Mosaic pendants by Karen Maestas

Necklace by Susan Dray

Knotted leather and pearl bracelet by Jill Marsh

Multi-strand bracelet by Shelley Barnhill

Necklace by Karen McRobie

Bracelet by Erin Garcia of Fish The Fish Co.

Necklace by Michele Harris

Earrings by Celia Goetz.

Necklace by Lisa Howell

Earrings and bracelets by Vida Vazquez