July 27, 2007
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Moontree Bead Company
New logo for my bead & jewelry company. I actually thought it up when i was sixteen, at the prime of my early jewelry / bead / artmaking obsessions, so yeah, the name is kinda airy fairy. I recall my emo little thought process being something along the lines of “oooh, the moon is soooo esoteric, and trees are all, like, natural, so i’ll put them together…..whoa ….. that’s totally deep” and that’s what i got. Color’s even the same as the dress i made for myself for the prom. Dorky! I like it though, and i’m fond of the concept since it marks a time when i was a just a kid who liked to make lots of different things.
Here are some rolled paper beads I made a while ago, which are in my current bead collection. I hand paint the paper, then cut it into long strips. I also use metallic foils, silk, cellophane, printed pages, text, and iridescent organza ribbon to create them. My specialty is “poetry beads”, where i put a different verse on each bead- unlike the beads above, these ones are readable- and link them all together to build the whole poem. First project will be a cuff with Neruda’s ‘Ode to Wine,’ which I hope to enter into a national jewelry competition in the fall.
I also just finished my first beaded dragonfly this very morning- well, my first one in about seven years. I used to make and sell these when I worked in the bead shop in college, and they were crazy popular. I also made praying mantises and spiders, and attached little pinbacks to their undersides so they could be worn. From a distance, it looked like a jeweled insect had just perched on a lapel. This one measures about 3 inches in length- it’s a little shaky craftsmanship-wise, especially the wings, because i was trying to work out how to put it together as i went along. Not to mention wrangling 32 gauge brass wire and little tiny seed beads, yiii.
I’m thinking I’ll make a few more of these today and bring them around to some local shops next week to see if they’ll display them. Once I get a handle on my technique again, it shouldn’t take more than an hour or so to put one together, so i can easily sell them or take commissions for $50 each. I’m also thinking of giving a few away for free, to anyone who will wear them and pass my gallery info along to interested clients.
I think my sixteen-year-old self would be impressed.
added: panorama collage of our studio space. click for the original size (it’s a big’un). Can you spot the naughty rabbit?
heeheehee, there’s the little stinker!
Comments (8)
If that’s a shaky design, I’d like to see the steady ones…
I like what I’ve seen so far.
that’s beautiful!
I love the shiny beads. I think that the poetry beads, just one, or maybe a three or four to make a sentence, might be nice on a silk thread with a tassle to make a bookmark. Just thinking as a bookshop person…..
gorgeous stuff!! I like the idea of the poetry beads…
Yumz.
I love your family’s brand of affection.
L’il stinker!
Your beads are gorgeous. Do you have an etsy shop? Where can we see more of your stuff?
PS: Glad you liked the apron.
I could have sworn I came over here and posted a comment. Xanga doesn’t work right on both my computers. Did you get any kind of message from me yesterday? I’ll retype it if not
I wrote you something about getting into galleries
Those beads are beautiful, and I love the dragonfly. I wish I had the mental capacity to learn stuff like that right now (once the baby is a little older and better at self-regulating herself, I’ll give newer, funner things a shot).