Book giveaway

Beadalon is promoting my book this week with a fabulous giveaway.

You juts have to visit Beadalon's page on Facebook and answer the trivia question...very easy!

The winner will get an autographed copy of "Modern Expressions - creating fabulous and fashionable jewelry" and a black cotton t-shirt with it's tile made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystal transfers...just like is shown in the picture below.

Good luck!

"Bead Extravaganza" weekend @ John Bead Corporation

For the second time,  I was in Toronto for a weekend of  "Bead Extravaganza"  hosted by John Bead Corporation. Their showroom has been improved since the last time I was there. I liked the new set up and it looks extremely inviting to any hobbyist or jewelry designer who wants to spend hours going through aisles and aisles of an incredible do-it- yourself arsenal.

The event itself was very well attended and the attendees were interested in learning all about the newest products. It's uplifting to witness  the growth of this type of event.

Beadalon sent Wyatt White and this blogger to handle non-stop demonstrations highlighting some of their newest products. Swarovski North America was represented by Vince Scalera and Nick Regine. Vince introduced the new Innovations Spring/Summer 2012 to their customers and Nick Regine handled demos using crystal chattons and clay, plus a nice glance on how to apply crystal fabric onto design endeavors.

Pam Arion with Tierra Cast introduced the new line "Metamorphosis" and hosted make and takes all day long. On top of that, John Bead had Stephanie Dixon, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Ambassador  and fellow designer creating fabulous neckpices featuring their new line of feathers combined with crystals. A very "couture" Dixon's chick design moment.  

The whole staff at John Bead worked hard to make those days as plesant as possible for their customers and vendors.

Following are some hot flashes of the "Extravagannnnza". Get ready because it was two days of  DIY insanity in Toronto. lol

Wyatt White, Beadalon's product manager and director of education enchanting customers with his techniques and " in-house " creations.

Tierra Cast  dared to compete with Beadalon to see who would gather more people...well, I think she might had the advantage of "make and take"... because we all know how much we all love treats...I am watching you, Pam , the newest Miss  Con ge ni    aaaaaa li ty on earrrrrrth! 

Canadian designer...yes (huahuahu....just kiddinng) - fellow designer and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Ambassador Stephanie Dixon making her magic inside of the SE lounge. She always puts a warm smile on to welcome you to the world of crystallizing with SE. 

Nick Regine and some of his "groupies" loading him with sparkling questions...next to him you can see the cover of "Crystal Chic" by Debbi Simon, anoooooother designer and fellow SE ambassador- her book is fabulous and show you how to add pizzazz to everything you can imagine using SE components, of course!

OMG, if wasn't enouuugh already, anotherrrrr Canadian designer on the run to stardom, and honey let me tell you,  crystal addicted Miss Denny Diamond was literally on a mission...this woman was inside of the SE lounge for more than 2 hours...she shopped until dawn...lol

Thank God, she had a short time to pose for this blogger. 

"Lush couture" by Stephanie Dixon...as you can see, she had Swarovski crystals all overrrrrrr...because you know, we don't do less...we were born for the "more is more".

On this picture an overview of the fabulous SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS lounge inside of John Bead show roon in Toronto. What I like the most (besides the crystals) was all the "Trend's flags"exposed  up on the wall framing the entire crystal square. Great way to share with their customers how the collections are presented to the distributors and potential buyers. Maybe 2 or 3 manequins with runway pieces would add an extra drama. J'adore!

Next to the entrance of the SE longe...crystal square.

I haaaaate those side pictures taken of me..not a good angle at all, but people aree insisting on taking it. I wish I had a publicist to control all that..and a good layear just in case somebody misbe have. I this meantime I have to let it go but I do believe that bad angles should be seen only at home. Anyway, I had to show you that my station also was rocking the house. lol

Canadian and international jewelry designer and "Made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS" partner Katherine Song waiving 4 my lenses...she was playing "shop till you drop"

"... I know that you've been waiting for it...touch my body..."

A non oficial book signing of "Modern Expressions" for the JB customers.

I have to say that was really nice to spread the freshness of my new book to the Canadians who were all over it. A few copies of the book were sold and signed. 

Somebody is having lots of fun.

All of the vendors had signs like the one seen above made by JB staff on their stations. Me liked it!

Rings extravaganza made by Wyatt White featuring Artistic Wire and JB assortment of beads. The one on the corner right is totally cool - unique and fashion forward. Wyatt's wire wrapping skills are incomparable! I don't know how he come up with all those designs. 

On the left, 3 bracelets made by the newest designer in town, ( yep...anooother one - you know these days everybody wants to be a designer!!! It's amaaaazing. How many designers the market can handle? tell me?!? and this one already started with a very, very strong logo...imagine that?! a double "W"...isn't that too much!?! 

Getting back to the caption, on the right, one of my humble creations featuring Tierra Cast charms and Katie did's.

Now it's all about me: above, me in sepia effect - to make it more timeless.

On the picture above 3 of the hottest elements at John Bead's show room. On the left edge you cannot see but there is a fantabulous coffe machine and I had the most delicious coffees in town,everrr. I had  like 3 to 4 a day...the double expresso is fantastic! 

In the middle of the picture is a armoire-show case filled with jewelry pieces made by me exclusively for John Bead. Well, most of them are pretty cool and had something unique... no, not all of them because dahling, it's impossible to score 10 all the time...even Pavarotti went off tune, hello!!!

So, as I  was saying, I was mesmerized by the collection made by me and people were druling all over - seen it all together is very different than seen them one by one. It was great to see the versatility of  my work. 

I do believe that they should have one (small ones...lol) for all the other fellow designers wjo's been creating pieces for them over the years, as well.

On the right side of the picture, it's a wall dedicated to the newest products and I was smart enough to bring home some of the hottest products like huge jump rings, ubber cool chains, fabulous new Czech glass beads and feathers..did I say feathers? No, I did  not! I did skeep the wire...I don't need that! lol 

Another one of my humble demo pieces made for JB....a simple 'Y" necklace...another necklace??? why!?!

So, I hope you enjoyed it!

Don't miss the next post. It's gonna be about an interview given to a Brazilian online TV in New York City last Friday. It was filmed inside of the Swarovski Crystallized store in Soho - luxury and glamour at meets the diy designer. 

Tchau!

Nando.


All pictures by Fernando Dasilva © 2011.

Precious Metal Trend

Under the influence of the proximity of the moon  above my window, I took several shots last night  of my inspirational guide. The moonlight was amazing and made me think about how much I truly love shiny things. Here are some of  my latest picks that reflects lots of luminosity...just like the moonlight. 

The star itself under my click.

The  next best thing...my  Anchors Away neck piece that I co-designed with Wyatt White...the precious metal color palette is surprisingly amazing and it's surpassing my expectations. We both believe the audience will love it. I am loving it...Needless to say that SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS combined with Beadalon stringing wire equals precious metal.

An overview of "Majorca Collection" by my beloved friend, multi talented and super star Mexican jewelry designer Daniel Espinosa. Delicate, trendy, chic and fashion forward. Love it!

A fantabulous 3 tone cuff bracelet designed by Canadian designer Denny Diamond...a must have piece for the Fall/Winter 2011.

Sterling silver charm and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS bracelet and  Sterling silver "Love" tag designed by this blogger for John Bead Corporation.  Mother's Day makes this bracelet a adorable gift to any mother. J'adore!

Hummmmm,  very DALICIUUS, sexy, sophisticated - a Marlene Dietrich-"Gilda" inspired long necklace designed by this blogger for Beadalon.

A new version of a bracelet I created for the book "Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed..." co- authored with Katie Hacker and Margot Potter...timeless elegance.

My ultimate star protector framed by blue lights...unmistakably "Lua, Lua, Lua, Lua..."

Free Friday Project

My fellow jewelry designer Candie Cooper went to her local Hobby Lobby last Wednesday and took the picture bellow. There is a big poster advertising "Modern Expressions"  on both entrances to the store and copies of the books are displayed on top shelves. I was thrilled with that,  and I told her that I actually had not seen my book in the shelves yet.
I will be posting free step by step projects every Friday and I'd like to begin with a  project of a pair of earrings featured in the book. This highlight of this design is an unexpected use of velour tubing and Quick Links. I mixed gemstones, fresh water pearls and dichroic glass beads but you can use any beads you want.
Enjoy it !

Friday Free Jewelry Project
From the book "Modern Expressions - creating fabulous and fashionable jewelry"  by North Light Books.

Parquet Earrings
By Fernando Dasilva© 2010 

Material:

2 7x9mm amethyst faceted tear drops

2 dichroic blue with silver chips cube beads

2 dichroic blue with silver chips tube beads

10 8mm light grey fresh water baroque pearls

16 12/0 gold-lustered hexagon delica seed beads

4pcs 1¾ “ black velour tubing

4 silver plated square diamond cut Quick links™

1 pr silver plated back loop ear wire

2 9mm silver plated jump rings

8 4mm silver plated jump rings

2 silver plated jump rings

10 silver plated 2” head pins

4” silver plated 24 gauge German style wire

Tools:

flush cutter

chain nose pliers

round nose pliers

Instructions:

1.  Cut a 3" lengths of German style. Make a drop with this wire and an amethyst briolette. String a dichroic tube and 5 seed beads onto it and make simple loop at the end and trim excess wire.

2. Slide a pearl onto a head pin, make a wrapped loop and trim the excess wire. Attach a 4mm jump ring to wrapped loop and close it gently. Reepat this step 3 more times to cerate four pearl drops.

3. Slide a pearl,  a dichroic cube and 5 seed beads onto a head pin. Make a simple loop at the end and trim the excess wire.

4. Using flush cutters,  cut one of the corners of a quick link. Cut about 1/8” (3mm) of metal on each side of the corner to remove the entire corner from the link.  Repeat this with a second quick link.

5. Cut four pieces of velour tubing , each measuring  1 3/4 (4.5cm). Slide a piece of tubing onto the cut end of a quick link piece so that it covers  the cut-out corner of the link. Repet this step with other cut quick link.

6. Open a 9mm jump ring and slide on the following: pearl drop + amethyst/dichroic tube drop + pearl  drop + quick link (metal side). Before closing the jump ring, slip the 2nd quick link (tubing side) into the jump ring. Close the jump ring gently.

7. Open 6mm jump ring and slide the following: pearl drop + pearl/dichroic cube drop + pearl drop. Before closing, attach this jump ring to the top quick link (metal side).

8. Open a 4mm jump ring and slide on an ear wire. Attach the 4mm jump ring to the 6mm jump ring.   Repeat steps 1-8 to make a 2nd earring.

Sources: 

1 - German style wire, black velour tubing, silver-plated Quick Links and all metal findings by Beadalon.

2 - Hexagon seed beads by John Bead Corportation.

3 - Dichroic glass beads by Paula Radke.

4 - Amethyst briolettes and grey fresh water baroque pearls by Bijoux Collections.

Photo by Christine Polomsky for North Light Books. Copyright © 2010.

Trends, shopping bag and streetwear

Current and upcoming jewelry trends

Gemstone colors:

In fashion jewelry the strong look from last year that explores lots of shades of black diamonds, chocolate diamonds, off-white, greige and silver shade will stick for another long season. Retailers of finished jewelry had tons of pieces featuring those colors. My fellow designer and friend Katie Hacker wrote a post on her blog about this trend, perfect for the woman who leaves the house in the morning to work and has to attend a cocktail party in the evening and has no time to go back home for change.

As far as "new" gemstones and fabulous new colors, I had not seen nothing special but the texture in the  stones is explored to the top because popular stones like "agate" and "black onix" is invading the market dressed in "matte" finishing - so expect to see lots of cool shapes of matte/frosted black onyx and agate  . The "cathedral cut" will be seen more often.( stones with frosted surfaces enhanced by sections of shiny design element).

I would pick the "rutilated quartz" as the stone of the season. A large variety of colors was a must have item on almost all gemstone dealer booths. Strong, full of natural flaws and most of them mined in my rich Brazil. On the high end jewelry Brazilian Imperial Topaz will be used by many custom jewelry designers.

We will be seen lots of multicolored stones, filled with several stripes or hues of colors, and the epitome of that is the "rainbow calcilica". 

I found this stone two years ago and bought a few fat briolettes to make a project for "Modern Expressions" but unfortunately my design did not  make the final cut for the book. It did look very Southwestern and did not match the book's concept  at all.

Beading world

I definitely can say that filigree metallic beads is coming back stroooooong this season and it will stick for at least 3 years. It's the return of the Earlie's 2000's "Bali" bead style look.

Lots of details on a single bead. Lots of them will come from China and the best one swill be the ones  handmade in India,  Indonesia and Netherlands.

Gorgeous floral designs, very art ooveau and few touches of art deco revival.

On that same category a "Moroccan" mood is coming also very strong and with that the "nomad"-"gypsy" style will rock the streets. Lots of details on top of a single color serving as background, some of the beads are made of ceramic and metal components like rings, drops and trims are  glued onto, and then little flat back stones will add an extra glam. 

I personally loved it but you must be careful when designing with them...my tip is to use few ones and build your inspiration around those.

You can also make a full necklace with a single style and complete the back with a textured ribbon.

I 've made a sample during my demo times at the Beadalon booth and I used two fabulous new stones from John Bead Corporation and you can see on the picture down below. Delicious look!

Metal Components

Chain is the key in 70% of all the most intriguing jewelry designs I've seen in the most recent fashion centers I 've visited. Shopping windows of Florence, Rome, New York, Sao Paulo and London have been showcasing many jewelry pieces made with chain. Bracelets and twisted or intertwined necklaces have chain as their main component. Chain is a staple in the making jewelry world and it will stay on this position for awhile. 

With that said, expect to see lots of "matte" chain taking over the fashion scene and wait to see some of the "sparkling" chain that will hit the market soon. Shades of white, black, gold, silver, and the "weathered finishing (the newest terminology used ny fashion editor for "antique" finishing) will take over. Antique finishing has been seen at the jewelry shows for the last 2 years but now new "shades" of antique are coming and they all look fierce. Greenish patina, blue, green gold,  copper will join the traditional gold and silver metallic. Gun metal, hematite and graffiti will also fight for the popularity among consumers.

In Italy and Brazil, gold chain has been strong in fashion jewelry but some experts do not think that will take over. Fashion magazines are showing lots of jewelry in gold but if you like it as much as I do opt for "matte" gold to make it more IN.

I personally will stick with shiny metals and will add some of those antique finishings for the bread and butter pieces.

Dahling, at the end, glamour matches with opulence, brilliance and the wealthy factor of gold, and remember Cleopatra is very IN these days, and she knows.

Fun Jewelry

Well, the title says it all...it's a carnival parade of elements and media...use all you think can be used on your jewelry creations...cork, paper, recyclable, acrylic, glass,  natural fibers, stones, textile...eeesssshhhhh....there is not only one single direction on fashion and trends these days...all is possible...rules are made to be broken so dis consider all the above and be yourself because at the end, dahhling, style is more important than fashion.

Au revoir!!!

Above shades of "Moroccan" style beads bought in Tucson @ the Holidome Show.

Following below is a board with items that I will be working on my next design creations. On the next post I will give more details about some of them. A few of them were bought at a flea marketlast November in Florence and  @ the Craft Hobby Stitch Show in Birmingham-UK last week.

On the bottom left many of the jewelry components are from John Bead Corporation latest collections...pewter findingss, textured solid circles, "icy" glass beads made in Czech Republic and the first "Moroccan" style beads chosen by me out of their website back in early January. 

In the center you can see a necklace I created with them using Artistic Wire in 3 different colors and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS on shades  coordinated with the accents of the focal beads it selves. All the comments made by attendees and friends at the Beadalon's booth were incredibly positive about that necklace...I love to create new pieces at the "moment" of the demos. I feel more liberated, happier and empowered when I have to create without filters.  

Fantabulous, DaliciUus and casually chic!

Njoy it!

Overview of jewelry making components I will be working on my next designs. Clockwise from top left: Filigree silver-plated beads, lush antique brass and copper chains, 7Strands Beadalon stringing wire Silverose™, Silvergold™ and Champagne, Artistic Wire® tinned copper, colored wood leaves and colored filigree beads, Tierra Cast® assortment of  charms and pendants, mettalic brushed gold-plated beads,  John Bead Corporation latest findings ( pewter findings, circles, Czech glass beads from "Icy" collection (loved it), white matte chains and Morrocan ceramic tube beads), paper marchee beads, SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS in light silver and sunflower shades. 

John Bead Corporation latest addictions of this blogger.

Tierra Cast assortment of latest components. J'adore!

Necklace design by Fernando Dasilva applying some components described above.

Three powerfull Beadalon stringing wire innovative colors for jewelry designers to take the imagination to "Alice in Wonderland", fun, mystic and glamourous.

Necklace and pair of earrings translating my fashion pick for early Spring 2011.  Made in America by Fernando Dasilva - gold bamboo chain, carving tropical wood from Brazil ornated with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS chatons set on clay, short vermeil earrings with peridot, preysolite and Italian green mesh by Elvee Rosenberg-NY.