Friday, April 9, 2010

Humblebeads...humble beading

I've been a huge fan of Heather Powers since I was first introduced to her work in the early days of BeadStyle. I love her beads, I love her style, and she's a super-nice person. When I was writing The Absolute Beginners Guide: Stringing Beaded Jewelry, I knew the bead glossary was a very important part of the book. I wanted to show as many kinds of beads as I could and help newcomers to the hobby understand all the choices they had. Heather generously gave me some polymer clay beads for this "visual dictionary" of beads.

Now that the book is finished, I wanted to make something special with the beads. I thought of all the things I admire in Heather's work: beautiful beads, natural elements, asymmetrical design, rich, earthy colors ... I must say it was a little humbling to approach this project. I wanted to showcase the beads, of course, but I also wanted them to be fully integrated in the work. Heather's beads are gems to be waiting to be discovered, not dominant focals shouting "look at me!"
So here's my little bracelet. Please visit Humblebeads to see more of Heather's work, or visit her Etsy shop for even more inspiration.

3 comments:

  1. You are absolutely right about Heather! It was in an issue of BeadStyle that I first discovered her. I always liked the publication, but never before had I had such a WOW moment. I saw she had a blog, but I didn't know what that was. It was a revelation! I read some things, and then worked up the courage to comment. And then she emailed me back! That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship that gets better every year. Heather has such a distinctive style and every single thing I make with her beads comes out fantastic. Thanks for featuring her! Enjoy the day! Erin

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  2. Yes -- I was project editor for those early BeadStyle projects and am now happy to be her book editor!

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