Leather Jewelry--A New Lark Love Story!

I usually don't review/share/blog about cool books herein, but now's as good a time as any to start!

You know how I love adding any new material or technique to my jewelry making arsenal? Well, I've got another arrow to drop in my quiver with Nathalie Mornu's new Leather Jewelry: 30 Contemporary Projects!

Now, I know what you may be thinking--this review is nepotism at best since I'm now a Lark author. You're right on one score in that I do have a newly heightened affinity for all things Lark. But, you're also wrong (wrong, WRONG!) since I can honestly say that "Lark had me at 'Hello'!" (When I became aware of the fact that 90% of my jewelry and craft books were published by the same company--yep! Lark!--I knew a love affair had already begun without me and I just had to catch up!)

But that's just the start of my Lark Love Story. What a fabulously tempting book Nathalie's put together! Leather Jewelry makes what I used to think was an out-of-reach medium (where do I get this stuff? what do I use to sew it? will I like having all-brown jewelry?) another enticing "pull (-me-in-another-direction)!"

Fave projects include: Big Zip (Joan K. Morris) (what a surprise that I'd like a zipper necklace); Link (Marina Massone) (can you say way-cool interlocking-ness?); and Gossip (Nathalie herself) (the dictionary defines this one as "pure flirt!"). The book's subtitle marks the projects as contemporary, and it tells no lie! The designs are clean, colorful, fun, and fresh!

And, the illustrations had my heart palpitating--they are heaven-on-paper! Nathalie tells me that the awesome Frenchman, Olivier Rollin, sketched these oh-so-pretty (and immaculate) step-by-steps which is another side love-story (and I haven't even seen him, nor heard him speak!). (Oh, PS! These illos actually show the "how-to" as well as dress things up!)

My love fest finale is all about the book's gallery. You see, when that green-with-envy feeling starts to well up inside, and I know "I wish I would have thought of that first," it's a good-sign-of-good-design!

Suffice it to say, that I'm about as green as I can get about Leather Jewelry--and that's a GREEN-LOVE-THING for sure!

Peek of the Week No. 3

I'm behind on my Peek of the Weeks! (Don't ask this designer to do anything that's at all structured, like give you a peek -- a tiny cropped image -- of one of the projects in my upcoming Steel Wire Jewelry book!)

I'll give you a hint of what lies within this time: the bits of blue and gray are from a stone via the wonderful world of Gary Wilson. Boy, that guy can cut a stone! As a matter of fact, that guy cuts and cabs (and beads) many, many wonderful things. For those of you who aren't familiar with Gary's work, he'll be at two different Tucson venues (where you will see me bent over every tray, head down, and eyes glued. See you there!

What's Your RL/EO Quotient?

Sometimes I astound myself (in a not-so-good way). You'd think after 47 years, I'd know me pretty well. And to be honest, most of the time I'm pretty astute about what makes me me and what I can and cannot do. But this last little task I took on just hammered home the point that I'm a little dense in the what-can-be-accomplished-in-real-time-and-space world (a.k.a. what you can get done in real life).

You see, this girl's an eternal optimist. And, she's a little slow on the uptake when it comes to committing to deadlines. She says "yes" automatically before weighing a project's actual doing-ness. I blame it on my analytical side -- the side that on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the largest) is a .5.

So, next time I nod my head to drawing 70-plus sketches of 30-plus projects (which guide readers through the process of making the jewelry in say a book called something like Steel Wire Jewelry), I'll say I need two months instead of one. And I'll really draw sketches instead of schematic models that look like they're from an engineer's drawing board. And I'll start the project before there are only two weeks left to deadline. Ahem ... did I say that my procrastination quotient of big projects is also a .5?

What's your Real Life (RL) vs. Eternal Optimist (EO) quotient?

What's in a Name Anyway?

Well, I'll tell 'ya -- more than one would think!

With today's emphasis on marketing and search engines, and -- well that's about the crux of it, marketing and search engines -- things (book titles, that is) need to be straightforward, simple, specific, and (yes, I'll say it) boring! That's okay though, 'cause a good, minimal title is weighty enough to counterbalance all of my uber-creative copy inside (which frankly, confuses even me at times!)

What am I droning on about (you analytics ask)?

I just received the formal title for my next book. It's moniker is Steel Wire Jewelry. The equally important and obviously encoded subtitle is: Stylish Designs, Simple Techniques, Artful Inspiration. You got it! All very good words to describe exactly what is inside the book -- style, design, simplicity, technique, art, and inspiration. There you go, and there you have it.

I'm not complaining. Or, am I? The early-career marketer in me says, "Yep! Get it out there, and get it far and wide." The creative-type in me says, "Good God, can't anyone think a little? Would it kill them? Do we have to spell out things at a fourth-grade level all the time?"

Then I pan back a little, take a few breaths, and envision my little book ... on the Barnes&Noble shelves ... among tens of other wire books ... hundreds of other jewelry books ... thousands of other craft books ... and millions of other books books ... and, that's just one store. And then I say:

"I LOVE simplicity. I LOVE the name Steel Wire Jewelry! And, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE search engines!

(And I'll "wow 'em" on the inside!)

Thank you, Title Team!

xoxox!

(Pssst! Next comes the fabulous cover art . . . !)

What's Tangled and Mangled and Colorful Throughout?

Peek of the Week No. 2, that's what! It's been a month since I shared Peek of the Week No. 1 on September 10th. Today I'd like to introduce Peek of the Week No. 2. In true Brenda form, you may have guessed it involves two of my favorite things -- Irish waxed linen and (of course) iron wire. But what gauge? How is it tangled? Is it a bracelet, an earring, a brooch? I'm such a trickster for keeping you guessing!

Third Time's the Charm

And, Three Moons is the third time -- or the third design I submitted to Lark's upcoming 30-Minute Necklaces on the third of this month.

Of course, even though I've had designs swimming through my head since I discovered the call for artist entries some weeks ago, I was (literally) hammering away at the first two ideas the very day they were due. Ferociously. Hammering.

Numbers one and two came to fruition, but they were lacking. I couldn't put my finger on what may be missing, and I hadn't given myself the luxury of time to "moodle" out the answers. They had to go in. (Now, after a few days "clearance," I like them a lot when I see them layered one atop the other -- a clue.)

Then, I ate. I chatted with my husband. I hit "reset" on my (left) brain and returned to the studio. Thirty minutes later, I photographed this new piece that flowed out of my head, down through my arm and out my hammer-holding fist. It was "the charm." Simple. Elegant. Fun. Me.

My bet's on this piece being the one of the three to be accepted (notice how I'm using positive thinking? . . . I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!). I'll report on my status (or should I say my necklaces' status) in my next blog.

Which will it be? Number 1, Number 2 or Number 3?

I Tried to Answer the Television Remote Last Week

It's true (she admitted sheepishly), the phone rang and I picked up the remote, pushed the select button and said, "Hello?" At first, I tried to swear my son (who witnessed this early-onset Alzheimer's incident) to secrecy, but then he handed me the electric pencil sharpener and suggested I call my mother. It was at that moment that I knew the jig was up! I'm praying that this (somewhat) errant happening is due to all the stuff I'm juggling right now. There's just so much going on! Here are two of the ga-zillion hot topics:

Submit a jewelry design to my upcoming book gallery. Calling all wire jewelry designers! Check out Lark Book's site for the link and how-to's for submitting a piece/s to my upcoming book, Iron Wire Jewelry (working title) http://www.larkbooks.com/submissions/artist-submissions.

I've also promised a few designer friends some tips on iron/steel/rebar wire and how to clean and finish it. Without giving the book away, here are a few tip-arino's:

1. Get the wire (also called tie, stovepipe, or dark annealed steel wire) at your local Home Depot/Lowe's (for the 16 gauge stuff in the ce-ment/rebar rod area) or True Value/Ace Hardware (for the finer diameters packaged in smaller amounts).
2. Work it as you usually do (it's dead soft and dirtier, but gives you a lot more flexibility except when hammered on top of itself).
3. Clean it with a brass or steel wire brush or fine steel wool.
4. Finish it with an archival wax (like Renaissance).
   

Check out Jane Konkel's blog entry. It's all about me! Jane has wonderful taste in jewelry and in friends. Hee! Associate Editor of BeadStyle magazine, Jane Konkel is on my Mutual Admiration Society Top Ten as well. Seriously though, when I browse through the magazine and see a piece I'm particularly drawn to, it's most always hers! She's got this Anthropology meets 'lovely' meets Jane thing going on.

Anyway, we've been working on a fun recycled glass bracelet for the magazine's May issue and an accompanying video demo showing how to make the wrapped linen loop. She tells me that it will also be posted on YouTube (I admit this part is a bit daunting). Ay yi yi! Check it out! http://cs.beadstylemag.com/bdscs/blogs/beadstyle/

More on my antics later; I realize that I'm pretty darn entertaining (albeit in a geeky, sort-of-scary way). I'm thinking of writing a book querie themed A Day in the Life-The Goofy Side of Me next (only half-kidding).