Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
July 5, 2011

Question:

Dear Dale: Thank you for your clear teaching style; your directions are the best! I’ve been looking at the Pearl Link Bracelet video (one of the series of three) and I would really like to try it. Are the pearls called by another name? I don’t seem to find anything matching the description of the pearls you are using. I’ll keep looking, but a hint would really be helpful.

-Peggy in Mount Vernon, Washington

Answer:

You are very welcome Peggy, I teach on camera the same as I do in person. I am glad to hear that you find my instruction so clear!

The Pearl Link Bracelet was fun to come up with. Faculty member Mary Bailey and I were playing in my studio over Christmas break 2 years ago, she described what was in her mind’s eye and I reproduced it in wire. The pearls I used both then and now (in a lot of my designs) are actually custom-ordered by Wire-Sculpture! Between the mother-of-pearl disc links, I used 7x5mm Large Hole White Fresh Water Rice Pearls. Wire-Sculpture also carries the same size and shape large hole pearls in black, and both colors in a round shape, with large holes too! These pearls generally accommodate up to 18-gauge round wire (19-gauge square). Although I used mother-of-pearl disc beads, you can substitute about any disc-shaped bead you would like.

Here is a short video I made showing just how cool these pearls are!

Of course, if you already have some pearls that you want to use, check out this video from Mary Bailey and Charley Key: How to Ream a Pearl.

Answer contributed by Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
May 10, 2011

Question:

Dale, how do you organize your beads? I’m now doing it by color. Do you have any suggestions?

-Ni in Columbus, Ohio

Answer:

The choice is up to you, Ni! Most of the WS Faculty members and I separate our beads by color, too: either mixing individual boxes of crystals and stones into the same master container (or drawers in a hardware cabinet); or separating crystals and glass in one container, and natural stones in another. Mine are arranged like a rainbow: white/clear across the top, with one drawer being crystals, the next stones, then reds – graduating from light red through dark. The next is are pinks, then orange, browns, amber colors, yellows, greens, blues, violets and blacks. In this manner if I am working with a certain palette, it’s easy to know where those colors are. While working, I pull out each drawer that has the colors I think I want, play with them, and then put them away. In some drawers I use small “Tic-tac”-like containers, or miniature zip-loc bags, so I can separate small sizes and shapes individually. This also makes it easy to see when I am running low on a certain item.

In the article Setting Up Your Jewelry Making Work Space, WS Faculty member Mary W. Bailey shares several ways that supplies can be organized and stored, that are accompanied by several photographs.

I would like to ask our fellow wire jewelry makers, how do you prefer to store and organize your beads?

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
February 26, 2011

Question:

I just received the March issue of a beading magazine. One of the designs calls for “pinch beads.” What are pinch beads? How are they different, and is there a substitute? Is there anything else I need to know about them that would affect a design?

-Catherine in Arlington, Virginia

Answer:

Interesting question, Catherine.

I did some research and found that “pinch” refers to a bead that is trillion oval in shape, where the 3 sides on an oval bead (usually drilled from top to bottom) produce lots of shine. The examples I found are made of Czech glass. No, Wire-Sculpture does not carry pinch beads currently; you can do a Google Image Search of “pinch beads” to find pictures.

As far as suggestions for substitutions, that would be up to you as the creator. You might try emailing the author of the pattern, as they have probably experimented with a variety of bead shapes before deciding to use pinch beads, and would be better able to advise you.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
January 17, 2011

Question:

I am creating some black onyx jewelry for an arts and crafts festival: a kind of simple design, mostly black onyx strung on bead wire with a sterling silver clasp. I have seen some jewelry of this type on jewelry shows on TV, and they price it according to the carat weight of the beads. Is it a proper way to price, or should I sell it according to the mathematical equation which I have read in your blog? Any help appreciated. Thanks!

-Nora in Surprise, Arizona

Answer:

Yet another way that is used to price jewelry and sell it, by the carat weight. This type of marketing is used by people who want to impress others with the weight of the stones used in a finished piece of jewelry, to "push" a sale. In my opinion, this is generally not a good way to sell, unless the stones (or beads) are of a precious or semi-precious nature.

Most of what is sold as black onyx today is dyed. If one were to have natural, solid black onyx, then it is a semi-precious stone. If you are lucky enough to find natural black onyx, it will likely be banded with shades of white, such as the affordable selection of black onyx cabochons and beads offered on Wire-Sculpture.

Stone beads that could be sold by the carat weight would include those that are more rare and are of good to excellent quality (meaning eye-clean, excellent color, etc) such as Apatite, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Diamond, Jade (the genuine article), Aquamarine, Amethyst, etc. Depending on the demand for certain stones, Lapis, Larimar, genuine Coral and others can be added to the “sell by the carat” list. Please be careful about what you believe (and may buy) from television sales channels! To avoid possible costly mistakes, do your research first.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
January 13, 2011

Question:

I would like to use pearls to make a leather knotted necklace. Where would I find pearls that I could use?

-Judy in Monroe, Louisiana

Answer:

Hi Judy, we carry a nice selection of large hole freshwater pearls here on Wire-Sculpture. With the exception of the round black ones, they will all fit on wire up to and including 18-gauge round! (That means up to 19-gauge square.) Buying them is a lot easier than reaming them!

If you already have some pearls that you want to use, check out this video: How to Ream a Pearl.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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