July’s birthstone is the magnificent ruby! This long-prized gemstone has been a favorite of royalty for centuries and is highly coveted for its rich red color, rarity, and hardness (9 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness). The name ruby is derived from the Latin word ruber which means red. This beautiful stone represents life, love […]

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), the famous Austrian artist, is best known for his golden phase where his oil paintings included lots of gold leaf. The instantly recognizable “The Kiss” as well as the “Portrait of Adele Bloch- Bauer” have inspired a number of jewelry designers.  The latter portrait inspired the beautiful copper bracelet shown above by […]

Take an inspirational theme and any number of designers will create totally different versions of that theme. Mountain landscapes are beautiful and these 8 designers created stunning designs using different techniques. They are phenomenally awe inspiring! First up is Canadian designer, Karma of craftsandkarma with her gorgeous embroidered mountain lake or stream pendant necklace shown […]

Alla, the German bead artist behind the designs in DoellePatterns, creates delightful earring patterns. She has the vision and talent to come up with designs with strong color palettes like the tiger eye earrings above. There were so many excellent designs, I had a hard time picking just a few for this feature. I also […]

What? The bee’s knees? Well, we think bees are the bee’s knees, especially when used in jewelry design. If you have not heard of this expression before, it means great, wonderful, excellent! And that is exactly how we feel about bee-inspired and bee-bedecked designs. Adding a bee to your artistic creation brings a touch of […]

Instructors generally called this bi-colored macrame bracelet double spiraled.. But to me it is an awesome DNA inspired design! It’s a great gift idea for someone scientifically inclined.  I chose these two tutorials because they both utilize leather and button clasps. The first one by  MacrameSchool, features a leather core with the regular cords spiralling […]

Handmade jewellery has a unique charm and quality that sets it apart from mass-produced pieces. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the benefits of choosing handmade jewellery […]

I first came across the work of South Carolinian metalsmith , Rebecca McGlothlen of BLUEskyBLACKbird when I was looking for shining examples of solar eclipse inspired jewelry.  Her shop has many gorgeous hand stamped metal jewelry in different metals.  Rebecca offers designs in her unique style from small ones right up to statement pieces. If I had […]

What does it take to be a good beadwork artist?  Many things, me thinks. Experience in beadwork for one. A passion for the craft as well as an unerring sense of design, structure and colors. Lithuanian Lutita of LutitaPatterns fits the bill! Some of my favorites include her rhombus brick stitch earring patterns which show […]

Summer is a time of beach days, popsicles, picnics, and all sorts of outdoor fun. It’s when the kids splash around in the pool and parents lounge under the cabana. It’s when neighbors gather for BBQs and friends greet each other on walks.  There are certain images and icons that personify summertime at its best: […]