VICTORIA JEWELLERY
Crafting Beauty with Beads
Creating
The jewellery is created in what is called stitches because the designs are in effect “stitched” together with thread. There are many types of stitch including the popular peyote, Russian and flat spiral stitches and the more complicated Cubic Right Angle Weave (CRAW). That’s what I like about beadwork – it’s so flexible. Different techniques can be blended together to make a fascinating piece of jewellery.
Inspiration
I look for inspiration everywhere but one favourite comes from Ancient Egypt as I’ve always had a fascination with Egyptian jewellery. I marvel at what was created with handmade tools such as the delicate gold and silver necklaces, rings and bracelets worn by the Pharaohs. These pieces were mostly fashioned in fine gold, bronze or beadwork and in some cases all three! Another favourite source of inspiration comes from India. I love the intricacy of design, the gorgeous golds and reds and the fabulous jewels that the maharajas had, even on their shoes! Beside being inspired by pharaohs and maharajas, I also look to geometry for designs. I achieve this either by creating shapes such as squares or triangles or incorporating geometric-shaped beads such as GemDuos into the piece as I think it gives depth and interest although putting individual components together can be a bit of a challenge at times.
The designer of this necklace got inspiration from India which you can see from the shapes of the individual elements. It was quite a tricky piece to make but well worth it.
Sourcing
Beads are available everywhere and when I travel I’m always on the lookout for local materials whether it be Amber from St Petersburg, Agate from Botswana or Wood and Coral from the West Indies. I also source materials from suppliers both in the UK and the USA.
