Seraphinite - gem of the angels
International Women's Day
Bead traditions of Southeast Asia continue
Fashion Colorworks. Meet the sponsors
Beading on the stage - Julia Yablonskaya
Perlen Poesie Magazine. Issue 16
Zoya Gutina's workshops in March
March upcoming events
Contact us with any questions at
February, 2013
Happy International Women's Day!Winter is almost over, and Spring is coming! Are you excited? We are! Read in the February issue of our MyLovelyBeads.com newsletter: info@mylovelybeads.com.Best regards, MyLovelyBeads.com Team
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Seraphinite - gem of the angelsSeraphinite is a trade name for a particular form of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group. There are only two gem-quality minerals in the chlorite group, and seraphinite is one of them. It is a lovely dark green stone that changes sparkle and light as you view it from different positions; seraphinite has a silvery and feathery shimmer caused by mica inclusions. Due to its softness, seraphinite is mainly a collector's stone, there is a common opinion that seraphinite can be used only as a mineral specimen. It's not true; seraphinite looks great in jewelry especially cut into cabochons. This material can keep polishing quite well, and it is not as fragile as it seems. When polished, seraphinite displays a pearly, vitreous luster. The name "seraphinite" is derived from the Seraphim (angels of the highest order) because of the feather-like appearance of the chatoyant fibers in the stone. The romantic name and the association of seraphinite with angels has gained seraphinite a reputation as a healing gem, good for nerves and brain cells; seraphinite is used to establish connections to the angelic realm. The only source of seraphinite is the "Korshunovskaya" mine in the Lake Baikal region in Eastern Siberia, Russia. This gemstone was found and described by the famous Russian mineralogist Nikolai Koksharov (1818 - 1892) who used to be the director of the Russian Imperial Mineralogical Society. |
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International Women's Day
International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more. Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google some years even changes its logo on its global search pages. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as "Women's History Month". Happy holiday, dear friends! |
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Bead traditions of Southeast Asia continueHailing from the sunny island nation of Singapore, Helena Tang-Lim is the eldest of 3 children. Of the three siblings, Helena is the only one that had crafty inclinations. Helena said, "I remember when I was young, my Mother would always be making flowers from velvet material and intricate Chinese knotted buttons and sold them to handicraft shops for pin money. I suppose it was from her that I inherited my love of working with my hands to create beautiful things. I would bug her to teach me how to knit and crochet. I still remember my first knitting effort - a scarf that unfortunately did not have very straight or neat edges! I have always dabbled in various craft all my life. I have taken up knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, and embroidery at some point or other in my life. I had always found it very relaxing to work with my hands. As I reach adulthood, working and making a living and later bringing up children took up a very large amount of my time. Even then I continued with my crafty pursuits. It was during this time that I discovered the beauty of traditional Straits Chinese bead embroidered shoes or "kasut manek" as they are called. These shoes were beaded and worn by the ladies that came from China and settled in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore many years ago. These shoes are done in bead tapestry style using tiny Size 13 Czech charlottes and reflect the love of flora and fauna and colors that these women have. The shoes are usually worn only for special occasions and are made especially for the wedding trousseau. At that time I was just starting out in my career and to invest hundreds of dollars in a pair of shoes was not something I could afford. But covet those shoes I did. So I set about making a pair for myself. Needless to say after taking the lessons and buying the supplies, my first pair of "kasut manek" worked out more expensive than if I had bought a pair off the shelf. But I did learn a new craft, which then became my obsession in later years. During those days it was not very easy to find supplies to make the shoes and when you did, they were really expensive as well. So I began hunting on the Internet for my supplies. And it was from there that I discovered other forms of beading. Locally there were actually no teachers or supplies for the "Western" style of beading so I had to learn everything on my own. I started buying books and I still remember my first book, Suzanne Cooper's Second Looks. I was so enamored by the necklace on the cover I made one. But I was really greedy. My necklace is so long and it weighed a ton that I hardly ever wore it. But I had fun making it and I was thoroughly hooked after that..."
Full article by Helena Tang-Lim
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Fashion Colorworks. Meet the sponsors
Artbeads.com has exciting things happening and we are expanding every day! With fun new products arriving weekly, it's easy to get creative since there is always something unique and interesting coming through our doors. All of us here at Artbeads are inspired by the beads and components we see on a daily basis and we hope you are, too. 
About 60 years ago, Seiichi Katsuoka first came across some glass seed beads and instantly became fascinated by their brilliance and beauty, so in 1949, he dedicated himself to learning the art of glass seed bead making. Seiichi's passion for making beautiful, high quality glass seed beads was passed down to his son, Hiroshi. Hiroshi added innovation to passion and began creating new types and styles of beads. This resulted in the founding of our company, Japan's first successful mass-producing bead manufacturing company. Since then we at MIYUKI have been continuing Hiroshi's innovative drive, and we have produced many new and wonderful kinds of beads, like Delica Beads, Drop Beads, and Twisted Beads, to name a few. We have pledged to keep developing attractive and beautiful beads. MIYUKI glass beads are considered a "world standard" for their high quality, brilliance, and uniform shape. They are highly sought after by fashion designers, artists and bead fans alike. |
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Beading on the stage - Julia YablonskayaYou never know what people with beads in the hands you will meet! Julia Yablonskaya is a professional theater and movie actress; she spends her spare time with needle, thread and beads. As she says, beadwork perfectly helps distract from the complexities of the profession. Julia's signature is free form weaving; and it's fully consistent with her stage life. Julia Yablonskaya said, "Since I can remember, I'm always drawn to the creativity. Even at school age, I learned to sew and decently "have dressed" myself from head to toe. In the late 80's it wasn't easy to buy interesting clothes in the shops, even though we lived in Tallinn in a more or less prosperous Soviet Estonia. But the choice of fabric was great, so I have sewed often creating dresses using one pattern, but different materials and colors. Other types of crafts didn't initially attract me because it was possible to sew quickly, one evening - and the skirt is ready, but knitting or doing something like that seemed to me too long. I graduated from high school, and I had to continue my education somewhere. There was no clear preference; that meant I needed to be an actress! In Tallinn, performing arts education was nowhere to get, so the choice was Leningrad or Moscow, both are the centers of the world theatrical life. But Moscow was pretty far away and Leningrad was just a few hours by bus or train - almost next door! I gave a call to LGITMiK (Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography), learned what I needed to enter, quickly designed some new clothes and went to the Northern Capital. To say that I made a splash in style is to say nothing! Bright green lantern-shape skirt, blue blouse, white loafers, canary-yellow sweater, - I looked like a person from Central Africa. Star, in one word! Of course, the first time I didn't make success as, indeed, it didn't work the following year, too. I fell in love with theater and didn't leave my dreams. I began to attend a drama school and went to work; first it was a sewing cooperative and then a small shop. So, I have worked, developed my sewing skills and prepared for the next attempt to enter to a theatrical college. My parents were hoping the theater was my temporary craze; my dad really wanted me to have a "real" profession. Education was free and my parents thought that I was going to change my mind and become a diplomat, for example, but such a career wasn't quite attractive for me. In the third year, I decided to take a chance and go to Moscow. There were more theatrical colleges and the choice was better. After all my efforts were crowned with success, and I was enrolled to the Higher Theater School named after Boris Shchukin. I must say that by that time I learned how to create more relaxed clothes and stopped scaring selection committee with my appearance!.."
Full article by Julia Yablonskaya
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Perlen Poesie Magazine. Issue 16Colorful and noble - from Scandinavian flair to romantic roses up to energetic colors and "the unusual" - the new Perlen Poesie leaves nothing to be desired. You will find 17 jewelry projects by artists from Scandinavia, Germany, USA, Italy and Switzerland. Moreover: All jewelry courses at the 3. BEADERS BEST Bead Art fair in Hamburg and the instruction to our little Fair game. Enjoy many creative hours with the new one!
• Pole Position!
Sabine Lippert: Daring to change over ones life - from full-time doctor to full-time beader. Her inquiringly analytical way helps her to set each kind of bead into the right place. She even invented a new bead... • Courses 3. BEADERS BEST Bead Art Fair: Diverse courses, well known artists - together with the possibilities for shopping this will be a true beaders' paradise: only once a year. Plan to be there! • Metal Clay Course: Form it like you do with polymer or clay - but it is metal! Easy to make your own clasp... • Nature Pearls In the know: Many components are used when artists create jewelry - including pearls, which are given to us by nature. There are still unrealistic believes. We inform you. • A Beetle full of Beads The Vochol: This you will not see often or everywhere. Marvel at this bead-trimmed beetle of the Huichol Indians. • Instructions It is guaranteed that there is something for everyone; the advice to difficulty, time limit and cost helps, to find the right one.
Subscribe to Perlen Poesie magazine
Buy Perlen Poesie magazine in the USA:
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Zoya Gutina's workshops in March
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March upcoming events
January 25 - April 28, 2013 MOCA presents its annual juried exhibition, New Waves 2013 for the 18th year. Over 180 artists from across Virginia submitted work and proved, yet again, that the Commonwealth contains a rich and vast array of artistic talent. This exciting exhibition demonstrates the diversity of materials and approaches that are used in contemporary art today. 
March 8, 9, 10, 2013
March 15, 16, 17, 2013 Juried Fine Art & Craft Festivals since 1976. Find the unique handcrafted artwork of thousands of American Artists! Decorative creations for home & garden, exceptional fine art and crafts! |
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February Issue
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