Inspired Bead Maker: The Big Purple Barn

As one of humanity’s earliest inventions, the bead is one of those essential things that connect us all together. Creating beads is a skill that often flourishes in unexpected places. Some of the most talented lampwork artists got their start suddenly, leaving their day jobs to fire up a torch practically overnight. Other artists find their way to bead making and exploring the many possibilities of color and glass by way of another medium. Today’s guest, Harvey Haines of The Big Purple Barn, is an artist, sculptor, and flameworker with a flair for salvaged materials.

Inspirational Beading: How did you first get started with bead making?

Harvey: It was five years ago, I first hit the torch a little while after stumbling on a lampworking demonstration. Steelwork has always been a passion of mine and playing with glass looked like some magic version of welding played back at one-tenth speed. Entrancing, beautiful. Seeing it gave me one of those ‘I should do that’ feelings, the variety that tend to get me into trouble. Two or three months later I had a make-shift glass studio taking over half of my little workshop.

Inspirational Beading: Do you remember your first bead? Where is it today?

Harvey: Normally I am a leap-before-looking kind of guy, but lampworking can be a bit dangerous for the uninitiated. After some searching I found a hippy named Andrew who would let me into his studio and together we took an hour long scratch at the surface of lampworking. Those first few beads are still hanging around, I like to pull them out now and again to see how my work has changed.

Salvage Glass Spacer Beads

Inspirational Beading: Where do you look for inspiration? How does it translate in your designs?

Harvey: Antique tools and hardware; just about any old hunk of metal. Paintings by Dennis Hopper and Chien Fei Chiang, photographs by Stephen Wilkes, sculptures by Rodin. Cars like the 1950 and ’51 Studebakers or the ill-fated Tucker Torpedo. Movies made by Sergio Leone - ‘Duck, You Sucker!” is my current favorite. Rita Hayworth. The material itself is the greatest driving force behind anything that I do, whether I’m using glass or steel. I can take inspiration from any of my favorite places, but that ends up being reimagined through the lens of the medium. Glass is a seductive, sensual thing. It flows and curves in so many wonderfully confusing ways, you just can’t help falling for the stuff once you see the way it plays in the heat. I watch the glass, follow its flow, and make it into whatever it wants to be.

Salvage Glass Lentil Beads

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite bead style or shape to create?

Harvey: Lentil beads may be a bit simple, but I appreciate their powers of display. A lentil lets the glass stretch its legs and show off more than it could in a spacer, without being as weighty as one of my extra-large focal beads. Aside from that, I don’t use molds or presses which means it takes a lot of extra time and love to make a nice lentil. Maybe I ought not to say it, but I’m proud of every good lentil that makes its way out of my kiln.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite color or combination to work with?

Harvey: My Verdigris and Antique Arctic glasses are tied for favorite color. Verdigris isn’t showy, but it has a great coppery-green hue and the glass is sourced from broken 1940s telegraph pole insulators. Antique Arctic is a particularly icy oceanic blue, so vibrant and pure. That one is made out of glassware from the 1950s, the color just screams of mid-century Americana.

Antique Arctic Glass and Inclusion Glass Beads

Inspirational Beading: What is the most exciting design in your repertoire right now? What makes it special?

Harvey: Sticking to beads, I’d say my Inclusion Glass pieces are undoubtedly the most exciting. In addition to experimenting with recycled glass, I enjoy playing around with different additives, such as seashells. Many of the Inclusion bead ingredients are kept as trade secrets and the beads are always done in limited runs. Some of the ingredients are post-consumer recycled material, like the glass, and others are leftover antique odds and ends. You never know what’s coming!

Inspirational Beading: What is the most rewarding moment in your design process?

Harvey: I think this changes from project to project, but right now I’m going to say that the most rewarding aspect of my work is knowing that a person enjoys what I’ve made. One of the best parts of being a ‘maker’ is having the ability to give, or to help others give, unique, personal, and meaningful gifts. You can’t beat it, really.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have any plans for new bead styles or themes in the works?

Harvey: Mixed-color recycled beads are sort of my white-whale. On account of various scientific mumbo jumbo, mixing different types of glasses will cause the finished piece to crack. Keep in mind that all of my recycled glasses were made by different manufacturers across the past eight or nine decades; they are rarely compatible. Still, I’ve had some promising successes, and I should be offering multi-color pieces quite soon!

Salvage Steel Desk Organizer

Inspirational Beading: What are some of your other creations?

Harvey: My first big commission was from Red Wing Shoes in Minnesota. They hired me to make a shelf of some sort so they could display a few pairs of used workbooks in their headquarters. I ended up building the shelf out of around 100 antique wrenches, it weighed a ton! Another fun project was done as part of an Earth Day celebration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I gathered all sorts of discarded nonsense from across the campus and made a series of sculptures, one of which remains on permanent display at the school. The best piece was a working potter’s wheel made out of computers, some AV equipment, bicycle parts, and an antique mixer. Somehow I managed to make a handful of decent little pots, as well as an incredible mess.

Salvage Steel Valet Dish

In my Etsy shop you’ll find a variety of products aside from beads. Depending on when you look there will be glass items such as marbles, worry stones, and Honey Stones. Right now you’ll see a new addition - Fossilized shark’s teeth encased in glass from Coca-Cola bottles. There are also a few steel products peppered across the shop. I enjoy making nuclear-grade desk organizers and valet dishes. They’re heavy, nearly indestructible, and personalized with Braille lettering that is drilled into the surface of the steel.

Automotive Glass Worry Stones

Inspirational Beading: Who do you hope to inspire with your work?

Harvey: Maybe it sounds a little corny, but I’ve got to say I’d like to inspire the youngest generation. What I’d like is for kids to have more access and encouragement to find a craft that means something to them. The world would be a better place if more people had a comfortable outlet to share what happens inside their heads. The heart and mind are stimulated by the work, whatever it may be, and it helps people to connect in beautiful ways. As with so many things, this all begins with the kids: that’s why I love doing live demonstrations and teaching young’uns how to make beads. If you’ve got a particular talent, pass it on to as many little humans as you can, that is the most enduring and important artwork that you’ll ever make.

You can see more of Harvey’s designs at The Big Purple Barn on Etsy, and check out The Big Purple Barn website for a gallery of awesome sculptures and designs.

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading and Harvey Haines

Tool Spotlight: Bead Coasters

Readers often ask me where I got the stainless steel beading cups that I use to hold each of the bead types I’m using for a particular project. Since these are my go-to tool for keeping my seed beads and other materials separate and accessible while I work, there’s always at least one or two on my bead tray each week. The trouble is, I can’t say for sure where to get the exact cups that I use, since I repurposed them from a mug set that was gifted to me years ago.

I recently went on a hunt for similar coasters that would be perfect for beading. It’s surprisingly difficult to find coasters of just the right design. Most are simply flat slabs of one material or another, and don’t have a rim that will keep beads in. Others have an enormous rim, which defeats the purpose – the reason these coasters work so well for beading is that they don’t get in the way of needling up seed beads one-handed.

I was able to find a few coaster designs that fit all of the criteria, and a few that are just so stylish that it might be worth it to have them in your workspace even if they’re not perfect for the job. These are my favorites:

These Elegance stainless steel coastersare by far the best of the bunch. Although I don’t like to use metal materials in my work, I do like it for my tools because they’re better for the environment than plastic overall, and very sanitary. These coasters could be soaked in warm soapy water if needed, and will be dry and ready to use again in seconds. They’ve got a smallish rim for keeping beads in place, and no extra decorations to take up space. The only downside is the holder. Unless you go long periods without doing any beadwork, or clean up completely between every single project, it’s not likely to get much use.

This InterDesign Rain Coastersset has all of the size and shape features that I like, but sadly isn’t made from glass as I thought when I first spotted them. To be fair, the plastic coasters would be very lightweight, making them nice for taking a project on holiday. Plus, they're just as washable as a stainless set.

This handmade ceramic coaster from Pottery by Saleek is gorgeous, and has a nice ridge, with some inspiring decoration. The only downside is the size – it’s meant for wine bottles and takes up a whopping 5 ½ inches. This one would be great for bead soups or anytime you only have a single material to work with.

These bamboo coastersby HealthPro are very pretty and have all of the right features, minus the unnecessary holder. They should be fairly lightweight, which is always a bonus. The only real downside would be that they’d have to air dry after washing. If you’re a disorganized or procrastinating beader like me, you might struggle with timing clean ups for periods when you won’t be needing them.

Another handmade ceramic set, these coasters by Laura Harmon Pottery are really lovely to look at. The decorative edge would take up a lot of workspace, so these probably wouldn’t do for a bead tray like the one that I use, but they’d be great for an open workspace. Washability is definitely a bonus, and they wouldn't be prone to shifting around your workspace or spilling unexpectedly.

Although the rims are much too high for beadwork, I couldn’t resist including this vintage coaster set from DayJahView. The design is gorgeous, and the holder could double as a tray for tools, finished projects, or just about anything in your workspace that needs a transportable home. While not ideal for seed beads, these coasters would work really well for larger beads and other materials that don’t require a needle to pick up.

I also found some great DIY projects for making your own coasters. The most functional one is this tutorial for mosaic coasters made from old jar lids on Running with Sisters. If you’ve already experimented with resin pouring, it should be a snap. You could easily create coasters with the rim height that you want, and include an inspiring design.

I highly recommend checking out the thrift shops in your area and scouring the housewares for coasters that would work in your beading space. Even if you can’t get a matched set, these bead holders are a wonderful addition to your tools, especially if work with plenty of tiny seed beads. You can also keep an eye out for mug and coaster sets with the right features. Use the mugs for coffee or to hold your other tools and pencils!

Do you have any repurposed tools in your workspace?

Mortira

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading and Friends

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Inspired Artist: Glass by Lyuba

Working with glass is one of the best things about beading. The versatility of shape, color, and transparency allows us to create with some of the most beautiful materials available – from tiny seed beads to gorgeous cabochons. To showcase the beauty of glass and all that it can do, I invited glass painting artist Lyuba of zmeyssHandMade to share some of her favorite inspirations. Her Etsy shop, based in Ukraine, is filled with pretty hand painted glasswares that are a delight to see.

Inspirational Beading: When did you first get started with glass painting?

Lyuba: It was approximately 5 years ago. I quit from full day job and have time to create something new. In art store I saw stained-glass paints. Example of painting was wonderful, so nothing can't stop me, even thing that I can't draw ;) At home I took glass and make special holder for brushes.

Inspirational Beading: What is your favorite thing about your art?

Lyuba: I really like my cats set. This two pieces are parts of one whole. Black and white cats was creating for couple that like spend time together, like hot mulled wine and enjoying life. For creating this set I was inspiring with "Black cat, white cat" Kusturicas film. It was so strange and wonderful... Different world and traditions make me laugh.

Inspirational Beading: Do you remember your first piece? Where is it today?

Lyuba: Yes, I have this glass till now as a brushes holder. I took faceted glass and draw different line in which facet. There is multicolor stripes, dots and another geometrical patterns. It was transparent paints, but they afraid water. My nephews wanted draw too... first paints was end very quickly.

Inspirational Beading: Where do you look for your favorite inspiration?

Lyuba: Inspiration is around us. In small human-made things, in streets and squares. I live in Kyiv, it's a big city. We have many different beautiful things around. Old streets, river Dnipro, parks and churches. But some time I take inspiration from humans around. With my painting I want bring some positive mood into life. We should be happy and can reach this with small simple things.

Inspirational Beading: What is your favorite kind of design to make?

Lyuba: My favorite design is palm trees! They calmly and remind about summer, sea and vacations. I believe that live was gone from the sea. This palm trees always gone by couple. With this design I start trying draw by hands. It was so difficult...
This cup was first sold in my etsy store. Lady bought it for moms birthday.

Inspirational Beading: What’s the most interesting or unique thing about your design process?

Lyuba: It's not cup, but have stained-glass view too. I love create butterfly decor from free bottles. They always one of a kind even I want repeat. Unique design and bright colors perfect for nursery or another place. They united transparent parts and opaque. Compared true stained-glass my butterflies can't be broken after get a spill and have low weight. They can fasten by sucker or two sizes tape. The butterflies get flying with every gust of wind when use in nursery mobile or as free flying decor.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite color to work with?

Lyuba: Of course. My favorite colors are green and yellow. There is colors of spring, time when all world wake up after winter and get start new life. The Earth go at new circle and sun warm up all around.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have any other favorite materials?

Lyuba: Sure! I like work with wire, acrylic paints, paraffin, beads, natural fibers and alabaster. More exiting unify all this things in one creation! Sometimes it looks strange. First my creations by hands was letter tags from alabaster. I have two days before New Year night, two nephews that can't read and ten presents for them. Alabaster and acrylic paints save me, children was happy. Next year same tags was create from wire and beads, after from wire and yarn. I believe, anyone can do anything... if want it.

Inspirational Beading: What is the most exciting design in your shop right now? What makes it special?

Lyuba: This is cup with multicolor houses and nursery mobile with glowing in the dark butterflies. City cup fresh and bright. Specially for European architecture lovers. Small colorful houses, multicolor windows inspiring to wonder new story. Mobile will perfect for new born baby nursery. Low light bring magic. Painting absolutely save for health and glowing long time.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have plans for any new designs in the coming year?

Lyuba: Certainly, I plan create some lunch plates, convivial glasses and cups for child. Have some drawings for family cups set. Want try create some painted jars for wedding decoration, it would be with glitter and stones. May be some things glowing in the dark and cake candles. But with my full day job I haven't so many time as want...

Inspirational Beading: Who do you hope to inspire with your work?

Lyuba: Everyone! Talent create us successful but without work and dream we can reach our goals. If we didn't try - we can't know might or not. So just try, just do. This is my opinion and inspiration. No need begin new life from Monday or dream about perfect creation. Do it now. Do not fight, just enjoy.

You can see more of Lyuba’s work in her Etsy store zmeyssHandMade.

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading

Book Spotlight: Creative Quilting with Beads

If you are a beader who loves beads not just for the jewelry that it can create, but for the sheer beauty – the very beadiness – of them, then you’ve probably spent at least a little time experimenting with a variety of bead inspired craft projects. Whether strung, sewn, glued or stitched, beads have a versatility that is unmatched by any other medium.

In Creative Quilting with Beadstextile artist Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader has compiled a wonderful assortment of quilting projects with gorgeous bead embellishments. A quick flip through the pages offers a wealth of inspiration to anyone who loves to combine beads with color and texture. There are over 20 projects in all, with designs by artists such as Julia Donaldson, Larkin Jean Van Horn, and Sarah Ann Smith.

The basics section covers everything you need to know about the materials you’ll need to try out the projects, including tips for conditioning thread and setting up your workspace. There are brief explanations of machine quilting and hand embroidery techniques – to master a complete project you’ll want to be familiar with the basics of operating a sewing machine. Even without these skills, the projects are a wealth of inspiration.

The project pages include templates and full color photographs of finished designs, with clear step-by-step instructions. More than just blankets, quilting combined with beads to make a variety of beautiful keepsakes such as magnets, pillows, art dolls, and wall hangings. Each piece uses beads to tell a story or capture an idea.

If you’re having a craving for some mixed media creativity, or want to bust your stash in new ways, look for Creative Quilting with Beads at your public library.

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader and Lark Crafts
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Pretty Jewelry Boxes for Mother’s Day

As soon as the flowers of spring start blooming, many of us start thinking about what we’re going to do for the special moms in our life. What I love about Mother’s Day is that it doesn’t matter who your favorite mom is - she can even be someone else’s mom. It’s just a great day to say thanks to some really fantastic ladies.

As beaders, we’re lucky to be able to custom make jewelry and other goodies for anyone we gift to. To make it even more special, why not a beautiful jewelry dish or trinket box? Although I leave my personal jewelry pieces lying around and hanging up to constantly test their durability, I do love to look at unique jewelry boxes. It’s just another one of those magpie things.

Here are some fabulous jewelry box designs that would be perfect for gifting.

Decoupage Jewelry Box by rrizzart





Earthenware Daisy Dish by damson tree pottery





Pile of Books Trinket Box by Sister Butterfly





Coral Wood Jewelry Box by paragraph loop





Cherry Jewelry Holder by Elegant Quirk





Upcycled Blue Jewelry Box by Green Fox Studio





Elephant Jewelry Box by Sascalia

Where do you like to store your own jewelry?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Craft Space and Bead Storage Ideas

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to organize and de-clutter your craft space, you’re probably contemplating some new and improved storage solutions. Although we might fantasize about living in a bead store, since a never ending abundance of supplies in one big room would remove the need to constantly shuffle our stash around, it still wouldn’t help with the little things. Every opened package, cut strand, and salvaged treasure needs a home - preferably sorted by size, color, or shape! Add to that all the extra things that we need to keep on hand, like tools, packing materials and finished designs, the need for dependable and stress-free storage creates a never ending battle for beaders.

Today I want to share with you some of my favorite handmade and store bought storage ideas, plus a few more that I’ve discovered along the way. Many of these handy tools help to keep beading supplies together in a single limited space, and organized enough to know exactly where everything is. The less time you have to spend looking for things, or finding a home for new beads, the more time you can spend creating!

Tackle Trays

It’s interesting to note the little things that all hobbyists have in common, and one trip through a tackle shop or sporting goods store will give you a sense of connection with fishermen and fly-tyers. This is one of the best places to find affordable and reliable storage solutions for beads and jewelry components.

My personal favorite is the compartment tray, especially those with a variety of compartment sizes. These little trays can hold a lot of beads, don’t take up a lot of space, and are very stackable. Clear trays allow you to easily grab the beads that you need, but there’s always plenty of room for labels along the sides. One tiny spill can be a huge disaster though, so I like to store beads in their original packages, and use the compartments for organizing by size and color.

Traditional tackle boxes, like those with hinged, stacking trays inside, are also excellent for materials, tools and larger beads. The locking lids and handles also make them ideal for traveling and beading on the go. Smaller tackle containers like space saving jars are very handy for sorting and organizing small quantities of beads.

Cereal Boxes

Anyone who has ever visited an elementary school has probably seen magazines stored in cereal boxes, which help keep the flimsy booklets upright and easy to browse through. All you have to do is remove the top flaps and cut out a wedge from one side to make a handy book receptacle for beading magazines.

This easy upcycled solution is also great for storing and sorting supply invoices, tutorials and printouts, and packing materials like envelopes and tissue paper. The leftover box tops can also be cut and taped together, making handy bracers for storing beaded bangles.

Food Containers

Food containers of all shapes and sizes can make ideal homes for our materials and tools. Once they are thoroughly washed and dried, baby food and spice jars, dairy tubs, and even cookie trays can make a little space go a long way. To make containers absolutely spotless for bead and jewelry storage, I triple wash them with hot soapy water and a generous amount of baking soda. It works as a mild abrasive that also deodorizes and disinfects.

Totes

For a more professional feeling craft space, there are a wide variety of bead storage options available to choose from. Personally, I find a lot of them too fiddly for my taste, and each one has it’s limits for bead sizes and quantities. But for beaders who are on the move a lot, storage totes can provide both organization and security.

Bead Tube Tower by Beadsmith

Drawer Displays

I can’t say enough good things about these upcycled beauties. Even though we all know hanging isn’t good for beaded jewelry, it’s hard to resist these pretty little compartments. Something about them is just ideal for the magpie in all of us. In a studio, these refurbished printer drawers would make great displays or storage space for bead strands and hanks.

Jewelry Display by Blue Bird Heaven

Other fun vintage and upcycled options include commercial baking trays, science lab accessories, and sewing kits - thoroughly cleaned, of course.

Home Décor

If it has cubbies, hooks, shelves, or drawers, chances are it can be used for storing craft supplies. Any bed and bath or home improvement store will have a treasure trove of storage options for beading and craft spaces. Paper towel racks are great for spools of ribbon, cord and thread. Shoe caddies are just waiting to be filled with tools and other miscellany.

If you’re thinking about an overhaul of your craft space, the Crafty Storage blog might help give you some ideas for how to get organized. There are lots of great images of studios and storage ideas to get inspired with.

Do you have a fun or unusual way to store beads and jewelry?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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