This Weeks Featured Artist and Bead Here Now Employee

Bio:
Jewelry has always fascinated me. My grandmother had a lifetime's worth of fantastic pieces in a tall jewelry wardrobe. I would sit on her bed and stare at the sparkling rhinestone brooches and stroke the ropes of pearls, treasured for their stories and history as much as for their beauty.

Later, dissatisfied with what was available and not having access to "fine" jewelry, I began to make my own. When yard sales and thrift stores weren't enough, I began to eye non-jewelry items as possibilities. Keys, mini doll furniture, origami, etc. This led to gifts for friends and family and a desire to deconstruct nearly every piece I could put hands on. After high school I sold my first piece of jewelry, a bit unwillingly.

Artefact Redux was hatched by my husband and I some time in '06 when we were only lovers and he was not yet diagnosed with cancer. Born of our shared love of things old and dusty, tinkering and artistry, it was a creative union and outlet.

Once we joined forces shows, gallery spots and festivals happened. An especially proud moment was being invited to participate in First Coast Fashion Week this year. Today Artefact Redux jewelry is available online as well as brick & mortar locations in Jacksonville, FL.

Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/artefactredux

Blog:
http://artefactredux.blogspot.com/

Look for classes from Teresa every Saturday Here @ Bead Here Now

Class Giveaway

Ok happy beaders, our giveaway this month is a Wire Links Class. Our lovely employee TERESA teaches Basic Beading and basic wire links classes on Saturdays. Link are a wonderful technique that can e used for necklace, bracelets and earrings. It is a very versatile technique, a must know in jewelry making.
 All you have to do is
~Follow this blog for 1 entry into the giveaway.
~Follow and Share this blog for 2 entries into this giveaway

I will pick the winner on October the 15th so be sure to get your entries in. To enter, click on comments and let me know what you are doing wether following, sharing etc. (i will be checking)

GOOD LUCK to ALL

New Wire Wrap Pendants

Ive been spending alot of time working with wire lately, wrapping, twisting, bending, weaving and creating some unique new pieces. Look out for some new wire wrapping classes with me very soon.

Go to our tutorials pagefora full basic wire wrapped pendant tutorial with pictures.

Monthly giveaway winner

My sincerest apologies for not announcing the winner yesterday as I was suppose to! It has been a crazy busy week in bead land and well, it slipped my mind, I'm only human!
our winner for this months giveaway of the wire wrap bangle class, or the wire wrapped bangle, your choice, isssssssssss, wait, Micanicole!

Congrats to Micanicole, call to register for class or stop by and pick up your beautiful wire wrapped bangle.

There will be many oppurtunites to win our monthly drawings, so stay tuned for the next one!

Pretty Plumes

Ive always had a fascination with feathers, especially peacock feathers. One of my fondest memories as a child were the 2 peacocks that lived on my street, Herman and Henrietta, in urban Jacksonville, Florida mind you.
I never new where they came from, all I new is that they were the most glorious birds I had ever seen. Every few months I would walk around the neighborhood and pick up these beautiful feathers that they had shed and put them in a vase. I must have been all of 4 years old.
Not much has changed, although there are no peacocks living in my neighborhood,(but if I had land, i would most definately have some), however, I still love feathers! SO much so, that a few months ago I added some grizzly rooster feather extensions in my hair, Im might be little obsessed with them. I dont think the fly fisherman, or PETA are all to happy about this!
The grizzlies are quite expensive right now, as this is a huge new trend,but I have recently ordered lots of colorful feathers, from rooster, to peacocks, duck and guinea hens (dont worry, no birds were harmed to get these beautiful feathers that I know of. I would like to think they were collected just how I collected them as a child, maybe Im just being a little naive about it.)
I will be making a beautiful selection of feather earrings as well as feather clip in hair extensions, so be on the look out! I have a few listed on etsy so be sure to check them out!

My unexpected visit

So while I was at the shop today busy doing some repairs, an unexpected visitor popped her head in and said " would you like some henna."
"Of course I do," So my dear friend Ann walked over to Midnight Sun, (which is where she sets up on some Fridays and all Saturdays during the summer months), grabbed her fresh tube of handmade mendhi paste, and began drawing the most beautiful henna on my hand.
For those of you who are not familiar with henna, it is a natural paste that was traditionally used in wedding ceremonies in India. It is made from the henna plant and many herbs and oils. It is applied to your skin, you let it sit for a few hours, and after you wash your body part it is applied to, it will be stained on your skin.
The brides would traditionally have the hands and feet completely covered in the most beautiful drawings of paisleys, flowers, peacocks and swirls. It is said that the darker the henna tattoo appears, the longer the love of the couple will last.
Although mine was not for the purpose of a wedding, I do believe that the art of henna design is a beautiful tradition and was happy to have Ann put her creativity onto my skin!
Stop by Midnight Sun on Saturdays to get you next Henna Tattoo and be sure to stop over to Ann's Blog, http://http://www.hennatattoo.blogspot.com/