Looking at Beads from a Different Angle…Elephant Beads!!!

First, I apologize for my absence. No, I have not fallen off the earth! It was a busy, hectic summer, what with prepping for BeadFest Philly, recovering from BeadFest Philly, and tending to various summertime household tasks, like repainting the exterior of the house. Whew! But, now that we are moving into the first crisp days of autumn, I have a few minutes to breathe a bit, and a few minutes to write!

When I first became interested in beads oh so long ago, my main focus in purchased beads was natural gemstones. In my early beading days, I was a lampworker who worked in borosilicate glass, and I felt that gemstones paired best with the organic nature that my own glass beads had. Plus, way back then, the Czech glass bead selection was not anything like it is today.

I also swore I would never get into bead weaving. I simply did not think I had the attention span for working with such teeny tiny beads.

Admittedly, in hindsight I can say that my early beading view was rather narrow-minded, and as a result I probably missed some opportunities to work with some pretty stunning manufactured beads and beading projects.

Fortunately I have learned from the errors of my ways! With opening our bead store, I was somewhat “forced” to work with a many different types of beads in order to be able to cater to a wide variety of customer styles. This was one of the greatest learning experiences I gained from co-owning Artful Beads! It taught me to appreciate all kinds of beads – beads that, in the past, I never would have looked at twice. It taught me how so many different kinds of beads that you would never expect to work well together, work well together. It taught me to look at beads from a different angle, so  I could see things beyond what’s on the surface.

So here’s where the elephant beads come in to play. When they first hit the scene, I immediately thought they were adorable, but didn’t think they were a bead that I would or could work into my jewelry designs. But still, they left an impression on me right from the start, so even though I didn’t think they had design possibilities within my personal style, they were still playing around in my mind. The colors were just so gorgeous…and the way the shape of these sweet little elephants holds on to the unique metallic finishes, highlighting all the detail, is just so luscious.

Even though I didn’t think there was any way I could design jewelry around these little beauties, I decided I just HAD to have some, based solely on how pretty they are. Sometimes…most times, really…buying beads on impulse, without a design idea in mind, works out way better than buying beads for a specific purpose!

And, as soon as I laid my eyes on these elephant beads in person, everything changed. Suddenly, I had nonstop ideas for how to use them…literally nonstop!! The colors were intoxicating; the shape so organic; the weight perfect for so many projects! I could not wait to head down to my studio and dive in.

Unfortunately I had to take care of some other projects before I could really get into hands-on designing with my precious new elephant beads, but that just gave me more time to play around with more ideas in my mind. Finally, I’ve been able to bring some of those ideas to fruition!!

The moral of my story today is this: If you see beads that catch your eye, but you don’t think it is a bead style  you would ever actually work with it, I still encourage you to buy them. You’re drawn to those beads for a reason, and I have no doubt that the perfect projects for them are laying just below the surface. For me, I think this is just the beginning for elephants in my jewelry designs!

You can find elephant beads in the “Shaped Czech Glass Beads” section of my Etsy Shop, Trixie’s Jewel Box.

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