New York City -Shopping

So what do a group of girls and 1 guy do when they get together?  They go shopping in NYC!  (and not on 5th Ave.)

Here we are, having a blast hanging out at CJS Wholesale.

From left to right:  Jim, Bobbi, Me (Heather), Barbara, Shoshana, and Lynnea.  

Here is a peak of what we did that day.  Later blogs are going to focus on each location and things you should know before  you go.  

First we went to CJS, be prepared to spend lots and lots of time here.  

Here is a picture of the chain room.

<------  You have to purchase the entire spool.

Below is a photo of a shelf full of flat back crystals. 

Everything is sold by the pound.

Next we headed off to get some food.  (Jim was starving, the girls were unaware of our hunger.)

After eating and getting our strength back, we headed off to York Beads.  Love glass beads?  Love Czech glass beads?  This place is for you!  The walls are filled with a rainbow of colors and shapes.
Be prepared to buy whole hanks of beads.  You can not split a hank on site, that is what friends are for.      ;)











Across the street from York Beads is a wonderful ribbon boutique.  While hanging out at Tinsel Trading Company a man came in to pick up an order from Martha Stewart.  Wow! We were shopping where Martha shops!

Our final stop of the day was at Metalliferous, one of my favorite places.  If copper shapes are what you are after, this is the place to find them.

I am hoping to go back to NYC sometime early spring 2013.  You can follow my NYC Bead Trip board on Pintrest.

Spring 2013 Colors!

Think Spring!
Pantone is the leading authority in fashion colors. They have recently released their color forecast for spring 2013.

Do you follow color trends?

How do they effect your work?

How are you going to use these colors in your

work for your spring collection?

As an enamel artist I don't try to hunt down the beads that are in the colors that are hot for a season, I create the colors through layering opaque and transparent enamels. So off to the studio I go! Time to experiment!
When trying to replicate colors, the first thing I do is look at my Thompson Enamel Chart. Here is a picture of the enamel colors page from my Thompson Catalog. I have underlined the colors that I own. I do the same with the transparent colors.


I decided to try to recreate Monaco Blue. First I tried 2 coats of Harvest Opaque and 1 coat of Nitric Transparent, no quite dark enough for my liking. Then I tried 2 coats of Bluejay Opaque and 1 coat of Nitric Transparent ---BINGO! I know you really can't tell the difference in the picture, but under a good light or outside there is a difference. My second attempt was a much closer match.


I will repeat this process for each of Pantone's spring color selections. It is really trial and error, and sometimes I just can't quite get it.

Now that I have the color down I write my recipe on my copy of Pantone's Spring Colors that I printed out from the website. (as you can see I dropped some water on this copy!)

So now I have a challenge to all the amazing artists out there! In the comment section list the stones and crystals that you feel most closely match the Spring colors. If you work in polymer or enamel; what combinations create these colors? Go head and experiment and share your recipes!
Have fun!

Heather M.

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