August 20 - 22, 2010
Bead Fest Philadelphia
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA

The 9th annual Bead Fest Philadelphia will be held at the Valley Forge Convention Center in downtown King of Prussia is the largest bead & jewelry show on the east coast. This prestigious event is hosted by Interweave Press, and I am very excited to be leading four jewelry workshops, as listed below.

Looking for a creative boost to your jewelry repertoire? Come discover the intrigue of the ancient Japanese 12-1 radial chain patterns used by Samurai warriors for protection in battle. Taking an organic look at this radial chain pattern, we will make rounded rose forms to be connected in sequence into a finished bracelet. For this introductory workshop into chain jewelry design, we will use simple hand tools to assemble pre-cut silver and bronze jump rings. Bracelets will be completed with student choice of forged s-clasp or magnetic clasp. This is a project class with many valuable ring and chain techniques along the way; you will leave with a bracelet on your wrist and a healthy hobby under your hat.

Skill Level: Beginner -- moderate hand-eye coordination helpful but no prerequisite.
Supply List: beading mat, optivisor, task lamp, and extension cord.
Pliers: two flat-nose (instructor will bring pliers to share).
Material Fee Includes: printed handout, silver and bronze jump rings, and choice of forged S-clasp or new magnetic clasp.

Saturday, August 21st
5pm - 8pm
Celtic Byzantine Pendant

Come learn the techniques of the age-old Byzantine chain and then take it to the next level of embellishment. For this introductory workshop into beaded chain jewelry design, we will use simple hand tools to assemble pre-cut silver jump rings into full circle of Byzantine chain with four Crown formations. This chain pattern is then inverted to be combined into a large square pendant with four voids to be fulfilled with gemstone beads secured by beading cable and a crimp tube. This is a project class with many valuable chain and bead techniques along the way; you will leave with a pendant on your key ring and a healthy hobby under your hat.

Skill Level: Intermediate - some basic wire working knowledge is helpful, but no experience necessary; a steady hand and a bit of hand-eye coordination helps.
Tools Needed: two flat-nose pliers, wire cutters, and optivisor (if needed).
Material Fee Includes: printed handout, silver jump rings, 6mm gemstone beads, beading cable, crimp tube, and keyring.

Sunday, August 22nd
9am - 12pm
Beaded Infinity Bracelet

For this introductory workshop into beaded chain jewelry design, we will be exploring how to set gemstone beads into the tri-metal Infinity chain pattern. Using the new mandrel-tip pliers, we will set gemstone beads onto headpins and assemble them into a simple two-on-one chain of bronze and silver rings. The final embellishment of copper infinity rings will overlap each silver ring adding visual depth and pattern. Bracelets will be completed with a hand forged bronze S-clasp, along with a demonstration by hammer and anvil. This is a project class with many valuable chain and bead techniques along the way; you will leave with a bracelet on your wrist and a healthy hobby under your hat.

Skill Level: Introductory - some basic wire working knowledge is helpful, but no experience necessary; a steady hand and a bit of hand-eye coordination helps.
Tools Needed: two flat-nose pliers, round-nose pliers, wire cutters, and optivisor.
Material Fee Includes: printed handout, silver, bronze, and copper jump rings, silver headpins, 8mm gemstone beads, and bronze S-clasp.

Monday, September 27th
6:30pm - 8pm
Dodecahedron: twelve facets of a craft book author.

The Bead Society of New Mexico has invited me to be the guest speaker for their September meeting on Monday evening before teaching my workshop series. I will be delivering a presentation entitled, Dodecahedron: twelve facets of a craft book author.

The meeting will be held in room 407 of the Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 8600 Academy Road NE, Albuquerque. The church is located at the intersection of Academy and Moon, between Eubank and Wyoming. There is a stop light at the intersection of Moon and Academy, turn south on Moon and then left (east) into the church parking lot. This presentation is open to the public as guests of the Bead Society of New Mexico.

The following six jewelry workshops will be held at the prestigious Wooden Cow Gallery, located at 7400 Montgomery Blvd NE, Suite 20 (east of Louisiana in Mossman Center) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Tuesday, September 28th
9am - 12pm
Celtic Byzantine Pendant

Come learn the techniques of the age-old Byzantine chain and then take it to the next level of embellishment. For this introductory workshop into beaded chain jewelry design, we will use simple hand tools to assemble pre-cut silver (or bronze) jump rings into full circle of Byzantine chain with four Crown formations. This chain pattern is then inverted to be combined into a large square pendant with four voids to be fulfilled with gemstone beads secured by beading cable and a crimp tube. This is a project class with many valuable chain and bead techniques along the way; you will leave with a pendant on your necklace and a healthy hobby under your hat.

Skill Level: Introductory, no experience necessary.
Supply List: beading mat; task lamp; and optivisor (if needed).
Tools Needed: two flat-nose pliers; chain-nose pliers; and wire cutters.
Material Fee Includes: printed handout; silver (or bronze) jump rings; 6mm gemstone beads; beading cable; crimp tube; and key ring.

Tuesday, September 28th
1pm - 4pm
Double Chaos Bracelet

Get captivated by wire in this hands-on chain jewelry workshop where we will explore the potential of wrapping wire with an electric screwdriver. This low-tech gizmo allows quick and spontaneous spinning of wire around wire into a bead structure to be embellished with gemstone beads, adding color to the implied motion. These beaded beads are then curved into an S-shape and combined with a two-tone Double chain between, creating a unique bracelet with texture and mixed-metal pizzazz. Bracelets will be completed with an s-clasp, and the class will conclude with a forging demonstration by hammer and anvil. This is a project class with many valuable wire wrapping and jump ring techniques along the way; you will leave with a bracelet on your wrist and a healthy hobby under your hat.

Skill Level: Introductory, no experience necessary.
Supply List: beading mat; task lamp; and optivisor (if needed).
Tools Needed: two flat-nose pliers; round-nose pliers; side-cutters; 3.6-volt electric screwdriver with hexagon fitting (available at your hardware store); 3-prong Jacob’s chuck with hexagon base (available online).
Material Fee Included: printed handout; bronze and silver wire; bronze and silver jump rings; carnelian and onyx beads; and a bronze S-clasp.

Tuesday, September 28th
5pm - 8pm
Beaded Infinity Bracelet

For this introductory workshop into beaded chain jewelry design, we will be exploring how to set gemstone beads into the tri-metal Infinity chain pattern. Using the new mandrel-tip pliers, we will set gemstone beads onto headpins and assemble them into a simple two-on-one chain of bronze and silver rings. The final embellishment of copper infinity rings will overlap each silver ring adding visual depth and pattern. Bracelets will be completed with a hand forged bronze S-clasp, along with a demonstration by hammer and anvil. This is a project class with many valuable headpin and jump ring techniques along the way; you will leave with a bracelet on your wrist and a healthy hobby under your hat.

Skill Level: Introductory, no experience necessary.
Supply List: beading mat; task lamp; and optivisor (if needed).
Tools Needed: two flat-nose pliers; round-nose pliers; and wire cutters.
Material Fee Includes: printed handout; silver, bronze, and copper jump rings; silver headpins; 8mm carnelian beads; and bronze S-clasp.

Wednesday, September 29th
9am - 12pm
Beaded Infinity Bracelet

For this introductory workshop into beaded chain jewelry design, we will be exploring how to set gemstone beads into the tri-metal Infinity chain pattern. Using the new mandrel-tip pliers, we will set gemstone beads onto headpins and assemble them into a simple two-on-one chain of bronze and silver rings. The final embellishment of copper infinity rings will overlap each silver ring adding visual depth and pattern. Bracelets will be completed with a hand forged bronze S-clasp, along with a demonstration by hammer and anvil. This is a project class with many valuable headpin and jump ring techniques along the way; you will leave with a bracelet on your wrist and a healthy hobby under your hat.

Skill Level: Introductory, no experience necessary.
Supply List: beading mat; task lamp; and optivisor (if needed).
Tools Needed: two flat-nose pliers; round-nose pliers; and wire cutters.
Material Fee Includes: printed handout; silver, bronze, and copper jump rings; silver headpins; 8mm carnelian beads; and bronze S-clasp.

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Wednesday, September 29th
1pm - 4pm
? this class space is being held open,
possible for a 3rd Celtic class or a 3rd Infinity class?

Wednesday, September 29th
5pm - 8pm
Celtic Byzantine Pendant

Come learn the techniques of the age-old Byzantine chain and then take it to the next level of embellishment. For this introductory workshop into beaded chain jewelry design, we will use simple hand tools to assemble pre-cut silver (or bronze) jump rings into full circle of Byzantine chain with four Crown formations. This chain pattern is then inverted to be combined into a large square pendant with four voids to be fulfilled with gemstone beads secured by beading cable and a crimp tube. This is a project class with many valuable chain and bead techniques along the way; you will leave with a pendant on your necklace and a healthy hobby under your hat.

Skill Level: Introductory, no experience necessary.
Supply List: beading mat; task lamp; and optivisor (if needed).
Tools Needed: two flat-nose pliers; chain-nose pliers; and wire cutters.
Material Fee Includes: printed handout; silver (or bronze) jump rings; 6mm gemstone beads; beading cable; crimp tube; and key ring.