Random Ruminations of a Beader

2007-07-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Ancient Bead Bling

I have been following these stories with great interest:

Even the very first modern humans may have spruced themselves up with beaded bling.

Twelve shell beads discovered in a cave in eastern Morocco have been dated at more than 80,000 years old, making them one of the earliest examples of human culture. The beads are colored with red ochre and show signs of being strung together.

Similar beads have been found in other parts of Africa and the Middle East, suggesting the first Homo sapiens literally carried their penchant for baubles with them as they populated the world.

"If you draw a triangle covering the three furthest known locations of Homo sapiens between 75,000-120,000 years ago, that triangle stretches from South Africa to Morocco to Israel," said study co-author Chris Stringer of London's Natural History Museum.

2007-06-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

Some Resources to Market your Website

How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic

Online Marketing Blog

Download Squad: Social Software

2007-03-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

2007-02-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

Some Fellow Bloggers

Here are some interesting blogs focusing on arts and crafts:

Crafty Synergy - while "synergy" is not one of my favorite words (way overused in marketing-speak...), this is an interesting blog featuring informative interviews with crafters.
Indie Obsession - An amazingly diverse blog whose author presents "all the indie designer things that I love, but don't always have the money to buy".
Modish - "A stylish blog for indie shoppers".

Pamela
Love Beads Unlimited

2007-02-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

Tag - You are it!

Social bookmarking, or tagging is hot these days. The idea of having your favorite bookmarks online, where others can see them and explore them, has been around for a while. Recently, though, there has been a veritable flood of new tagging services. You can find a long (but probably incomplete) list here.
I have played around with some of the tagging sites (probably didn't put enough time in, though) and found them of little help. I prefer more targeted services such as StyleHive or Squidoo.

So much for now

Pamela
Love Beads Unlimited

2007-01-25T14:29:00.000-08:00

2007-01-11T06:25:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.
I have started working more with lampwork beads and really like the look and feel of these bracelet. You can see them here and here.

Pamela
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-12-25T06:53:00.000-08:00

Hapy Holidays and a wonderful 2007 to all my readers!

What a year it has been .. and to top it all, you and me and every blogger ... and my cats became TIME "Persons of the Year";-)

See you in 2007

Pamela

Love Beads Unlimited

2006-12-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ebay Express not what Expected?

Not exactly a surprise...
PC World reports that the much ballyhooed eBay Express has fallen short of expectations:

"Merchants complain that eBay Express doesn't attract sufficient shoppers and generates an inconsequential volume of sales, although eBay says it is satisfied and remains committed to the site."

I love that last statement... of course eBay would never admit that it is not doing as well as planned:

"Still, based on the experiences of merchants interviewed, Express resembles a ghost town with tumbleweeds blowing through it rather than a busy shopping mall."

Pamela
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-12-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

- Displaying your Jewelry for Online Sale -

When you are selling your jewelry online, you have to put special effort into proper presentation, as customers only have the pictures to go by. One aspect of this is the way the pieces are physically displayed. I have seen online ads for quite expensive jewelry displayed on a carpet or bed spread - that is a real turn-off.

Here are some of your options:

Display jewelry in nature. Hanging earrings from a branch or placing a bracelet on a lily pad can have its charms, but the background colors can distract from the jewelry, and what do you do if the weather is not suitable for taking new photos?
Using glass. I sometimes see necklaces draped over glass bowls and bracelets over wine glasses. While this lets the colors of the jewelry stand out, there can be problems with reflected light, and it might be hard to imagine how a piece would look on your body.
Making your own display busts. I recently read an interesting article by someone who had constructed and painted her own display shapes, but I am afraid that takes a bit more painterly talent than many of us have.
Wearing the jewelry yourself. This is a tricky issue. On the one hand, it creates a very realistic picture, but on the other hand many people might shy away from jewelry that has been "worn by someone else".
Professional display pieces. I prefer this solution. Companies such as Fire Mountain and Jewelry Display offer numerous display busts, hand and feet, as well as earring displays. Watch out for the surface - I found that black velevet looks good, but attracts dust easily.

I just wish there were more colors out there - sometimes black or white don't work well. I have a blue display bust, and I might invest in a grey one.

Pamela
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-12-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

7 Reasons Why Squidoo Lenses Are Great

I am having fun with my Squidoo lens - and here is why:

Lenses are Free - Can you beat that?
Lenses are Better than Free - They can make money for you!
Lenses are Easy to Use - No programming knowledge required.
Lenses are Versatile - You can write about anything from Aardvarks to Zymurgy.
Lenses are Colorful - It is so easy to add graphics.
Lenses are Changing - There are constantly new modules available.
Lenses do not have to be Alone - You can start several ones.

Interested in trying this out? Just click on this link.

Pamela
Love Beads Unlimited - Unique Handcrafted Jewelry

2006-11-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

Online Resources for Marketing Your Arts and Crafts

If you have moved beyond the stage of a hobbyist and want to make at least some money with your creations, these resources might be helfpul for you:

Online Marketplaces:
eBay
Etsy
RubyLane
ArtbyUs

Discussion Boards:
Bead and Button: Ideas for marketing your work
Reasonable Insanity

Collections of Articles, Tips, etc.
Home Jewelry Buinsess Success Tips
About.com Arts and Crafts Business
Craft Business
The Artful Crafter

This should be enough to keep you busy for a while.

Best of luck!

Pamela
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-11-26T18:04:00.000-08:00

Had to think about this bracelet when I saw the leaves in the front yard - yes, even in Texas fall finally arrives.
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

Cyberbeader
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-11-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

- A Tried and True Classic -

The Beader's Companion (Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, ISBN 1-8883010-56-X) by Judith Durant and Jean Campbell is an indispensable tool for bead jewelry designers at the beginning and intermediate level. It is a small (7" x 5") paperback book with spiral binding that lies flat, so you can keep it on your work surface next to your beading projects. The pages flip upwards, so that the text is in landscape mode, leaving plenty of space for illustrations.

It is amazing what amount of useful information can be crammed into a mere 104 pages! The book starts out by describing various kinds of beads (with illustrations), as well as types of glass and finishes used for beads. This is followed by section on threads/cords and different types of needles. Particularly useful is a chart telling beaders what thread to use with which kind of bead. There are also extensive chapters on various stitches and crochet techniques (again illustrated with simple, but effective black-and-white drawings).

Further sections on finishings (clasps, hooks, ear wires, etc.), tools and basic wire techniques round out what almost amounts to a beading course in a book. Even after you mastered the different techniques described in this guide, you will be coming back to it for the various useful charts and tips, such as the bead-sizing chart.

Overall, The Beader's Companion is reasonably priced and represents one of the best investments a beginning beader can make. While it cannot substitute for an actual teacher, it offers a good general introduction. Other books and beading magazines will then take you further in teaching special techniques in greater depth.

2006-11-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

- Kit and Kaboodle -

Dear reader,
if you wondered what the gallery below was all about, that was from Kaboodle. Kaboodle? Yes, one of the new social tagging/marketing sites that seem to be springing up these days like mushrooms after rain.
What amazes me is how easy it is to post things. A click on a button, a few tags to enter, and there you are... Maybe eBay could learn something from these guys.

Pamela
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-11-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

lovebeads's Shopping

2006-11-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

- Talking about Beading -

Here are some interesting online venues for discussing all things bead-related:

Bead and Button Forum

Beadwork Forum at About.com

Beading Forum at Beadcharm.com

Rocknrocks Bead Forum

Beading Times Forum

Beading Forum.com.au

Reasonable Insanity

Enjoy!

Cyberbeader
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-10-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

- More on Web 2.0 -

I just published an article on Using Web 2.0 to Promote Your Jewelry Business on Rena Klingenberg's Home Jewelry Business Success Tips site.

Cyberbeader
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-10-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

- I Love Lapis.... Lazuli, that is -

I have always loved the deep, intensive blue of lapis lazuli. No wonder - people have been using this stone for about 7,000 years! I recently created a lapis lazuli and Bali silver necklace.
Besides the beautiful color, I was always fascinated by the name. Here is what Wikipedia says about its origins:

The first part of the name is the Latin lapis, meaning stone. The second part, lazuli, is the genitive form of the medieval Latin lazulum, which came from Arabic (al-)lazward, which came from Persian لاژورد lāzhward. This was originally a place-name, but soon came to mean blue because of its association with the stone. English azure, Spanish azul, Italian azzurro also derives from this source. Taken as a whole, lapis lazuli means stone of azure

Cyberbeader
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-10-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

- More on Ancient Beads -

I just love these articles, like this one from the New Scientist:

Archaeologists have discovered that 100,000-year-old shells found in Israel and Algeria were decorative beads. This suggests that modern human forms of behaviour, such as language, developed earlier than previously thought.

"Personal ornaments are a powerful tool of communication," says Francesco D’Errico at the Institute of the Prehistory and Geology of the Quaternary in Talence, France, one of the team that studied the beads. "They can indicate social or marital status, for example. But you need to have a complex system of language behind that. To me [these beads] are very powerful archaeological evidence that these people were able to speak like us."

Cyberbeader

http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-10-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Web 2.0 Déja Vu?

Is it just me, or doesn't his sound awfully familiar: geeks in their twenties sell their websites for gazillions, the stock market is reaching new heights, online companies without noticeable income are praised as the next hot thing...
I have looked around some of the social networking/marketing sites and am not that impressed. Yes, YouTube has funny videos, if you want to wade through hundreds of boring ones. Yes, there is Flickr, MySpace, Delicio, Kaboodle, TagWorld, Squidoo....

My question is: will the model of having hordes of eager participants create (or copy) content persist, or will many people get tired of this?

Also, will it really become the killer marketing channel? I would like to see some real statistics here.

Cyberbeader
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-09-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

- Of Beads and Squids -

I have been spending some time on Squidoo lately (check out my lens about beading and online marketing).
Now, did that sentence make any sense to you? No? Well, Squidoo (www.squidoo.com) is a site that lets people quickly develop their own webpages/blogs/online galleries which are called "lenses". You could start a lens about your hobby, your favorite author, your online store ... there seems to be almost no limit. Of course, there are the usual blatant multi-level marketing schemes, but overall this concept is interesting, and it's free!

Cyberbeader
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-09-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Chariot Earrings

Fascinating find in Bulgaria:

A 2200-year-old treasure trove of gold jewellery has been unearthed from a Thracian burial mound on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.

Daniela Agre said her team found dozens of tiny jewellery pieces in the tomb of a woman, most likely a Thracian priestess, near the resort of Sinemorets, about 500km southeast of the capital.

The discovery included two earrings crafted like miniature chariots, and parts of gold necklaces, one decorated with a sculpture of a bull's head.

Herald-Sun, September 6, 2006

Cyberbeader
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-09-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Cloisonné Beads

I have always liked them. Recently, I got interested in learning more about the technique and found the following resources:

An article about the history of cloisonné beads by Sandra Paluzzi
The Art of Decorative Enameling
The Wikipedia entry of cloisonné
The Earliest Cloisonne Enamels from Cyprus by Dr. Panicos Michaelides - fascinating article on cloisonné artifacts from Cyprus that are over 3,000 years old.
Cloisonee Primer

Until later!

Cyberbeader

http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

2006-08-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

44,000-year-old Neanderthal Jewelry

Well, didn't you always know that we beaders are in one of the oldest professions? An archeological excavation in France has found evidence for jewelry made by Neanderthal men:

Neanderthals were much more advanced than has been thought, according to a new examination of finds from a famous cave site that indicates that the creatures designed and made their own jewellery.

It had been assumed ornaments found with their bones were "borrowed" from ancestors of modern humans, or copied. This is now believed to have been a mistake. [...]

...finds belonged to Neanderthals who lived there 44,000 years ago. That would mean they were making decorated bone points and items of jewellery before modern humans arrived in Europe from Africa.

The Independent, online edition, August 28, 2006

Cyberbeader
http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

Random Ruminations of a Beader

7 Reasons Why Squidoo Lenses Are Great

PamelaLove Beads Unlimited - Unique Handcrafted Jewelry

Pamela
Love Beads Unlimited - Unique Handcrafted Jewelry