Handmade Designer Necklace - Ashanti Beads from Ghana, West Africa

The brass beads in the necklace above are made by the Ashanti people in Ghana, West Africa. They use the lost wax method or casting to produce such finely detailed patterns in their beads.  It is a difficult and time consuming process that dates back to Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. It is a boon to those of us who make necklaces to incorporate such fine, labor intensive beads into our product.

Other beads in this necklace are blue dyed or real coral which are the small spacers, and petrified palm tree teardrops.  Comments and questions about this necklace can be directed to barbadner@gmail.com

Handmade Designer Necklaces - Amber, Copal, and Bakelite

Of all the gemstones I think true amber is the most difficult to identify. A reputable amber dealer is the only place to buy old amber.

Old Amber is rare. Colors are black, Baltic transparent, and shades of red, orange and yellow. It is light weight and when it is rubbed the it can pick up a piece of paper. Sometimes insects are trapped in the amber.

Amber substitutes can be old, beautiful, and expensive.  They come in the same colors as old amber. Copal is a fossilized resin found in Tanzania and the Congo. It is not as old as true amber but it old enough to become partially fossilized. The Africans treasure it and believe it has powers of healing.
Bakelite can be identified by rubbing it until it becomes warm.  It will have a medicinal smell.  Bakelite is an early plastic and is very desirable to collectors.

There are also cheap plastic imitations of amber. If the amber looks like a bargain, it is probably some sort of plastic.  Buy it if you like it and be sure you pay for plastic, not amber.
Anyone know the composition of the amber colored stones above?

Handmade Designer Necklace: Mid Century Wearable Art Movement by Paul Lobel

Paul Lobel, 1899- 1983 worked in Greenwich Village, New York City . He was a talented artist, sculptor,glass, furniture and jewelry designer. He designed the mid century modern sterling silver necklace shown in the above picture.  This is jewelry as sculpture. A bold statement formed from  repeating sections, each section curved to fit the neck. It is balanced, simple and dramatic. It can be seen on the website www.trocadero.com.

Handmade Designer Necklace - Fresh Water Cultured pearls and Murano Glass

This unique necklace shines and shimmers. A plain dress, or a very low cut dress become the background for the white pearls and silver Murano Glass. Pearl and silver Murano Glass Earrings to match are available..  Custom made to fit the owner. Earrings and necklace $350.  If there is anyone out there who wants to give a very special gift, or has questions, contact me through the comments section of this blog.
 

Handmade Designer Necklace -Bead Weaving by Alyce

Alyce was working on this gorgeous necklace at our last "bead and feed" meeting and I thought you would like to see a work in progress. She weaves tiny glass seed beads into  flowers and leaves and then attaches them to make this beautiful bouquet. It is a labor of love as it takes hours to make.
We have a wonderful beading/ art group that meets weekly during the summer.  Many of us are artists and necklace designers. Our work is different and we support and critique each other.  No lying is allowed! If you ask for comments you get them , like it or not.

Ooh-la-la! French Victorian jet necklace

How about this extravaganza! I found it on the website
morninggloryjewelry.com.
What I know about jet is that it is made from fossilized coal,is found in Great Britain, was very popular in Victorian times, and it was often worn for mourning.
There are many black stones.  To the casual observer they all look alike.  it takes a gemologist to identify the differences of onyx, jet and jaspar.
Anyone out there like to add to my knowledge?

Handmade Designer Necklace -Silver,Vintage Murano Glass, Swarovski crystal

Another necklace in the Pipedream collection.  A slender necklace of silver pipes separated by clear Swarovski crystal.  The center geometric drop is of vintage Murano glass, red and frosted glass, and black Swarovski crystals. This piece is light to wear and can be worn as a choker or a pendent. $65.00.

Handmade Designer Necklace - Combining Opaque and Transparent Glass

 

The necklace above is one of the series of "Pipe Dreams" . The blue vintage Murano glass beads form a centerpiece that is the focal point of the necklace. The sterling silver and crystal add sparkle but do not intrude on the centerpiece.  I love color and each " Pipe Dream" is a different color combination.  In the necklace above, the centerpiece is monochromatic.  All the beads are the same tone, but the small beads are opaque and the larger center bead is clear blue glass.

People worry that a necklace with color will not go with many outfits.  I say - not true! This blue color can accent any outfit.  It is especially good if you have a tiny bit of blue in a scarf or  a little sparkle of blue in your eyes or in your earrings.  Picture this necklace with chartreuse or yellow with matching blue clear glass earrings.  Perfect!

New Handmade Designer Necklaces; Lightweight , Colorful and Sexy !.

Have fun wearing "Pipe Dream" necklaces.They are made of sterling silver, vintage Murano glass, and Swarovski Crystal.   The centerpieces come in triangular, circular, and. teardrop shapes.

All colored beads are from a private collection of Murano glass beads circa 1950-1970. Textures of these beads are satin, granular, matte, transparent glass and opaque glass.

Colors are fabulous . Coral and white pearl, bright yellow and white polka dot, fuchsia and peach, turquoise and wedgewood blue, olive chartreuse and red, and white, black and red.  They come in small and large sizes and can be made to order.

Each necklace comes with earrings. Chartreuse earrings enhance the necklace shown above.

They're eye candy!  Price range is $65.00-$125.00 for necklaces $35.00 for earrings - a bargain! Custom size and colors can be ordered for an additional $25.00.

If you want more information, or are interested in purchasing  necklaces or earrings, please send your contact information to me in the" Comment" space below and I will get back to you. Free Shipping. Full refund if returned in 10 days.

The Amazing, Creative Sent Sisters

About a year ago I was in Venice walking in the Dorsoduro area and bemoaning the fact that it had radically changed since my previous visit.  Gone were the butcher, the baker, the green grocer, the fish market , all the shops that make the area a home. In it's place were jewelry stores that  sell similar new Murano glass jewelry.

Then , magic!  I turned a corner and there was a  beautiful display which included a large glass piece that is impossible to describe.  Inside was the necklace above. and more glass creations.

The necklaces are made of simple inexpensive materials.  In the necklace above, the clear glass balls of diverse sizes are inexpensive.  It is the way they are put together that makes it a work of art. Ordinary materials are transformed by great design.


The sisters, Marina and Susanna came from a Murano glass blowing family and they have talent.
You can visit their store vicariously by going to the website www.marinaesusannasent.com  A simpler bubble necklace is sold at MOMA in NYC for $115.  Other of their work is on the website www.whatinternational.com

AFRICAN BEADS on BBC. PROGRAM CALLED "GHANA'S ANCIENT BEADS"

April 16 or 17,2010 the British Broadcasting Company did a program on African Beads from Ghana.  The program is called "Inside Africa" and the segment  is "Ghana's Ancient Beads Back in Vogue".  You can see it on cnn.com/inside Africa. Not only do you learn about beads, the program is an interesting quick visit to Ghana.

Some of the quotes were "" It's not just colors. Where i'm from, if you wear something like blue it's purity,white is fertility, gold is wealth. I know what it means so it is precious to me." Tairee

There is a "culture of sankofa in Ghana." It means "go back and retrieve what you've left behind".  Ernestina Anafu, bead shop owner . She was referring to the long history of beads in Ghana. The gold color Bodum glass beads, shown in the adner-bergart.com necklace above, represented weath and were owned by African kings. They are at least 100 yrs old. The turquoise center bead and the rectangular olive green beads are new recycled glass beads .  The turquoise glass beads are Czech circa 1920 and the rust satin finish beads are Murano glass circa 1950.

Handmade Designer Necklace - Mali? Ceramic and Recycled Ghanian Glass Beads

I promise!  This is the last blog about the black ceramic gift beads(see blog below).  After struggling to do justice to the gift of ceramic beads and completing the task to my satisfaction, I noticed these rectangular olive green and maroon Ghanian recycled glass beads lying around .  I couldn't resist, and I combined them with the black ceramic beads from Mali and added Czech  round light and dark green glass circa 1920 and olive green satin finish  Murano glass circa 1950. It took no time at all. Guess what - it sold immediately! What is the moral of this story?

Design #3- Handmade Designer Necklace of African Beads, Vintage Murano Beads and Kingman Mine Turquoise

Well, I am finally satisfied.

My friend gave me a strand of large, black ceramic beads with an incised pattern including the one in the center of the necklace shown above.  She was working in Liberia, and purchased them there, but was not sure where they were made. I was told by an expert on African beads that they could be from Mali or Burkina Faso.

Jan .21 2010 was the first blog about these beads. It showed  them combined with large brass beads and amber colored beads from Tibet.   It was o.k. but not exciting.

I tried again combining the large beads with ebony beads with inlaid silver, frosted white Vintage Murano glass beads, and turquoise spacers from the Kingman mine in Arizona.

The new materials were an improvement but the necklace remained too clunky. See March 4 2010 blog.

It took awhile to realize the materials and colors were good but the design needed to be simplifed.  By removing two of the large beads, and some of the frosted beads the problem was solved.

Justice was done to my wonderful gift and it is finally a well designed necklace.  Hope you like it!

Handmade Designer Necklace - Gemstones of Lapis and Variscite, Spiny Oyster and Vintage Murano Glass

The color combination in necklace above was inspired by  Native American jewelry. The colors in this necklace are the analogous colors of blue, green  and turquoise with orange as a contrasting color.  It works!


The long beads are lapis lazuli . I think the lapis in the necklace above is from Afghanistan. It is a clear bright blue and has tiny specs of pyrite in it .There are three round vintage satin finished blue Murano glass beads, and rondelles of turquoise, green variscite, and orange spiny oyster.

The Spiny oyster is a genus of  bivalve mollusk called spondylus. It comes in red, orange, purple and rarely yellow.  It is harvested from the Sea of Cortez , Baja Mexico. I love the orange color shown above. It is relatively expensive, so I use it infrequently.

The variscite is a phosphate mineral found in Utah and Nevada in the USA, Queensland in Australia, Germany and Brazil.  It is a wonderful shade of medium blue green. Variscite is hard to find.  This too is used infrequently.

Native American Jewelry can  be seen on the website www.pueblodirect.com .  They describe themselves as"highest quality Native American Arts at the very best prices. The jewelry looked high quality to me.
The necklace pictured above may be purchased by sending a request through the comment section of this blog.  Price is $295

Handmade Designer Necklaces of Modernist Betty Cook

A friend from Baltimore Maryland introduced me to the necklaces of Betty Cook. My friend lived near her shop called The Store Ltd. in the village of Cross Keys, and  purchased many necklaces there.  The necklaces my friend owns are geometric structures made from silver and gold tubes.  They are light of scale and wander asymmetrically over the neck and torso.

The Betty Cook necklace above is on sale on the website http://www.auerbachmaffia.com. It is item 683462.  This is a website  with  an extensive collection of modernist jewelry and art for sale. I highly recommend it.

Marbeth Schon, an authority on Modernist and contemporary jewelry, calls Betty Cook an "icon within the tradition of Modernist Jewelry".  The sculptural  Betty Cook necklace shown  above is wood and silver on leather cord. It is an example of the adage less is more. More of her necklaces can be seen on M. Schon 's website, www.mschon.com.  Betty Cook's store in Baltimore, The Store Ltd. is still in Business.  I like her aesthetic.

Handmade Designer Necklace Made From Tibetan Agate and Sterling Silver

This necklace is one of my favorite creations.  I love wearing it. It enlivens black and goes with many colors as long as the tone is the same strength as the tone of the colors in the necklace.  The beads are  from Tibet and are  agate.  The striped beads are an off white and  I am told they are smoked to make the stripe.  The mustard and rust beads are mottled .
For questions or comments about this necklace, use the comments section below or the one on necklacesbyadner.com.  More information about this necklace can be found on necklacesbyadner.com.

The Design of a Handmade Necklace Using African beads, Turquoise, and Vintage Murano Glass

A friend found the large black ceramic beads with incised pattern shown above when she was working in
 Liberia. I went to work on the beads hoping to create a necklace worthy of them. The result is the necklace above which combines ebony and silver rondelles with turquoise spacers from the Kingman mine in Arizona, blackish ceramic beads, and frosted white vintage Murano glass. An exotic combination to say the least. However, I am not happy with it.  Although I tried many renditions, this is the best of my attempts.

The interesting thing about a design is you know when it is right. I might give it one more try with larger stronger beads.  Maybe big round recycled beads from Ghana.  Any suggestions?   

Handmade designer necklace -beadweaving

This handmade designer necklace, that forms a collar around the base of the neck,  is a wonderful example of beadweaving. It is made from tiny seed beads and woven into a bargello pattern.  It is monochromatic, shading from aqua to teal to emerald green. It can be seen at www.emeraldjewellery.co.uk

Contemporary hand dyed Mali Textiles at The Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco

There is a great exhibit of contemporary Mali textiles showing gorgeous, colorful,  hand dyed  fabrics and machine made fabrics at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco,www.mocfa.org . The exhibit continues until May 2 ,2010.
The gift shop is listed in "the San Francisco Book" as on of the city's top museum gift shops and is well worth checking out.The website for the store is store@mocfa.org

African Beads -Ebony, Inlaid Silver, and Boaly

More purchases from The Tucson Bead Show are shown above. The black beads shown above are ebony inlaid with silver. The brass beads were made in Mali and I think they are called boaly.

African Trade Beads from the Tucson Bead Show

I just returned from the Tucson Bead Show, which is enormous, exhausting and exhilarating to say the least!  There are buildings upon buildings, booths upon booths, and tables piled high with beads, precious stones, pearls and more. Before I traveled to Tucson, I spent a lot of time on line figuring out what vendors might interest me and where they were located.  Still, I only made it to one building. The first day I found little that interested me.

The second day I found the needle in the haystack!  Five years ago I met an African bead trader.  He carried many one of a kind antique beads that were from all over Africa.  Somehow, I lost contact with him and had no idea how to find him.  I walked into a tent behind the large show and saw a huge table piled with African beads..  It was such a fabulous collection and behind the table was my friend, Abubakar!  Better yet, he remembered my name. 

I bought the beads shown above.  The large blue and turquoise glass beads were made in Holland at least 100 yrs old.  They are African trade beads from Ethiopia.

I also bought the milky wedgewood blue strand of beads. These also are at least 100 years old. They were made in Mali and are called Dogon

Both necklaces are expensive. For the same amount of money I could have purchased fine semi precious stone beads.  People understand the cost of fine quality semi precious stones, but it is a little difficult to explain the cost of these rare, crude beautiful blue beads. What appeals to me is the history of the beads, their rarity and uniqueness.  You can always buy another turquoise, but it is hard to find 100 year old beads.

Journal of African Beads from Ghana

Learn about  beads, bead makers, artists, and history related to beads in Ghana from the colorful and interesting journal published by Tanya Jardi Kordylas called "Ahene". Ahene means beads in Twi, a local dialect in Ghana spoken by the Akan tribe. You can reach Tanya on ahenejournal@hotmail.com  and she will forward a copy to you.

 As you can see from the necklace above designed by Adner-Bergart with beads from Ghana , there are many styles of beads produced in Ghana.  There is new powdered glass, recycled glass, new patterned glass, Ashanti brass, and many old beads still available. Ghana is the center of beadmaking in Africa. "Ahene" is a wonderful resource of information about Ghanian beads.

The necklace shown above is from the website adner-bergart.com,

African Beads

My friend Ellen had a project in Liberia, Africa .  She gave me these wonderful beads that she found in the marketplace there.   It was such a special gift and  I want to make a necklace that will make the large black and white beads look wonderful.  I have tried silver and red glass beads, spiny oyster.  This rendition is simpler than the others.  The yellow beads are Tibetan agate and the large bicone beads are Ethiopian hand made brass.  These Liberian beads are tricky because of their weight and size. Any suggestions out there in cyberspace?
I am working so hard on this necklace because it will be used as a fundraiser to help a boy Ellen met in Liberia who suffered terrible burns.  The Shriners have agreed to take him in their burn center in Boston, but he will need clothes and sundries while he is here.
Tanya, publisher of the" Ahene " journal has informed me that the black beads are made in Barkina Faso and Mali, and the bicone brass beads come from Nigeria or maybe the Cameroon.
Tany

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

The turquoise stones in this necklace come from the Sleeping Beauty Mine in Globe Arizona.  The turquoise from this mine is a beautiful, bright color and has no matrix.  I purchased these stones at TheTucson Gem and Mineral and Gem show a few years ago.

There are gems,minerals and beads from around the world.  The show is in many locations around the city of Tucson, Arizona.  Tables are piled high with gemstones, pearls, semi precious stones and everything you can imagine.  The last time I was there I purchased wedgewood blue calcedony , rainbow moonstones, turquoise, green opals, sterling silver, coral, Ethiopian brass beads and the turquoise you see in the necklace above. Mindboggleing is the word to describe it!

I am going to the show this year in early February. If you want to find more about it , the website is www.tucson-gem-show.org

Bead weaving - Handmade Designer Necklace

Every once in awhile a necklace takes on another dimension. To me, this handmade designer necklace looks like the motion of an iridescent stream of water. The body of this necklace is woven from tiny glass seed beads. A strand of iridescent Swarovski Crystal is  threaded through the the woven openings. It takes patience, perseverance and time to weave a fine necklace

My friend Alyce is the creator of this masterpiece. Her hands are so capable, whether she is weaving a necklace or making  baklava.