Young Design Assistant

Today was a very special day....my god-daughter visited and she fell in love with our bead collection.  She was determined to create a special piece for a special person.  She would not leave our home until the necklace was finished.  So together with the guiding hand of Design Girl they completed the following piece.  I am biased but I think it is very funky....

NeckSpice Launch

Our hobby has officially turned into a lifetime passion...and now we are selling our creations.  We had so many lovely beads that we decided to have a "launch" of our 2010 collection during a swish morning tea in November.  It was so much fun to show our friends what we had been working on throughout the year.

NeckSpice Industrial Button collection

NeckSpice Kids Collection - very groovy

NeckSpice Resin...
a runaway success

Our husbands said that we did more socialising with our friends, drinking cups of tea and nibbling cake and pink biscuits than selling necklaces...that is not true!!  Our childrens range sold out and we are now busy making the 2011 childrens collection.  We have also bought some gorgeous beads for the adults range for 2011.  We are now busy making new designs with the aim of showing them in early 2011.  Keep peeking at our blog for updates on these new designs...but for now have a look at the pictures from our launch.



NeckSpice Ribbon Collection

  

YES...YES...we enjoyed the biscuits and tea too!!





November Creations from NeckSpice

Jane and I have been busy making a variety of beautiful necklaces - we have so many design ideas that our partners think we are "obsessed by beads".  Here is a sample of the November 2010 creations:

The way the sunlight bounces off these orange crystal drops is stunning

The ribbon collection comes in a variety of colours!!

Contact us for details of the other colours available

Aquamarine for Spring

I have had some great aquamarine beads sitting in my bead box for 18 months....I tried numerous designs and none seemed quite right.  Then Jane with fresh eyes looked at them, took them home and "fiddled" with some designs - she created the following necklace.  Just divine for Summer. See it is true when they say 2 girl brains are better than......

Aquamarine Spice for Summer

Then as our creative flow was happening we stumbled across some felt beads that I had sourced last year.  Jane was so taken with the colours that she has designed a whole range of multicoloured necklaces with these felt beads as her focus point.  Do you like them?  Let us know.

They are felt but look so so so real....brings back ones childhood

One of the designs in this new range

Elegant Pieces Rejuvenated

The news about our ability to rejuvenate jewellery is spreading.  Friends and family are now looking at favourite pieces of jewellery that might need an addition or some repair and bringing them to us for some TLC.  Have a look at these wonderfully exotic necklaces that we recently repaired for a friend.  It was fun and satisfying working on these 2 necklaces.  At the same time the colours have inspired us to create more multicoloured NeckSpice items.

 

Before

 

After ...the NeckSpice Magic







Sport and Jewellery

Is it possible for jewellery and sport to come together elegantly.  YES.  On Saturday 2nd Oct 2010 Melbourne found itself in the grip of AFL Grand Final Fever (again...).  Whilst Jane and I do not directly barrack for either Collingwood or St Kilda we have close family members who wanted to be decked out in black and white.  Inspired by their commitment to their team and because I adore black, white and red, I turned my attention to jewellery during the game.  YES...there were eyes rolling (sounds of disbelief that I would allow my eyes to wander from the honoured screen) as I toiled to create this necklace.  I am experimenting with a merger of the butterfly and the clove themes.

 
I have some sensational red silky wool that I am going to incorporate into the next necklace for obvious reasons.  Maybe Jane and I will try and do an AFL range of jewellery to bring a bit of stylish girl power to this sport....

A Bead Box Full of Colour

Jane had a beading frenzy this week and created a number of different necklaces.  Some incorporate her butterfly theme and some are just beautiful beads that she has found in her travels.  Please let us know what you think of the designs - are they colourful enough?

Look in the Necklaces for Sale page for more butterflys in this range

Whomper Beads

These are really our latest experiment - resin whomper beads as our kids call them.  They are large and ultra smooth to touch and have an unusual misty look.  We are going to mix them with a silky soft wool and see if our design works.  Keep watching our blog to see the finished product.

Butterfly Collection is Expanding

This week Jane has been experimenting with a variety of different colours and textures for the Butterfly Collection.  She has spent many happy hours coordinating beads and making some unique designs for the Collection.  Here is a sneak preview.

Our First Interstate Commission

We were so excited last week to receive some beautiful beads from a bead lover in the Australian Capital Territory.  The owner of the beads wanted to match a particular suit and could not find a ready made piece of jewellery.  She tracked down some sensational beads, sent them to us and we transformed them into a necklace, posted it back to her and she is thrilled with the result.  Have a look at the finished product.

Silky Seaweed String and the Peaceful Butterfly

So cold this afternoon that Jane and I locked ourselves inside and experimented with what my daughter calls "silky seaweed string".  It adds another dimension to the Clove range of necklaces.  Contemporary feel and yet it retains a soft feeling.

We love this silky addition to our range that we have decided

 to weave it into a number of the Clove designs.

Then we turned our attention to the butterfly necklace designs that have been occupying a lot of Jane's creative headspace.  She has taken a lot of time to design and perfect the most gorgeous and fun necklace.  Have a look and tell us what you think.  If you wish to order one of these for Summer let us know.

Peaceful Butterfly

Friends Visiting Melbourne Bring Inspiration

Necklace from the past

We have a very close friend and her family visiting today.  She brought with her one of the necklaces that I (Tania) made for her a few years ago.  The colours are sensational.  I have found some more of these beads tucked away in my beading box.  I think I might pull them out and do a few designs for Spring and Summer 2010...

Snow Inspired Creations

It has been the most beautiful week in the snow.  I saw some snow boarders wearing the colours that are reflected in this necklace.  This was made while I warmed my toes and weary body in front of a log fire.

Snowy Green inspired by my Thredbo surroundings

Thredbo Inspiration

 by Keith of Fauxtografix

Busy Week at the Snow

One of the NeckSpice designers took some time off last week to go to the snow.  Not content with the beautiful surroundings Tania took her beads and tools and created a few more pieces in the evenings.  Here are some of the finished creations captured by Keith of Fauxtografix.

One of the Clove necklaces draped artistically

over our light fitting in the Lounge

In the kitchen friends are creating a delicious post ski dinner
 with lots of different spices

Meanwhile in the Lounge Tania is busy creating
 a pink and dark red number

Keith captures the finished piece

Coloured Pearls

There is something calm about pearls.  They bring a sense of peace both to those weaving them into a beautiful piece of jewellery and the ultimate recipient of the finished piece of jewellery.  Here is my amber coloured resin, gold, and coloured pearl creation for today.

The result of a peaceful evening of beading

Spring Collection In the Making

Rainy afternoon...perfect for design meeting... and creation of another necklace.  This time it is a creation by Jane.  She has put an enormous amount of thought into the placement of the beads and their interaction regarding shape and colour. 

Jane made this for her 10 year old daughter but it could easily be worn by anyone. Sensational result.

Spice Up Your Existing Jewellery

I was given the most divine necklace from Jane for my *cough* 41st birthday *inaudible cough* and *sigh again*.  It was a tad too short so a few days ago I added some small amber beads to the back and then kept adding and adding and adding larger amber beads to the front on a whim until I ended up with this creation.  I have shown it to her and she loves it.

I think I have transformed a divine necklace into a work of art.  Is that possible?  Whenever I wear it I get so many positive compliments.  Good feedback is so nice. 

If you want me to add to an existing piece of jewellery to transform it email me at tania@neckspice.com.

Spring Colours

I have just had a call from a friend and she insists that I cannot only do black, grey and crystal.  OK OK ... I will look for other colours to inspire me.  I promised her that I would experiment with a "real" colour.  Have a look and tell me whether this is "Spring" enough...would non Melbournians give me the golden tick?

Pearls and crystal in progress - it will be 3 strands with ...

... removable pieces that can be worn as a ring

Buttons Are Beautiful Too

I love to sew and remodel clothes.  One day I was in a specialist button shop in Melbourne - they have an amazing collection of buttons and clips.  I thought the "industrial" buttons were very funky and would suit a necklace.  It is strange but I now look at things with the brief in mind "can I convert that into a necklace".  Unusual, fun and often challenging.  Here is the result.

Winter in Melbourne

While I am frantically preparing the Spring collection I noticed that it was 11 degrees in sunny Melbourne today.  Our grass is covered with sno......flowers!  Does this mean I should stop making black and grey creations and switch to brighter colours?  I love black, crystal and grey - I would wear them every day if I could.  I think that is why I have ended up in Melbourne.

Does Crystal count as another colour?

Fiddling with Pearls

I have been inspired to look at pearls and how they interact with resin and crystal beads in a necklace situation.  The beauty is that the pearls give a "dressed up" feeling to the necklace while the resin and crystal make the necklace at 2010 piece.  Have a look and let me know what you think about this style.

The extra pearl pieces are like the rings of Saturn and can be removed so that the necklace has a more streamlined look for some occassions and a heavier look for others. 

These pearl removable pieces can also be worn as a ring!!

This necklace is super clever - I have attached 3 strands but each can

be removed to create 3 different looks - multifunction necklace for multitasking women.

2010 Collection for Spring

Resin, crystal and glass with silver encased in glass beads from Italy

Resin, metal and pearl with a few lava beads for texture

While the weather is cold I am marshaling my enthusiasm for staying indoors and making more beautiful creations.  The wool necklaces are now in black and grey - so soft and the colours are sensational.  I liked the grey so much that I am experimenting with crystal and resin for a dramatic look for Spring.  Then I stumbled across a "lava" bead which is just gorgeous - the texture is sensational - photos do not do them justice.  Friends who have seen these necklaces want them now - said they cannot wait for Spring.  I better get some more beads....

Experimenting with Wool and Beads

Fell in love with the most beautiful wool that has silk bauble type pieces woven into the strands. Soft, glamourous and funky all at once. Mix this with resin beads and you have a unique creation. I have made 2 in black - one is mine and I will never give it away - I wear it so often and the comments are uplifting. The other I made a few weeks ago for a friend as she was so kind in driving Design Girl all the way to camp.  Then I experimented with grey and black - so warm and stylish!

Have a look and see what you
think of this design.