Out of the Lab and onto the Jewelry Designer's Bench

 Those new to Jewelry design usually begin with simple components - Czech glass and plated metal beads, stringing wire, crimp beads and a clasp.  But as they soon discover, beading includes a wide array of options that often surprise and inspire the designer to attempt new techniques and materials.  Often, they are surprised to learn the background of some of the materials commonly used.  For instance, iKandies often uses boro glass in its designs.  Boro glass teardrops were used in our Copper Leaf and Glass Autumn Necklace and boro glass cubes were used in our Raspberry Seed Bead and Boro Glass Necklace.  What is boro glass?  


Boro glass is borosilicate glass, a type of glass that consists of about 10% boric oxide. The boric oxide makes the glass resistant to extreme temperatures, and also improves its resistance to chemical corrosion. This glass is very popular in the manufacture of scientific instruments and in the scientific lab. This glass is also used for reflecting telescope glass mirror components because the optical surfaces change very little with temperature fluctuations, resulting in very precise measurements.


Borosilicate glass is thought to have been created by a German glassmaker in the 19th century. In 1915 a famous line of borosilicate kitchen products was released under the Pyrex label.  Borosilicate glass is usually without color, but colored borosilicate was introduced into the market in 1986 and is used by jewelry design artists today.

Acrylics are Hot!

iKandies just sold two of our acrylic flowers and leaves necklaces. They have been a popular item at the artfairs we've participated in this summer and now they're gaining popularity on Etsy. Take a look and let us know what you think...

We're designing  more of these beautiful necklaces for our Etsy site.  We thought it might be fun to show these "creations" in progress..

The first step is to select the color pallet. In this case, Debi chose these colors, with the focus on the pastel pinks and green.  Spring Green seed beads, size 6, were selected as the base for the necklace.

After stringing the base to a desired length using the seed beads and Fireline, Debi added a small loop at one end with smaller seed beads. This will be one half of the "clasp" that will keep the necklace closed. 

Then she began laying out the leaves and flowers and attaching them.

Not only is color important, but equally important is the placement of the components on the base, the sizes of the leaves and flowers that are selected, the textures and the variety of shapes.  Acrylic birch and japanese leaves were used along with pansies, trumpet and five-petaled flowers. Some of the larger flowers were crowned with smaller cup shaped flowers creating a whole new flower resembling a tulip.

Most of the leaves and flowers have a matte finish and some of the trumpet flowers have been hand dipped into pastel contrasting colors making them appear to be more life like.

Check our website iKandies or our  Etsy site where our newest acrylic flowers and leaves necklaces will soon appear!  By the way, matching earrings are available, too!  Enjoy! 

iKandies is blogging again!

Well, it's been a long time since I posted on iKandies Beads on the Block blog. Been working on our website and Etsy site, and boy, did they need a remake!  Our website, iKandies, has been reduced to just a few informational pages.  A sample of our jewelry designs that are for sale appear on the home page but traffic is being redirected to our Etsy site.  The iKandies site provides information about our company, our designers and our shop policies.  We also feature new designs we've added to the Etsy site. 
   Over 60 items are now available for sale on our Etsy site.  We've added newer, more descriptive photos of our designs.  We are featuring a sale at least once a month and are offering special coupons for first time buyers once they make a purchase. 

Abalone and Sterling Necklace

Fall Acrylic Necklace

Here's a sample of two of our newer listings:






We plan to add new items on a regular basis so please visit  iKandies and our Etsy shop today!