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!

About Our Designers... Featuring Debi's Designs

Debi, my sister and one of ikandies designers, was the first to join me in using jewelry design to express our creativity.

Debi is shown here working on her acrylic  "Fall Garden" necklace.

She started creating her own necklaces as accessories for special occasions. Friends commented on her jewelry and so she began beading for others. Many of her necklaces feature gemstones combined with seed beeds or Swarovski crystals. She favors the "chunky" necklace look and says that she's more inspired if she's beading while at the beach, one of her favorite vacation spots!

Her husband created this wonderful tray that transforms her workshop into a portable one.

She has used her love of Swarovski crystals and Vintaj Brass to create several vintage styled necklaces.  Here's one of her favorites:





Debi has attended classes at the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee for the past several years to learn new skills in metal smithing, chain maille and lampworking.

About Our Designers... Jill's Designs

Crochet Hook + Seed Beads = Bead Crochet?


Watermelon Seed Necklace

Crochet with beads?   That's right!  And Jill, one of ikandies' designers and my sister-in-law, has become an expert at it.  She picked up the technique for her "Watermelon Seed Necklace" by watching Karla Shafer of Auntie's Beads demonstrate how to add beads to wire and crochet a simple necklace.  Jill strung Swarovski crystals in greens and pinks on green artistic wire and joined several crocheted stands together to create this piece.

She also learned how to crochet seed beads into a rope-like necklace that gently spirals the length of the rope. Jill used turquoise, black and cream colored seed beads to fashion her "Twisted Turquoise" necklace, shown below:

Twisted Turquoise



Green Wave Bracelet

Jill has found "Karla Cams" on the Auntie's Beads website very helpful in learning other techniques, such as the two-row flat spiral stitch.  She used that to creative this beautiful bracelet in seed beads and crystals:

Jill looks for beads at local stores and various Internet sites but prefers to purchase her beads from Auntie's Beads or Fusion Beads.

Jill has attended the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee and taken classes in metal working and lampworking.  Here's Jill in her "workshop" dreaming of another project...

The Earring Project

"Whimsical", "fanciful", "fun".  These were all words I heard when I wore a pair of mesh drop earrings to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show earlier this year.  Debi and I had fun with this recent project!



They are easy to assemble but we found only one vendor who carries the mesh ear drops, Shipwreck Beads.  We sent a picture of the earrings to a local woman's boutique, A Woman's Whimsy, and were asked to send several pairs to be included in the store's merchandise. 

So began "The Earring Project".  

We selected several mesh drop finishes, the Swarovski crystals and Czech glass that we would include in each pair and began assembling.  Ten pairs later, we headed out to the store and handed over our wares.

In addition to different finishes, we also came up with two techniques in which to feature our crystals.  In the next image you'll see design #2.  The crystals are threaded on Softflex wire and woven in and out of the mesh drop.  Approximately 50 beads were used for this pair.

To see more of our Mesh Drop earrings, please visit our Etsy site: ikandies Etsy site

Our First ArtFair!

I was just showing a friend some pictures from the University in the Park ArtFair we participated in this past August, and decided to blog about this experience since it was our first artfair.

First we had to decide what pieces of jewelry to display. Then we worked on displaying them, locating a place for piece in the display, designing a tagging system for each piece, setting a fair price.. well, you get the picture.  Debi purchased two louvered bi-fold doors at garage sales and repainted them.    Debi's husband made stands for the doors to keep them from falling over.  We planned to use branches from a cherry tree randomly inserted  between the louvers of the doors to display our necklaces.

We arrived at the artfair site at 6:30am to begin setup of our table and the bi-fold doors.We draped many of our chain necklaces from our Leaf and Flower collections over the branches.  We added a small bare tree on our display table and hung smaller items - bracelets and earrings - from that.  We also had several necklace displays setup to feature a few of our unique designs.

Although the day was hot, there was an occasional breeze that caused  the necklaces to sway as they hung suspended from their respective branches.  This caught the eye of many passersby.  We gave our shoppers the opportunity to try the jewelry on and when we finally made a sale, we were thrilled!



Lovered door displays



We also took the time to walk through the artfair and visit with other vendors.  This gave us a better idea of how to improve our displays and market our jewelry.  Ideas are already percolating for our next artfair.  And believe us, there will be more!!



 

Table top displays

   

                          

Fall Flower Garden

I just posted my latest creation on our Etsy site, "Fall Flower Garden Necklace".  Debi, my sister and one of the ikandies designers, and I saw a similar necklace in a recent issue of Bead and Button Magazine. We hadn't worked much with Lucite, and the flower and leaf combination inspired us.  So we began our search for the perfect Lucite flowers.  The best selections were found on Etsy sites, where we purchased some beautiful hand dyed flowers from Groovy Chick Supplies and leaves from Silk Studio.  We made two necklaces, mine in fall colors and Debi's in purples and blues.  Mom saw Debi's necklace and fell in love with it, so Debi decided to make her a one. We made our purchases from Bellas Beads and More and JJBugs Beads.  Although Bellas Beads and More do not advertise discounts or free items, they added about 10 "free" flowers and leaves to my order.  Groovy Chick Supplies states in the Policy section of their Etsy site that they'll include a few extras in orders over 30 items and they offer to sell larger quantities at a discount.  Be sure to check all these sites if you're looking for high quality Lucite flowers and leaves in translucent and matte finishes!

iKandies' Beads On the Block Posts its First Entry!

Welcome to ikandies' first blog post on Beads on the Block!  Who is ikandies' and why was Beads on the Block created?  ikandies is a website showcasing custom designed jewelry for the discriminating customer looking for truly unique accessories.  Using jewelry components such as Swarovski crystals, pearls, Czech glass, sterling silver, copper, gunmetal, gemstones and more, we have created jewelry that is "not only visually appealing, but also unique."  Our designs include simple bead stringing, bead stitching and weaving, metal working, and wire wrapping.  We have also incorporated unique objects into some of our designs including electro plated "real" leaves, copper washers, sheet metal and watch parts. You can visit our website at ikandies or our Etsy site ikandies Etsy Shop.   We can be reached by email at kkrizzy@hotmail.com

We created this blog for two reasons:

• To help you learn more about us, projects we're working on, classes we're taking to learn new skills, new jewelry components we're experimenting with, and much more. 
• To share with you all the wonderful bead stores we've visited, where to find good bargins when buying beads and supplies, who is selling unique components, and the bead shows you don't want to miss.

Please be patient as we get the ball (or should I say "bead") rolling on this blog!