wire loops - how to

Making loops is an important skill for any jewelry maker to master, especially if you want to make earrings.  We have jewelry making classes in our Denver bead store location, as well as at our bead store in Greeley, and we're more than happy to help you anytime!  

Head pins - are straight pins with a disc, ball or other fancy shape at one end.  You can use these to create dangles or as the last bead in a series. 

Eye pins - are straight pins with a loop at the end.  You can use eye pins when you're planning on connecting multiple pieces together. 

How to make a simple loop:

1. slide bead on pin
2. cut pin down so that the excess is 1/4" to 3/8"
3. use your fingers to bend the wire to a 90* angle
4. using your round nose pliers, grasp the end of the wire (where you cut), and roll your pliers towards the bend, creating your loop (make sure your loop is closed all the way so that your ear wire or other pieces don't slide out)
5. you can open and close these loops just like you would a jump ring (clockwise or counterclockwise)

How to make a wire wrapped loop:

1. slide bead on pin
2. use your chain nose pliers to create a 90* angle, 1/4" above the bead
3. use your round nose pliers to form a loop with the rest of the wire crossing over the bend
4. wrap the excess wire tightly around the 1/4" space you created
5. wrap all the way down to the bead and trim any extra wire 

 <3 anne.

Kody's custom wire wrapped piece

Kody has been doing some custom wire wraps lately and yesterday she brought in a steam punk inspired piece that is just fantastic.  It's sterling silver wire and copper wire around a beautiful Boulder Opal that she got here, that we got from the Tucson Gem show last year.  The chain is a gunmetal chain that we carry, it is nickel and lead free, so it's hypoallergenic, which is nice. 

I love when customers come in and bring the things they've made. It's so inspiring to see what they've done. Linda brought in three necklaces that she's made in the last few months.

She sure does love her agate beads! She got the beads on the right and left sides from us and the ones in the middle came from a Denver bead show last fall. Such lovely work!

Branching Out - wire wrapped tree

A new class! I love new jewelry making and wire wrapping classes! I love our old ones too, but this new one is so cute! The wire wrapped tree, or wire wrapped tree of life, it goes by a lot of different names, is fairly popular, and fun to learn.

Whoooo doesn't just love this little tree? You'll learn to work with square wire to create the frame for your tree pendant and we'll use thin round wire to create the tree from roots to branches. The leaves are made with bead chips and you can add a little owl or bird charm. Level: Beginner. Cost: $20 Saturday, June 16th

New chalkboard sign

I've talked about my dislike of the chalkboard sign before. So I found a solution, one of our super fun customers agreed to do the sign for me! And she did a fabulous job!

Look at how cute it is! I love the beads she did. Thanks Sarah!

Barb's glass pendant + Lu's wrapped shells

Barb took the Mixed Media pendant class a few weeks ago and then stopped by to see us at the Denver County Fair. Check out what she made!





She used metallic photo paper under that glass tile! And glitter. LOVE!

Luretha took a caged stone class a few weeks ago and made a beautiful piece, and has expanded her wire wrapping prowess to seashells.





It makes us sooo happy when our friends bring in their projects to share with us!

part of the book - I don't know which chapter

I've decided that eventually, I'll write a book about my experiences opening a retail store. Some of the chapters - "what to do about parking, and how to tow gracefully," "responses when someone asks you what you paid wholesale for something so they can figure out your markup," and today's chapter "find people you trust."

Find people you trust

This can be hard, in life in general. However, having people in your industry or even just general business professionals, whether they're graphic designers, marketing professionals, accountants, a really good printer repairman, etc, I've found to be vital. I don't know how I would have made this journey without them. Well, maybe I do, it would have been not nearly as awesome and significantly harder.

First, I'm lucky because some of my biggest and most trustworthy supporters are my parents. And they've got skills! My mom has owned a business with my step-dad for a very long time and they're quite successful and have been a huge help. My mom is my go to accountant and employee problem solver. My dad owns a bead/leather supply store called Old West Leather and Beads; it's been around since 1988. He gave me a lot of great contacts, where to buy this or that and how much to pay for it.

I've also found friends at other bead stores who were willing to share. The best though, by far, is Dave at The Bead Monkey in St. Paul/Minneapolis. I contacted them about carrying some of their great project kits (I carry them, as an fyi). They're a great bead store; they have a TON of classes (many of which the Colorado Bead Company's classes find their inspiration in), they're clean and well lit and have a great team of Bead Monkeys. :D I also like to call them Bead Monkeys. I should come up with something to call Kody... bead kitten? I'm not sure, I'll work on that. I've never been to the store, but if you're ever in the St. Paul or Minneapolis area, stop in, check things out, tell them I said hello! They have a fun facebook too.

<3anne