Beadalon Blog

While we spend countless hours building relationships with our customers over phone and email, nothing beats meeting them in person. Tradeshows are usually the best way to meet face-to-face and develop new relationships as well. January – April are the busiest months for us as we’re all scattered throughout the country and Europe. We'll be attending the most important trade shows in the industry. Needless to say, we’re excited for the upcoming weeks and hope to see you there! Our first top stop is sunny Los Angeles, California for the CHA Winter show , January 29 - Feb. 1 st . Our CHA booth this year is the biggest yet, with several demonstration tables, free make & takes, and all of our most popular products on display. We’ll have over 10 feet of POG merchandising walls along with countless jewelry designs made with Beadalon products.  From LA we’re heading over to Tucson, AZ for the To Bead True Blue show , January 30 - February 4 th , at the Doubletree Hotel where

Your Beadalon Blog Team is on the road again! We're heading to Los Angeles for the Craft & Hobby Association Winter Conference & Trade Show AND the To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson. Watch for updates on our Facebook page, with full reports, photos and trend-spotting here on the blog when we return. We love going to the shows because it's a great place to meet you face-to-face. Please drop by our booths to see new products, ask questions and meet designers Lauren Andersen, Fernando Dasilva, Katie Hacker and Wyatt White. Craft & Hobby Association Winter Show Los Angeles, CA January 29 – February 1, 2011 To Bead True Blue Tucson, AZ January 30 – February 4, 2011

Beadalon has been a proud corporate sponsor of Beads, Baubles & Jewels since its beginning seven years ago. The show has a fresh, new look and Design Team Member Katie Hacker is now the host. Each show features a magazine-style format with intriguing projects and techniques from a variety of guest experts. Beads, Baubles & Jewels is available on public television stations nationwide. To find viewing times in your area, enter your zip code at BeadsBaublesandjewels.com . Of course, you can watch Katie's Beading Lessons anytime in the Design Workshop at Beadalon.com . The newest series is also now available on DVD from Interweave Press! 

Several of our Beadalon Design Team members are teaching workshops using SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS and Beadalon products at the CREATE YOUR STYLE event in Tucson , Jan. 31-Feb.4. Seats are still available, so register now! Encrusted Cuff by Fernando Dasilva Feb. 1, 1-3pm Learn how to customize a machine stamped suede bracelet using SWAROVSKI Flat backs and accent components to create an alluring fashion statement. Combining gluing and stringing, you will create a design that is delicate yet fierce, with an option of two color palettes. Comet Anemone Bracelet by Leslie Rogalski Feb. 2, 9am-noon Learn a fun and popular fringe technique as you create this lush, glittering bracelet. Easy to stitch SWAROVSKI Round or Xilion Beads size 4mm and size 8 seed beads make this project come together quickly. Fringes are added to beads strung on wire and finished with a stylish clasp. Modern Patina by Katie Hacker Feb. 3, 9am-noon An ancient color combination gets a modern update in this jewel

Sadly, my wire-wrapping journey has fallen by the wayside as my muse and my time are lacking these days. That doesn't mean I'm not still enjoying being surrounded by beady things all day! Beadalon offers thousands of products, and I find myself drawn to different ones for different reasons. My list of favorites seems to change all the time, but right now, these are my Top 5 Faves: 1. WildFire Beadweaving Thread I love all beading techniques and I love learning new things, but the thing I enjoy the most is stitching with seed beads. The WildFire Beadweaving Thread is my favorite thread. It's super strong, the color does not come off on my hands when I work with it, and it doesn't fray or split. Some tips: use dedicated, super-sharp scissors to cut it, and before you try to thread it in your needle, mash the end flat with chain nose pliers.   2. Sparkle Tools These are the perfect size for my small hands and the perfect tools for everything that I need. Customers

Last week, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Pat Sloan, the host of FaveCrafts Radio . There were a bunch of great guests from the craft world, including Mark Montano, Cathie Filian, Amy Barickman and Amy Anderson. It was a fun warm-up for the Craft & Hobby Association Winter Conference & Trade Show that takes place in Los Angeles later this month!   Of course, I talked about beads, jewelry making and Katiedids™ Creative Components. FaveCrafts.com invited me to participate because they have lots of my jewelry making project sheets in their collection of how-to's. Our Beadalon Design Team has contributed tons of projects to their archive of free, online projects. Have you checked them out yet? From the FaveCrafts website: FaveCraftsRadio is hosted by BlogTalkRadio and featured Host Pat Sloan. This lively lifestyle program treats listeners to creative ideas and featured guests and reporters who offer creative tips, project ideas, product reviews, tips about

It may not sound exciting to say I go to Cleveland twice a year, but I go there to tape a TV show! Here I am on the set of the PBS series, Beads, Baubles, and Jewels with host Katie Hacker. We're excited to be working together, can you tell? Katie is the host with the most, and makes it SO much more fun than ever. On the table are yummy new  "sunflower" Swarovski crystal fancy stones, which I show used in a beaded netting bezel technique. (You have to wait for the series to air before that project is available, sorry!) You know, I'm not usually a big yellow fan but this sunflower color is just brilliant and fiery. A true dazzler! Thanks to Beadalon, who sponsored my segments. I only use their WildFire beading thread for all my seed beading – all my beading, actually. Thanks to Swarovski for sending me samples of this fabulous new color, and to John Bead Company for the Miyuki Delicas I also used in this lesson. The series starts airing nationwide on public televis

Get your sparkle on with this bracelet that’s as fun to create as it is to wear. Make several so you can stack them on your arm for a look that’s purely fabulous! Materials & Tools • 6 Swarovski 8mm turquoise crystal cubes* • 9 Swarovski crystal AB heart pendant * • 5 Swarovski crystal AB bicone pendant * • 3 Swarovski 12mm peridot round crystal * • 1 Swarovski 12mm peridot bicone crystal * • 1 wood bangle with 45 rings * • 4 silver plated 1hole disc spacer – 522B-016 • 2 silver plated flower ear post • 2 silver plated round ear post • 4 silver plated spade ear post • 11 silver plated sexy tags – 322B-012 • 6 silver plated wide oval tags – 322B-010 • 8 silver plated closed heart charms – 348B-010 • 8 silver plated lightweight 4mm jump rings – 314B-015 • 45 silver plated 6mm jump rings – 314B-005 • 6 silver plated head pins – 312E-009 • 2 silver plated ball star head pins – 312B-110 • Beadalon ergo round nose pliers • Beadalon ergo chain nose pliers • Beadalon D

We're proud to announce the newest member of the Beadalon Design Team: Leslie Rogalski! You may already know her as the former editor of Step By Step Beads magazine and Beading Daily , and have seen her work published in countless other beading magazines. Leslie brings her expertise in beadwork and her style of creating beautiful bold designs using symmetry, balance and order. We're excited to have her join the team! “I love to play with materials and techniques, and to invent new designs. In every medium from seed beads to wire, my construction style is about architecture and balance, symmetry and order. My passion for making jewelry is as much about the journey and the process – it’s a meditative escape from the world – as the end result. I can spend days on a single design or complete something satisfying in under an hour. Making wearable art is sheer joy for me, and I am happiest when I can ignite the same passion in others.” Read more about Leslie, what inspir