Get out of the comfort zone, beader!

Here are some ideas, how to do it.

I think it doesn’t matter if it’s our job or our hobby to play with beads, one thing is the same for every one of us: the desk full of colourful, tiny treasures is our happy place, and the bead shop we go to meet our friends and to spend our pocket money is the Paradise on Earth. We (secretly) leave there sums which may seem shocking to outsiders, just because the new Swarovski Elements colours got announced (Raise your hand if you managed to resist Crystal Metallic Sunshine or you do not want to purchase any of the semi-mat cabochons of the latest season.), and may prefer a calm evening with some one-of-a-kind semi-precious stones instead of a wild night out in the town.

Because of all this it’s easy to get homey and comfortable in our little bead world… maybe even too much. But if you want to get better and you want to learn new techniques and stitches, you need to leave your comfort zone. I collected some ideas on how to take the next step. And I can promise, it won’t be always pleasant. You may even shed some blood along the way (beware of the Tulip needles, it hurts when you accidentally pierce yourself under the nail), but believe me, it will feel worth when you master the new skill, hold the freshly finished piece in your hand or get all those compliments when you wear it.

 

Ideas for beaders to leave the comfort zone

1. Work with a funny shaped bead you haven’t tried yet! For me it would be Bi-Bo, Bulb beads, Infinity or One beads. There are plenty of those out on the market which didn’t reach their full potential yet. Who knows, maybe you will be the one who finally makes it popular with a new, interesting design!?

2. Set yourself a challenge. You can reorganise your beads, learn to do bead-crochet or finish a project you started to work on ages ago. Remember to set a deadline for the task! Then write it down, and stick to it. A little tip: it helps to take the deadline seriously if you share it with your friends. You can do it right here in a comment. I already wrote it down 🙂

3. Reach for the scary! Select the colour which seemingly doesn’t fit into your palette, then try to come up with a combination you like. (And maybe get inspired with the #beadworkcolorflash.) Does yellow seem scary to you? Or is fuchsia totally out of your comfort zone? Open up your bead boxes, and find the hues and shades which make you feel good about it!

I was struggling with combining colours a lot, and I was a 100 % sure, that I will never ever touch yellow or anything similar. The Caleidoscope ring proved this wrong. I added some shades which I already liked to use: Avocado Green, Turquoise and some Pacific Opal Swarovski Elements beads. (By the way you can have the tutorial for this beaded ring for free here.)

4. Buy a tutorial above your current skill level. Try for example a challenging beaded bead or an intriguing spiral. The Gwen Fisher’s and Florence Turnour’s BeadInfinitum is a perfect place to start the search. Their tagline “Maths + Art + Bead” summarises their style perfectly.

5. You use only 1-hole beads? Try a 2-hole one, for example a Superduo or a Honeycomb. Are you already familiar with those? Than reach for the Acros or eMMAs, which have 3 holes. And for the ultimate experience try your hand with some 4-holed Quadralentils or Quadratiles.

6. Finish a UFO (UnFinished Object). I bet you have plenty of those 😀 Mine UFO-box is overflowing, and sadly it contains more pieces than the box with the finished jewellery.

This is the first work-in-progress picture I took about a necklace I intended to enter to the Battle of the Beadsmith competition in 2015.

Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to finish it (only 2-3 days more would be enough), and it’s still in the UFO-box.

 

7. Reach out to a famous bead artist you admire, and tell her / him how much you like her / his work. I’m sure she / he will appreciate it greatly, especially if you send some photos about a jewel made with the help of her / his beadwork pattern.

8. Participate in a competition! There are plenty of them all year round. Currently you can enter for example Perles & Co.‘s contest of Swarovski® Crystals Creation or Firemountain Gem‘s Swarovski Crystal Contest. Later this year the application process for next year’s Battle of the Beadsmith competition will start. If you are not a member of the group, you can join here. Keep an eye open.

9. Show your jewellery to the big beady world, and tell us more about yourself as one of the beaders featured in the “Face to face” articles. (You can send me a mail to [email protected].)

 

10. Take the stitches you know to the next level. For example if you already have a sure hand with Right Angle Wave, then continue with the cubic or the prismatic variation. (Marcia DeCoster has an awesome selection of tutorials on Interweave.com.)

 

 

How do you like this ideas? Which one will you try yourself?