S is for Show
If you're new to this blog, you're probably thinking I'm a show-off with yesterday ("R is for Reveal") and today ("S is for Show"). Not true, it just worked out that way!
Over the weekend, I went to the Rocky Mountain Bead Society Show in Denver. That is one of my favorite shows. I love shopping online and at local bead shops, but sometimes it's hard for me to get the "big picture" that way. At shows, where you can see many vendors in one room, it's easier to see what's currently popular. A couple of things are so new that they don't appear to be on the websites, but if you email and ask, I'm sure they'll be able to tell you when they're available. These are all friendly bead sellers!
Here are the trends I noticed:
Silver Alternatives
As I write this, silver is now $41 an ounce (and it's predicted to go to $50). More designers who like the look of silver are searching for affordable alternatives.
Antelope Beads, which is known for its large selected of Kazuri beads, have started carrying strands of lead- and nickel-free pewter. I really like the heft these beads have to them. They feel much more substantial that the nickel silver pieces I bought earlier this year.
Pocket Watches
This is the second show where I've seen a vendor selling small pocket watches in base metals (such as brass). These would make cute necklace focals, especially with all the vintage-style chains, beads, and filigree available.
At both shows, people were just crowded around the watches, picking them up and admiring the details on the back and front. At this show in Denver, it was Kabela Design who had a little box with some charming pocket watches, including a few with owls, which are still very popular.
Plain metal pendants have been used for awhile as layering elements, but I'm seeing textures come to the forefront in a big way. I wrote about these textured metal sheets by Lillypilly Designs for the Cool Stuff department in Beadwork magazine (April/May 2011) but this was the first time I saw all the patterns myself. (There's a huge variety, many more choices than those featured in the magazine.)
These sheets are meant to be cut up and used to create custom pendants and layered earrings. I saw some cute samples with textured metal inserted into bezels and covered with resin.
Peanut Seed Beads
It seems like the seed bead manufacturers are creating new shapes every time I turn around! I've been hearing about these peanut-shaped beads, so I bought several tubes at Beyond Beadery. Because of their shape, these beads nestle into one another nicely, so they look pretty even with simple stringing.
I attended the show on the second day and some of the slots that were supposed to hold the peanut beads were half-empty or completely empty. That's usually a good sign of a trend!
What bead trends have you noticed this year?