Friday Features: Deronda Designs

Shades of Blue Handmade Lampwork Beads by DerondaDesigns

Today's Friday Feature post is about an amazing lampwork glass bead artist, DerondaDesigns. Read on to find out more about her incredible beads...

My name is Deronda and because it's not a common name, we decided ti would be perfect for my glass. My etsy shop is www.etsy.com/shop/derondadesigns 

I play with glass and metal. The beads are the big part of what I do, but the etched copper is something that comes and goes as the mood hits. 

How did I get started? Curiousity....my mom gave us the love of creativity and the encouragement to play with all kinds of stuff.

Pretty Pink Flowers Handmade Lampwork Beads by DerondaDesigns

 Do I have any other arts/crafts? Oh wow, have you been sneaking into my closets? The curiosity has led me into all kinds of things from woodwork, to sewing, to painting, to scrapbooking, to ceramics and on and on it goes. But glass is still my first love.

A story of my shop name? Nope, it's just my name...nothing exciting there? 

Every set of beads I make is different so it's hard to pick a favorite anything. A lot of what you might see in the shop depends on my moods. The glass has always been a way for me to express things that I can't say outloud. 

Right now I am selling on Etsy and Artfire and I have finished jewelry pieces and other things that have nothing to do with glass or jewelry at our little store here in my hometown.

Ivory and Amethyst Lentil Lampwork Beads by DerondaDesigns

Sometimes I blog a lot, and then I get busy and forget...now that you have reminded me, i will probably blog soon. It'sderondadesigns.blogspot.com/

I do the FB thing: http://www.facebook.com/deronda.designs and you know that I am an addicted Plurker: http://www.plurk.com/Deronda

Her beads are incredible...I happen to have purchased the above beads, but you can find many more in her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DerondaDesigns
Have a great day!

Tuesday's Treasures: Cleopatra's Blue Goddess Necklace

Cleopatra's Blue Goddess Necklace

Today is such a treat, I've been waiting to unveil this little beauty for over 2 weeks! This is the newest necklace for my NeoAmour designer collection. It is inspired by the enigmatic Cleopatra, ruler of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians are very well known for their beautiful ancient jewelry - many pieces are found to have multiple strands, along with talismans and decorative pendants (seems they were quite ahead of the times in more than just architecture). Jewelry is depicted on many of the ancient tombs. It was a symbol of power, wealth and standing, and Cleopatra's jewelry would have been no different.

This necklace started out with this dramatic and unique focal bead, purchased from Louise of Fireseed (http://www.fireseed.etsy.com). She makes the most amazing beads, and I usually have a hard time sticking to a set spending limit (but it is ALWAYS worth going over budget to get her beads!!). I saw this incredible goddess bead over a year ago and fell in love with it, though I didn't quite know what to do with it until chance brought a few bags of stone beads and the pendant bead all in the same place at the same time. 

I started doing inventory in December (I still haven't finished, don't remind me, haha!), and as I pulled out a few bags of beads to count, they spilled into each other. I was about to curse when I took a second look and, well, Eureka! is the word that comes to mind now. A vibrant mix of turquoise, amber, lapis lazuli (Cleopatra used to grind up lapis lazuli to use as her eye makeup!), black Czech glass beads and brass-plated pewter findings all came together to create this 3-strand masterpiece.

I had been reading a brief history of Cleopatra and was thinking how brave she must have been to have accomplished everything she did. I wanted to make a necklace that would show her love of her country, her bravery, yet also show her vulnerable side. These beads spoke to me and said, "Make us into something Cleopatra would have loved..."

Cleopatra's history is long and the accounts vary depending on who does the telling - many were simply trying to discredit her for their own ends, as was (and is) common. Many said that she was an evil seductress. More likely is that she was a powerful, intelligent woman trying to find a powerful, intelligent man to help her stabilize her rule in a very unstable time.

Cleopatra's Blue Goddess Necklace

The goddess has always been a symbol of femininity and fertility, and I thought that this would be a perfect fit in a necklace for a young Cleopatra. By the time she was eighteen, she had witnessed her two sisters assassinations (they had each tried to take the throne from their father), her father's death, the decline of the Egyptian empire into perilous debt to Rome (thanks to her father) and had been forced to marry her own 12 year old brother. When Caesar came to Egypt to try to sort out Egypt's problems, I can see Cleopatra wearing a necklace like this to symbolize her fertility and womanhood. At that time, one of the only ways to stay safe on her throne would be to have outside help, and a strong man like Caesar would have been just the person to help her (he did, and she had his son, Cesarion).

This is a one of a kind necklace. I can never get the exact same goddess bead again, so if you like this necklace, please get it while you can.

This necklace is now available for sale on my Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleStudioJewels?ref=si_shop. Please take a look and get it while you can. I may have enough beads to make a matching necklace or earrings, please contact me if you are interested.

Tuesday's Treasures - Newest Necklace Inspired by Boudica

Lamp Work Glass Boudica Celtic Sea Necklace, From my NeoAmour Collection

I am so thrilled to show you my latest necklace today, as today is Tuesday's Treasures, where I will aim to show you one completed jewelry piece per week. This necklace has been in the works for quite some time; almost a year, as that was when I bought this beautiful focal bead from my friend, incredible lamp work glass artist Louise, from Fireseed . It is a special bead, being one of a kind, and I knew it needed special treatment to do it justice. It took a while, but this is the fantastic result (if I do say so myself!).

Inspired by Boudica and the Ancient British Seas

I've long been inspired by the ancient Celts, as I've spoken about many times here on this blog, and beyond. When I recently took this bead out again and started turning it over in my hand, I was immediately reminded of the sea. I love the colors in this bead, as they are so vibrant yet still manage to be natural. I love how Louise managed to get so many different shades of brown, topaz, silver, black and blue into one bead, yet the whole bead does not look too busy. In fact, as I looked at it, I thought of the ancient English sea.

Simple, Yet Bold

Thinking of the ancient English sea, with its white foam, sandy stones and beaches, and vibrant blue of water and sky, I was suddenly, clearly inspired to create this necklace. I thought of, long ago, a young Celtic warrior Queen, Boudicca, as she prepared to take on the Roman Empire. She knew how important reserve forces would be for the Romans as they came over the channel from the Roman empire to Britain. I could see her planning her strategic attacks on British soil, against the usurping Romans, and thinking of how quickly reinforcements would come over the sea if the battles lasted too long.

This necklace was created for her. I used the stunning bead Louise had made, and then created a hand-blended mix of glass seed beads in shades to complement the focal bead. This necklace was made in a lariat-style so that you can wear it either choker style, with the bead hanging farther down your chest, or looser, with the pendant closer to your neck, depending on what you're wearing and how you like to wear your necklaces.

Please visit my Etsy shop to see the necklace here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90201685/lamp-work-glass-boudica-celtic-sea and please let me know what you think!

For more stunning glass beads by Louise, please visit her Etsy store here: http://www.fireseed.etsy.com
or her website here: http://www.fireseed.ca

Have a great day,