Sooz Jewels. Sue Doran's lampworking blog - handmade jewellery made with sterling silver, copper and lampworked beads. Based in Cambridge, UK.
View Article  Blue blue, electric blue

I have just added four new products to the website after photographing them today.

Amethyst, sterling silver and swarovski crystal bracelet

Wild Mulberry classic bracelet made with lentil and donut shaped lamppwork beads earrings Starry skies pendant made with hand made lampwork beads bracelet Navy storm bracelet made with handmade lampwork beads bracelet

I have replaced the four new items from last week on the "Newest item" slot on the home page and I realise that all the new products I added last week were blue and these four are all blue/purple based too.

I really must start melting other colours of glass!

View Article  Give the dog a bone

I am so tired this morning. Missy, my dog kept me up all night. She stole a lamb bone out of the bin yesterday morning and as she's had bones before (not chicken) and she was enjoying it so much, I let her keep it. Big mistake! She is never ever ever having a bone ever again.

She started acting weird about 4.30pm during her afternoon walk. She was kind of getting down on her haunches and then she had diarrhea, then she was sick. She didn't want to have anything for her dinner and we were so concerned we rang the vet after a couple hours and she still couldn't settle. She was acting like she couldn't get comfortable. We were worried she had gone a bit of bone stuck. The vet asked some questions and he thought she had got colic from what she had eaten and told us to bring her in in the morning.

I slept with her downstairs on the sofa to keep an eye on her and she was up and down all night and sometimes she was panting. She finally settled down at around 4.30am and so I managed to get a couple of hours shut-eye finally.

DH took her to the vet this morning. He just rang me to say he felt a right old fraud because she was acting absolutely fine. The x-ray showed nothing and the vet had a good old feel around saying everything seemed comfortable. He says she probably just had really bad indigestion and he gave us some tablets and liquid parrafin to ease everything through. She is on a strictly bland diet now too - serves her right!

I'm really glad she's OK.  She's very good company when I'm making beads and jewellery and she makes me stop and take exercise which is very good for both of us!

View Article  Decorating the studio

As I mentioned a while ago, I have been wanting some posters to decorate my studio. Well, Allposters have a sale on (it ends soon!) and so I ordered a load of big posters last week.

They arrived on Tuesday and after making beads and jewellery yesterday, I decided to put them up. I thought it would only take me an hour with the wallpaper paste but it was nearly dark when I finished!

I've just a had a peek at it when I turned the kiln on ready to get working out there and I'm really pleased with it! It reminds me of my bedroom when I was growing up only instead of pictures of David Cassidy, T-Rex and the Bay City Rollers, I've got a really eclectic mix of film posters, some stills from old black and white films, nature prints a couple of fine art prints and DH's hero - Bender from Futurarma ("Bite my shiny metal ass"!!!!)

You can see the poster my family did for me on the top left of this picture

My favourite beadmaker has been moving house this week, Laura Sparling says in her blog that she is leaving her beloved shed behind and I have to admit, I know how attached you get to your workspace.  I would be really sorry to leave my shed behind - especially now - it led me to discuss with DH last night whether or not it would be possible to take the shed with us when and if we move at some point in the future.

The shed cost about £700 (in a sale) and although we got the lining and flooring materials at a very reasonable price because DH is a consultant to a general building company, it would still cost a lot to replace it plus I spent way too much on posters (would've been cheaper to paint it but I think this is better!) DH thinks it would be possible to move it without dismantling it by putting timber bearers under it and lifting it onto the back of a lorry. He estimates (off top of his head) that it would cost about £300-£400 to do it. That would be worth it, I think, not just because of the money value of the shed and materials, but also all the time doing the insulation etc, not to mention erecting it - it took a day and my entire family just to put it up!

View Article  Signs of autumn

Today I have been making the beads that I created yesterday into jewellery. Here are the ones that came out the best in a bracelet called Navy Storm. Matching earrings are on the website as well.

The photograph came out a bit blurry but hopefully you can get the idea. I will take a clearer photograph next week (so long as it doesn't sell tomorrow!)

It was another lovely day today, I really like it when there's some bright weather and it's not too hot.

Walking Missy in the early evening sunshine was a real pleasure. I always enjoy walking her but it's especially good when the weather plays ball too.

However, the signs of autumn are there in the hedgerows and I suspect we should make the most of the weather whilst it's so nice.

I took my camera on the walk and did some more practicing and here are some snaps of elderberries, ripening rosehips and hawthorns and one of a butterfly!

I don't know it's name but I must look it up. It was very obliging by landing on a fuzzy seed-head right next to me as I walked by. It stayed put for ages whilst I juggled Missy's lead (something very interesting just had to be sniffed just out of lead-range) and the camera settings.

I also tried to get a picture of some blackberries but they didn't come out very well - more practice needed!

View Article  Lovely day

Wow, what a perfect day today was. It was so nice to see some sunshine for a change. The past fortnight has either been rain rain rain or cloud and murk.

Spike, my tortoise enjoying some warm sunshineI was in my studio this morning with the door propped open and my dog Missy sunbathing in the paddock the studio is in; every so often she would pop in and check in with me. The paddock is just the existing hedges and a low fence where there is no hedge with a gate. It's designed to keep Missy in as we're quite close to a busy road. Even my tortoise, Spike, put in an appearance!

As I was making beads and looking out of the window back towards the house, I had a real feeling of well being and that it was such a good day to be alive. My washing was gently drying on the line instead of being tumble dried, my animals were happy and I was making beads - my favourite activity! All the problems of this year with our house being repaired seemed a long way away.

Here's a picture of the house taken earlier in the year when the roses on the left were out, they don't show up very well but the house looks nice!

View Article  Ooops!

I had a go at making one of those silver core beads. I made the bead using a large hole mandrel and got all prepared with my dappers and even bought some silver tubing of the right diameter.

I managed to get one side of the tubing flared out but when I cut the tubing and turned it over, I think I was a bit too enthusiastic with my hammering, cos this is what the bead ended up looking like ...

View Article  Sheep Fair

I almost forgot! I have booked to be one of the stalls at Corby Glen's Sheep Fair which is held in the village every year. Our local electrician arranges it; he came to fix my light a couple of weeks ago. He arrived when I was beadmaking so I showed him what I do, signed the form and paid over my pitch fee.

The sheep fair is the oldest in the UK and has been held every year since the 13th century. It's being held on 4th and 5th October this year, I will only be there on Sunday 5th October as I'll be running my normal stall in Cambridge's Art Craft Fair on the Saturday.

View Article  Pictures

It was my dad's birthday during the week so after the market today, we stopped by to see mum and dad to give him his present.

A while ago, I told my family I was beginning to decorate my studio with some posters and pictures cut from newspapers but I hadn't got many so I was going to place an order with All Posters.

My sister, Sandy, decided to take matters into her own hands and had a big poster printed with pictures taken of the family and our pets in a kind of collage. Wasn't that kind? I thought I was going to give a present, but I came away with one too!

View Article  More bombay sapphire products on website

I have added some new Bombay Sapphire gin recycled glass products to the website - two pendants and two pairs of earrings. I'm just showing two on the blog here but click on either picture to be taken to the blue recycled glass page to view the full range.

Well, they're new to the website, they have been on sale on the Art & Craft stall for a while, but the photography situation had prevented me putting them on the site.

The new photographs look so much better than the old ones, I am afraid I will have to redo the old ones.

That's a job for after christmas when everything is quite methinks.

View Article  Chaos Beads

There is a very talented beadmaker in Canada called Sherry Bellamy at Orca Beads. She makes the most amazing beads which she calls Chaos Beads

She shares the technique with her students when she is teaching beadmaking and now she has generously made a tutorial available as a PDF document to a wider beadmaking audience. I ordered the tutorial from her Etsy Shop several weeks ago. On Sunday I ordered some copper mesh which is needed but unfortunately, I got the wrong mesh size.

This is what I need This is what I received (entirely my fault) The 2p is to show scale of mesh.

Superhero, Dan at Wires, though is sending me the nearest sized sample which they stock - he says might still be a bit small but I can give it a go. I obviously need to change the design so that the bead becomes "my own" so this might be the way to start. Copying a technique is one thing but I will need to make the bead design unique to myself else it wouldn't be ethical for me to sell them. That's assuming I can make some ...! Plus I fully intend to credit Sherry with the invention of the technique that leads to any saleable jewellery.

I think I can still use the copper that I've received though so I am keeping it, I will do some experiments with it tomorrow. It's very easy to cut in a straight line and I have some ideas mulling through my mind which I will sleep on and put into practice in the morning.

View Article  Headache

My lovely dog, Missy, has kept me company yesterday and today. I woke up on Monday with an awful headache. I am prone to the odd headache but it's ages since I had one that "disabled" me and stopped me from working.

All I could do was lie on the sofa and watch DVDs (Lost and Charmed!) to keep my mind off when I could have my next painkillers.

I have only just started to feel human again this evening. DH came home from work and made me pasta for dinner (I don't deserve him). He must've put something magic in it because even though I didn't have any appetite for it, I immediately started feeling better after the first few mouthfuls and ending up eating it all. 

So I should be back in beadmaking/jewellery making mode tomorrow.

View Article  Camel's teeth and bovril - delicious!

Organic lampwork glass beadsDH and I had a very entertaining conversion with a couple who came to look at my jewellery yesterday on the stall at the Craft Market. I had been telling a lady about what all the beads on my stall were made of (recycled Harveys Bristol Cream bottles, recycled Perrier bottles etc).

She was interested by the organic looking beads in the Stones in the Road series (see picture left). Because she was used to glass being transparent, she was trying to guess what they were made of - she thought perhaps they were shell but was fascinated to hear that they were actually glass too. In fact several people have made this mistake since I put these out for sale, some think they are stone or bone too.

When her husband (I assume) came to the stall, she challenged him to guess what they were made of and we were all absolutely stunned to hear him say off the cuff without even thinking about it "Camel's teeth" (!!!)

Apparently his mother had come back from Egypt with some jewellery made from Egyption ivory which in fact is not ivory at all but camels teeth (Egyptian Ivory is a MUCH nicer name!) He then went on to say he thought the beer bottle beads were made from Bovril glass - that gave us another titter! When we got home I checked the jar and he's right - beer bottle brown is virtually identical to Bovril brown!

Despite an awful weather forecast, Cambridge - yet again - managed to keep it's microclimate and dodge the majority of the showers on Saturday, though as I am typing this on Sunday morning, the rain is pouring down. Fortunately, we only got one shower on Saturday and so we managed a good day's trading. Thanks to everyone who purchased from my stall - the Harvey's Bristol Cream bracelet went, as did all the jewellery that I made from the Loco frit beads (before taking photographs - tut - smack on the wrist for me!)

View Article  Harveys Bristol Cream products live on the website

I have managed to photograph the Harveys Bristol Cream recycled beads jewellery today despite all the rain and they are now live on the website.

The light levels have been very poor due to the weather; the photographs I posted earlier in the week were taken outside. I have had to take these indoors inside the window. The shutter speed was very low (40th of a second) and I don't have a tripod for this camera but by bracing myself against the frame, I was able to get some shake-free shots.

I've also put the shiny organic bracelet (not mine, sob!) up on the website for sale

The lovely weather must be the last of Hurricane Gustav come over the Atlantic to give us some grief. Hope the rain lets up for tomorrow!

View Article  Photography and beads

I have been experimenting again with my new camera. I am really pleased both with the photograph and the beads (which were made using some frit called loco from Beadysam). I will be making some more of these beads today - I really like the colour of the spacers as well, these are Berry from CiM.

I feel I am getting to grips with this camera now; I was even reading the manual in bed last night ... that is very sad!

 

The Harvey's Bristol Cream beads went well yesterday, I will wait til they're made up into jewellery before I photograph them and then I can put them up on the website as well.

Didn't quite have enough of the organic stone beads to make myself a bracelet yesterday. I have got a bracelet for the stall, two pairs of earrings and a pendant (photographs will be on website before the end of the week, hopefully) and eight beads (need three more!)  

View Article  Bead pictures at last

I made some organic looking beads with some reduction frit so they are an odd mixture of shine and stone (which ought to be matt). I loved the beads when they came out of the kiln last week. I immediately made them into a bracelet, pendant and matching earrings.

I didn't get time to photograph them (see below), and the first customer who saw the earrings last Saturday on the Art & Craft Market instantly bought them and the matching pendant. The bracelet sold a bit later in the day. I am desperate to have one of the bracelets and earrings myself!

The reason I didn't do the photography is that it has been such a hassle lately as I have been using my husband's professional S2 digital SLR (he dabbled with professional interiors photography for 3 years a while ago). But it has so many settings and is so big, I have to use these big Elinchrome lights instead of flash and then Geoff has to download them as my computer doesn't like it (it doesn't like our printer either) so I have to wait for him to have time to do that and then transfer it to a memory stick or CD. However, I have very recently acquired a much smaller simpler digital camera ... basically Geoff bought one for himself for photographing sites - he is back in the building game now - and I nicked it! Tough luck darling!

Yesterday, I made a big repeat batch of the same beads. There are enough for me to have a bracelet for myself too! And here is what they look like ...

Not a bad first effort with the new camera, I was aiming for the ones at the back to be out of focus as I have admired pictures of beads like that in the past - I think it looks arty and so I have been reading the manual and messing about with Arperture Priority and other such boring things. I'd rather be making beads but in order to get reasonable photographs we have to learn about such matters.

Tomorrow I am planning to make some recycled beads with a dark blue bottle of Harvey's Bristol Cream and a similarly coloured empty bottle of aftershave which one of my regular customers saved for me.

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