A colourful detour, and five new necklaces
The moment has come. I can finally announce my new collection of bead necklaces is out in the wild 💥 (aka online).
About a month ago I was in Hatton Garden, picking up some gold plated smiley pendants. On the way I walked past a sweet shop – sorry, a bead shop. I'd been thinking about trying out beads for a while (jewellery beads, to be clear) and, as some would say, this was my sign.
Seduced by the glittering rainbow I had just walked into, I impulsively spent a small fortune on two different bead colours, pearls, and the tools needed to secure them into a necklace.
That same night I excitedly made three different necklace designs. However, there was only so much I could do with two colours, so I went back to the bead shop for more, and I've now been able to produce my first collection of 5 different bead necklaces 🥁
Mood Beads
Unlike a mood ring, these stay the same colour whatever you're feeling.
Mood Beads mix natural semi-precious stones, pearls and glass beads (2-6mm), strung by hand in London on a sterling silver clasp. A few of them have an optional sterling silver pendant handmade in my studio using a process called sand casting. The sand mould breaks every time, so each pendant is cast from scratch, and some keep a bit of the sand's texture – a trace of how they were made and part of the charm that makes each one unique.
I've only got a small batch for now, so first come, first served.
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Please allow me to formally introduce you to one another.
Blooming Hell
Do you know someone who is grumpy, yet you still find them adorable? Could be describing myself tbh. This necklace includes delicate pearls and sharp hits of orange and blue. Soft and sharp, like the person wearing it.
Aquamarine, freshwater pearls and orange glass beads. 43cm.
£60, or £90 with the sterling silver flower pendant
Vitamin D
The necklace for when the skies go grey and you need a little ray of sunshine to fight the weather. The colours were originally inspired by a blue tit, but strung together they reminded me of summer. You can interpret it either way.
Green aventurine, aquamarine and yellow glass beads. 43cm.
£60, or £90 with the sterling silver bird pendant
Lucky Duck
A friend once told me he'd always wanted to be a duck, floating about carefree.
Inspired by years of watching ducks at Walthamstow Wetlands: the green is the duck, the pearls are the splashes as they dive and run across the water, and the blue is the water itself.
Could be a nice gift for the odd duck in your life, who does their own thing and is lucky enough not to care what anyone thinks.
Green aventurine, freshwater pearls and blue glass beads. 43cm.
£60, or £90 with the sterling silver duck pendant
London Dusk
If you're a Londoner, this one might resonate. Picture the grey city ten minutes after sunset, when the sky turns a dark purple just as it's about to switch off for the night, and the streetlights come on orange over the city parks.
Amethyst, grey moonstone and rose quartz, with green and orange glass beads. 43cm.
£60
And last but not least (and my first ever bead design)...
Red Flag
Calm greens and blues, with little red flags running right through to keep you on your toes. A reminder to see one coming. Or for that friend who could use one (let's be honest).
Green aventurine, aquamarine and red glass beads. 43cm.
£60, or £90 with the sterling silver Sigh pendant
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And that's all for now.
If you've reached the end of this post, thank you for staying with me. I've really enjoyed making these new necklaces and I'm hoping to expand the range. I'll be back with more markets later this year too.
For now there's only a small batch of each, and the sets with pendants are the most limited, since every pendant is cast one at a time. They went down really well at the market where I first tried them out, so if one has your name on it, grab it before someone else does!
My newsletter got first look at these. If you'd like first look at the next ones, you can sign up here ❤️
Ana x