Beaded Jewelry Design - Part 1: How to Start

Beaded Jewelry Design - Part 1: How to Start

Beaded jewelry design ranks as the most common entry point for people who want to embark on creating fashion accessories, either as a hobby or a business. It is not surprising given the relative ease with which one can start a beginner's project employing a technique that is simple and using materials that are readily available in the market.

I started designing fashion jewelry quite accidentally. I have been a bag designer for the longest time. Once, when fabricating a chain strap for a bag, I realized it looked like a necklace. All it needed was the inclusion of beads. So I asked a friend who knew where I could buy them. I remember walking into a raw material shop for the first time. There was a dizzying amount of material supply in that little shop. Row upon row of strand upon strand of beads. The variety was overwhelming. It was not the only shop. It was a whole street with several stores! I genuinely felt I found my new heaven. I knew I found a budding love in beaded jewelry design.

The first rule in beaded jewelry design then comes to this: don't be overwhelmed by the variety of materials that can be used... which can be very difficult because there is always a-child-in-a-candy-store in all of us. A creative person has an intrinsic eye and preference. Even when presented a plethora of all desirable wares, he/she gravitates toward something that occupies a distinct place in his/her personal taste memory bank. For me at that time, it was Tiger's Eye 10 millimiter-round beads that caught my own eyes. It was a perfect match to the antique-finish metal rings and chain I was going to use.

Before even sitting down to make your very first piece, I'm sure you already have an idea how you want it to look like. This should guide you in choosing your material. That you have been led to this point means that you have seen many jewelry designs that inspired you to make one yourself. For your debut project, keep it simple. Remember that you are just learning a new technique. Reading
how-to materials should teach you a simple, basic way to make a necklace or a bracelet. The most common way is stringing together beads - one kind or a few, depending on the look you want - and inserting metal pieces called "spacers" to break the monotony and give the piece a more polished look.

Once you get past this initial stage, you can start thinking up themes that will determine what specific materials, color and silhouette to use - or you can just let your design intuition lead you. I relied on this creating my first designs. There was a lot of trial and error involved. Oftentimes, certain ideas don't translate. If you insist on arriving at the result you want, one of two things can happen: you eventually find out the correct way or you discover another way that gives a different, but surprisingly pleasing outcome. What is certain is the fun and fulfillment you experience during the initial stages. There may be frustrations, it's true, but ultimately if you put your heart to it, it bears fruits. An error can only lead to knowledge of what doesn't work and a persistence to learn what does.

It is important for a jewelry designer to always get exposed to fashion trends and see what other designers are doing. Also look at other design disciplines as these may just give you an unexpected inspiration. Constantly source materials. When you see something that immediately catches your attention, buy it even when you don't know at that moment how you will use it. I have done this a lot, the material goes into slumber and at the right time, gets picked to become just what a new design needs.

Keep an archive of your work as fashion trends tend to resurface. A good design has a way of being reinvented - either simplified or made more elaborate. You will find, as you go along creating many designs, that certain materials, techniques and looks are timeless and you will always go back to them like comfort food. Beads - be it semi-precious stones, acrylic, wood, metal - will always be a fast choice for a fashion accessory. As you mature creatively, you realize that you can always rely on beaded jewelry design.