last weekend's project: gray-tone statement necklace

I'm quite pleased with this necklace I made. It's a statement necklace requested by one of my regular buyers. ^_^


Chunky jewelry, bib necklaces and statement pieces seem to be the in thing for accessories these days. I personally prefer not to wear HUGE celebrity-style statement pieces, but I enjoy creating them.

Making fashion accessories is a hobby of mine. When friends started admiring stuff I put together, I decided to make a bit of money out of it.

I like using stone beads, various natural and man-made crystals, and freshwater pearls. I prefer organic-looking designs over geometric lines, subdued hues over brights.

This particular necklace is a one-of-a-kind design based on an existing piece I made, but especially modified and bulked-up as requested by the buyer. In it are various beads such as gray agate, moss agate, snowflake agate, milky quartz, smoky quartz, Murano foil blown crystals, freshwater pearls, hammer shell, moonstone, metal beads and glass seed beads. I love how it turned out and was tempted to just keep it for myself (hee hee hee - I happen to like the color silver, and freshwater pearls are my favorite kind of beads).

A necklace like this would sell for something like P1,000 to 2,500 at the malls, or P800 to 1,000 at those Muslim ladies' jewelry stalls. But I sell pieces like this for P350 to 550 (depending on the materials used) - and yes, I still manage to make money out of that.

Besides, it's not really about making money for me, but about having fun making pretty things.

Visit my Multiply site:

beads beads beads

I have several small creative hobbies that I rotate; today's current favorite is making bead fashion accessories. After having my beads and supplies gather dust for over a year, I recently had a burst of inspiration (and apparently, budget) and I started making a new batch of wearable sellables.

I like making pretty things, I like making things that make people pretty, and I like it when people find what I make pretty.

"Pretty" of course is a relative term. ;D

I'm quite proud of the new stuff I've come up with; it's the best batch ever so far.


My improvement is not only due to "practice" but also due to the fact that I've decided to invest in the prettier, more expensive materials such as semiprecious stones and stainless or rhodium-plated findings. I've crossed out plastic beads (that look cheap) from my inventory and I am currently phasing out cheap, "eventually rustable" metal materials.

I'll be updating my shop-site soon, posting my newest designs for sale. Most of the old stock were handed to a friend for selling at a bazaar. I'm hoping I get a lot of stuff sold in both places.

I hope I won't focus on making money too much though, because that just takes the joy out of the creative expression. I need to remind myself that it isn't primarily about making money; it's about finding joy in making visually appealing objects. I'm not a starving artist anyway, and I can still afford to choose to do something I enjoy.