Hollybird Beads: Beading for Me

So it's been a whole month since I wrote a post for the blog. The reason for this is that I'm currently in the midst of writing up my PhD thesis i.e. 4 years worth of work. I am my desk 6 out of 7 days a week, most of those working all day on it, and even when I do take a bit of time out of an evening or on a Sunday, it's still there on my mind pretty much 24/7.

This means that beading has really taken a back seat in the last few months. Even when I have taken time to be creative, the stress of the thesis means that it's hard to focus and feeling like I *need* to create new pieces for my online shops is adding to the stress. Beading is something I love, and it is supposed to be fun and something to do to take my mind off things, as well as earning its keep through sales.

So here's what I'm thinking - I need to do a little 'beading for me.' I still feel like I have plenty to learn about this art from those artists I admire. I have new techniques I want to try out without feeling the pressure of 'this needs to be good enough to be sold online.' Earlier in the year I wrote a post about how I wanted to make a piece from tutorials written by other beadwork artists, one a month, to expand my knowledge and inspire me. This didn't happen...well, I made 2/3 of one earring, because I have so little beading time that I felt that time spent beading other peoples' designs was my own beading time 'wasted.'

The webshops will all remain open - I have pieces in stock that are already made, plus a few half-finished things currently on my bead mats and I'd also be happy to still take on custom orders. But, I'm not going to put myself under pressure to churn out beadwork purely for the shops. If I happen to have an idea and that ends up as a finished piece of my own design, then sure, it can go online, but that isn't going to be my main aim for the next few months at least whilst I get my thesis finished. I've just received a copy of Sabine Lippert's new book 'Beaded Fantasies' which is full of stunning projects that I really want to try. I really like her style and I want to take a little 'walk in her shoes' beading wise. I've got some supplies on order to do a few of the projects - including some gorgeous Swarovski crystal stones, and I can't wait to get started.

I'll endeavour to update the blog with what I'm beading - plus if any new work goes up for sale, I'll let you know. I've included a few pieces I've listed in the last week or so at the bottom of this post.