Sweet Bead Studio — Handcrafted jewelry by Cindy Wimmer

signed, pre-order copies available here

I am so excited to officially begin promoting my new wire book by Interweave, The Missing Link: From Basic to Beautiful Wirework Jewelry! You may have seen this cover now on Amazon or the Interweave site, but I’m here to share a few additional pictures and behind-the-scenes.

The title? The tagline was chosen by the publisher, but “The Missing Link” was a suggestion made by my husband. You see, wire links have rarely been the focus of jewelry design. They are versatile, they add function, and most importantly, they can add amazing beauty to your jewelry! Wire links are relevant to any style jewelry, and in any medium.

Seems like so long ago now, but it was in the summer of 2011 that I pitched my book concept to Interweave. It seems there was a void in the publications available, and I had a feeling others would be as interested as I was in learning how to make wire links – from start to finish. I have to thank Linda Sinish for her support and bringing this to my attention – being the serious wire advocate that she is!

Wire links catalogued and being sent to the publisher. I enjoyed making the links in mixed metals.

I made these step-by-step guides for myself for the process photo shoot in CO. It helped me keep on track when the pieces for each step were made in advance. Now that was quite a process for 30 individual links!

Now let’s fast forward – The Missing Link is due out in October and I’m hoping they might start shipping at the end of September (I’d love to do a book signing in person at artBLISS)! Here’s what you’ll find in The Missing Link:

Learn the fundamentals of wire – you’ll learn many tips and techniques for working with all kinds of wire, from brass to sterling silver.

Get comfortable with your tools – learn from a comprehensive review of tools (hint: there are only a few tools that are really essential for wire work….and the rest, well, we love tools, don’t we?).

Create 30 custom wire links – learn how to create wire links, marked by skill level, with confidence by following step-by-step photographs and detailed instructions. The stepped-out photos are SO helpful! I’ll share my secrets for creating different effects with the same link designs.

Learn to create stunning jewelry designs from 5 top jewelry-designers – You’ll see the limitless potential in a single link with 15-finished jewelry designs. Learn from highly esteemed contributors –Christine Damm, Diane Cook, Kerry Bogert, Lori Anderson, and Tracy Statler. Each project incorporates one or more of the featured wire links – from chain to focal components.

Advance your wire working skills as I take you through the essentials to beautiful, finished jewelry designs. See what you may have been missing and discover how to incorporate wire designs in a whole new way!

How about a peek in to what you’ll find in the book?

Here are some of the links featured in The Missing Link – from start to finish. 1. wire links in raw (or bare) copper, brass and bronze. 2. This is what the links look like after they are oxidized…their behind-the-scenes beauty treatment. 3. The finished links after they are polished! The pictures you see here are ones I took myself at home. I’m thankful that my publisher chose to use many of my own props in the actual photos for the book – it was well worth paying for that oversized suitcase when I traveled to CO! I am so grateful for such an amazing design team and photographer at Interweave/F+W Media!

And a side-note….this is the very first link I designed with this book in mind. I used the finished project when I pitched the book and it is one of my favorites!

Paying respects to the long tradition of Navy in my family with this nautical knot link –

A take on the infinity link –

This is a finished design using one of the wire links that you’ll learn in The Missing Link. You can show off a coveted vintage piece (here I used an antique buckle) by embellishing your necklace with a handmade chain.

Showcased on the cover of the book – “Soujourn by the Sea”. Pull out your favorite beads (NaOs Glass shown here) and mix them with a collection of wire links!

If you would like a signed copy of The Missing Link, please pre-order your copy here. I will be mailing these out as soon as they are received in late September/October.

Thank you for stopping by and joining me on this part of my book-writing journey!

– Cindy xoxo

Cindy Wimmer is a jewelry designer with a passion for combining vintage elements with modern wire design. She is the co-founder of artBLISS, hosting jewelry and mixed media workshops in the DC area. Her wire jewelry design book, The Missing Link, will be released in the Fall of 2013.

{ 38 comments }

Hello!

I hope you’re off enjoying what I consider the best season of the year besides Spring – good ole Summertime! 😉

What have I been up to these days? Just returned from a super fun-filled family trip to the West Coast and I’ll be sharing some of those pictures soon. I’ve been busy working on designs for a book I’m contributing to due out later next year – really excited about the huge dose of inspiration & information this one will offer. This week I’m getting settled in to my summer routine at the beach with the kids.

Remember last month when I mentioned that I was working on a new logo/brand? Yes, I want to completely redo things around here and I’m going to share all of the details. Maybe too many details. But some of you may be thinking of a redo/revamp/rebrand too. sweet bead studio has had this current design for over 4 years! And it’s hard to believe I have been blogging for more than 6 years now. Here is my original website created by Arianne over at Aeolidia. Does anyone remember this beginning back in 2007? The banner and graphics were made by “designs by jessi” (she was a teenager in Australia at the time!) – I no longer have a link to her portfolio unfortunately, but I’m sure she’s continuing her artistic journey. Those are lampwork beads you see in the graphics! 🙂 I loved this sweet design, but eventually changed it to use the images you see now by Sadie Olive. My incredibly talented web designer, Andrea Arden, has helped me through the years and is the person behind the scenes really making all the changes happen.

Today I continue to prefer basing my logo design around my own handwriting, just as I did back in 2007. I think this is the perfect way to infuse a bit of your own personality in to your brand. Not to mention knowing no one else is sharing the same font for their websites! I blogged about this process back in my post on Typography. This Spring I worked with a Nila of Halftone Studio, a fantastic designer over in England. She does such beautiful, cutting edge-looking work in branding and graphic design. She took variations of my signature and combined them to make a vector file I can now use anywhere. It was her custom work that really drew me in – in particular her watercolor paintings. I commissioned Nila to make a set of water color roses and they were stunning. Initially I thought I would add watercolor graphics to my site, keeping it crisp and white with a bit of color in my favorite shades of blue. Eventually though I decided to forego the watercolor graphics, as I’m not sure they blended well with the vintage edge I have with many of my designs and photos. I will be using them here and there at some point though because they are just so pretty.

My signature, the color (aqua/teal/turquoise) and one more element have been the key players in my logo creation process. I wanted to add roses. Roses have symbolism tied to beauty, romance, new beginnings, and religion. And did you know that roses became the national flower for the Untied States in 1986 (apparently they can be found in all 50 states)? Above all else, I wanted to add roses to honor and remember my paternal Grandmother, Rose. She inspired me with her creative talents from sewing and crochet, to baking and decorating for every season. I sure miss the love and pride I saw in her eyes. I feel like I’m continuing the McGinnis tradition with my love of handmade details – and staying up til the wee hours. Roses are my favorite flower for good reason.

My friend Kerry has been a real sounding board for logo ideas just as she was back in 2007. 🙂 She knew I wanted to incorporate roses and thought of me when she saw a multi-rose stamp in the craft store. She suggested an overlay with my name – and it really seemed just right. Now I had a concrete logo concept and could hit the ground running (isn’t that the hardest part – narrowing down many ideas?). I then searched for an artist to illustrate roses just for me, my very own version. I moved away from the vintage rose concept and wanted a group of roses with more of a modern look.

I found Josh over at Atlas Design Company with his new shop on Etsy. Josh has incredible drawing talent and works with clients to create custom illustrations for everything from logos to clothing. He also has the patience of a saint. Through many messages back and forth, he reworked the rose illustration until they were just right and matched the vision I had in my mind’s eye. Here a few of the sketches along the way –

It feels great to finally have a new logo that I love. And what a community effort it was! 🙂 You’ll be seeing these soon around here, but decked out in blue.

Thank you for trekking with me through this super long post. It’s not every day that I make big changes around here and this one is important to me. 🙂 Anyone else have redesigns or new logos? I would love to hear your story too!

– Cindy xoxo

Roses from my Mother in Law’s garden

Cindy Wimmer is a jewelry designer with a passion for combining vintage elements with modern wire design. She is the co-founder of artBLISS, hosting jewelry and mixed media workshops in the DC area. Her first wire jewelry design book will be released in the fall, 2013.

{ 11 comments }