WHAT’S NEW

• Exciting News!!
Studio B Is Coming to Vogue Knitting Live NYC!

Vogue Live NYC 2019

I’m very excited to share that I will have a booth at Vogue Knitting Live in New York City from January 25-January 27, 2019. I’ll have lots of my one-of-a-kind and limited production jewelry to sell as well as copies of my book, Betsy Beads: Confessions of a Left Brain Knitter in both hard copy and digital format. This will be a unique opportunity to see, touch (we knitters LOVE to touch knitted stuff, am I right?), try on and (hopefully?) buy this unique work. Outside of the Gravers Lane Gallery that carries my work here in Philadelphia, it has been quite awhile since I have shown the volume of work I’ll be bringing to Vogue NYC. I may also have a limited number of kits and patterns to make some of my designs. More details will be forthcoming as we get closer to the show. For additional information about all that is available to show attendees, follow this link: Vogue Knitting Live NYC 2019 I hope to see many of you there. (Can you tell I’m excited?)



• Holiday Shopping Time!
New Work Now Available at Gravers Lane Gallery

I’ve been a very busy girl! Go check out the One-of-a-Kind Necklace Gallery to see lots of new work and some wonderful new photography. And with the holidays fast approaching, I’m offering some new pieces (some are shown below) at Gravers Lane Gallery in Chestnut Hill, PA.

The gallery is filled with beautiful jewelry, textiles, ceramics and lots lots more.
So go in and buy something special for the special people in your life, send your significant other in with a wish list or easiest of all, treat yourself to something you know you really want. That way you can guarantee you receive at least one gift you won’t have to return in the mad rush after the holiday!

Nightscape Necklace

Nightscape Necklace

Fringeworthy Necklace

Fringeworthy Necklace

Double Helix Necklace

Double Helix Necklace

Fruit Salad Necklace

Fruit Salad Necklace



• One New Goal Achieved!
Studio B Jewelry Now at Gravers Lane Gallery
Gravers Lane Gallery 8405 Germantown Ave Phila., PA 19118

Gravers Lane Gallery 8405 Germantown Ave Phila., PA 19118 215.247.1603

I am thrilled to share that I have secured gallery representation at the wonderful Gravers Lane Gallery in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia. The Gallery Director, Bruce Hoffman, has chosen to showcase the five necklaces shown below beginning this summer. I am very proud to have my work alongside the gifted artists currently showing work at Gravers Lane. To see my work on the gallery website, click HERE. If you live in the area, please stop in, take a look around, enjoy the wonderfully eclectic collection of Paintings, Fiber and Glass as well as Jewelry and have a chat with Bruce. Among his many areas of expertise, he’s an incredibly knowledgeable fiber enthusiast and I am thrilled to have his support.

Meander II Necklace

Meander II

Inside Track Necklace

Inside Track

The Long of It Necklace

The Long of It

Myra

Myra

Andromeda

Andromeda













• New! New! New!
New Work, New Photography, New Goals

Yes, I miss my students, my colleagues and the markets of my teaching days. But given the results from these months of sustained, productive time in my studio, I am more sure than ever that I am on the path that is meant for me at this time of both my personal and professional life. As evidence, I’m offering some samples of the work that has me so invested and energized. Why do these the pictures look different from the others in the Gallery? Well, given that I am preparing to start submitting my work to some juried craft shows, I have put on my “Big Girl” pants and begun to work with a professional photographer. I have taken my own photos in the past and while they have done the job in adequately displaying my work for the website and for class examples, jurors for these shows expect a different level of image. I’m pretty excited by the first results from this new partnership. I’ve continued to shoot some of the latest work just to have a record of it for now but some of the newest pieces will also eventually be shot professionally. I have to be selective as it is NOT an inexpensive enterprise. Check out these and additional photos of new work in the One-of-a-Kind Necklace Gallery where you can also zoom in on the details of each piece. Enjoy!

Do Knots

Gears

Loopy

Inside Track



• More Eye Candy!!
Being in the Studio Is Agreeing With Me…

I hope these pictures communicate just how much fun I’m having in my current design “frenzy.” Maybe I’ll just let them speak for themselves. Hope you like!

Pinwheels Necklace

Pinwheels

 

Linked-In Necklace

Linked-In



• Check Out New Work in the Galleries
I’ve Been a Very Busy Girl…!
The Long of It Necklace

The Long of It Necklace

I know. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. But in my defense, life has been wonderfully busy. In the past year I’ve seen both of my children marry wonderful partners and devoted most of my knitting time to creating what I hope will be family heirloom afghans for both couples as wedding gifts. I have to confess that taking a break from knitting on size 0, 1 and 2 needles (WITHOUT beads!) was really relaxing!

But once these projects were completed, I found myself bursting at the seams with ideas for new work. And just because I was back knitting with a gorgeous wool/silk yarn for more than a year (you MUST try Cascade Venezia – it’s a dream fiber to knit with) doesn’t mean I wasn’t collecting fabulous beads and new fibers to work with. And, of course, continuing to write down ideas and keep my eyes open for visual inspiration.

Button Up Necklace

Button Up Necklace

These two images are just two of the six new pieces, five necklaces and one bracelet, I’ve created over the last three months. I hope you’ll take a look in both the One-of-a-Kind Necklace and One-of-a-Kind Bracelet Galleries to see what’s new.

And there is a lot more lined up on the airport runway of ideas in my brain. This is FUN! Stay tuned!



• Stop on In to the Studio B Store
First time Online Sale of One-of-a-Kind Jewelry!

One-of-a-Kind Sale Flyer blog

For the first time ever I am offering several of my One-of-a-Kind jewelry pieces for sale online. These pieces are from my earlier years as a designer and I remain proud of them all. But it is time to let them go as I develop and show newer work. As a result, all are deeply discounted from their original retail prices – at least 50%!! – and being offered as FINAL SALE. No returns will be accepted. Each piece comes with a signature, custom made, satin Studio B pouch that coordinates with your chosen piece. Perfect for gift giving AND safe storage.

Click on over to the Studio B Store to view additional pieces, original and sale prices, multiple images and purchase the pieces directly from the store. Contact me via email with any additional questions.

The Holidays are coming! Just sayin’……. Studio B Store



• Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, May 2-3, 2015
Hope You’ll Join Me for Classes!

I’m getting ready to head out to Stitches West in Santa Clara and so excited to be teaching at this amazing Expo once again. My 7th year! (It certainly doesn’t hurt that it will be at least 50 degrees warmer than it has been here on the East Coast this week!) See you there! SOON.

I’m also thrilled to share that I have been invited to teach for the first time at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, a fiber institution here on the East coast since 1974! Registration for classes is now open and you can sign up for all festival fiber workshops HERE. The festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 & 3, 2015. The MDSW website doesn’t have class related photos so if you’d like to SEE what we’ll be doing in class, you can link over to my Ravelry Group where there are lots of fun things to read about and look at or just link directly to my MDSW schedule (with visual aids!) HERE. I hope to see you in Maryland in the spring. It will be warmer then. ;-)



• “The Creative Landscape of Aging”
A Book I’d Love You to Read

As many of you know, especially if you are familiar with my book “Betsy Beads: Confessions of a Left-brained Knitter,” the issue of creativity has been a lifelong interest of mine. Sharing what I’ve learned about it, with a focus on those left-brained folks among us (like me!), was well worth the two years plus process of writing the book and I could not be more proud of the impact that sharing my personal creative journey has had on so many of you. I am so grateful that you continue to share your own stories with me and they bring me so much joy. There is now a new book about creativity, with a somewhat different focus, that I can recommend to you wholeheartedly.
 
A year and a half ago, I was interviewed by Judith Zausner for her award winning blog entitled Creativity Matters. The blog consists primarily of interviews with varied artists, with a focus on how their creativity has been influenced by their aging and vice versa, how aging has influenced their creativity. She has now assembled 16 of these interviews along with 21 insightful essays and a lovely photo gallery of the interviewed artists’ work. I am honored that my interview was one of those she selected to include in the book.

With her keen eye, quick mind, facile way with words and years of experience studying and passion for her subject matter, Judith has created a book that has much to teach us, whatever our age may be. I hope that many of you will buy it and read what she has to say. Your creative lives will be all the richer for it.

You can find her book for purchase here.



• Spotlight On New Work:   “Mud Cloth”
Around the World in One Necklace

I often talk about how unique materials inspire my work and this necklace is definitely a case in point. I found the ceramic beads that hang at the end of the knitted dangles at the Market at Stitches Midwest this past summer. I have to give a shout out to booth owner Jolanta Narejko of Elka Design (www.elka-designs.com) because she had some of the COOLEST beads, findings and fabulous finished jewelry pieces I’ve seen in quite some time. I fell in love with these two different patterns of black and white beads. I played with/swatched several different design ideas before settling on this one. I was told when I bought them that they are African beads, but later found out that they are specifically called “mud cloth” beads.

 

I had not planned on leaving the silk threads hanging. They are actually the tails of the individual bead knitted dangles. But they’ve grown on me. Definitely outside of my normal “box.”

 

 

So along with the African mud cloth beads, the thread used is from the USA (Kreinik Silk Serica), the small beads are Japanese (Size 8 Miyuki seed beads and Size 10 Miyuki Delica beads) and the three large beads are German (vintage resin with crystals set in the recessed equator of the beads – I’ve had them for years, just waiting for a fun place to use them.)

 

Four continents represented in one necklace! Pretty fab, no?