In search of new shape

Sep 10, 2004 44 Replies

I have the CBS tool after a lot of wrestling with myself and I also have Zooziis' pillow press. What I would like to know from other artists is what is your favorite new or somewhat older press.



For the designers I would like to know what kind of beads look appealing. I will still do what calls to me but this is just a marketing question.



I'm considering the following: CBS bead squeeze CBS sparkly spacers - really love the Madonna shape CBS tile squeeze - just out CBS Saturn & Lollipop shapes Zooziis diamond ZooziisKalera - really cool shape to me



I welcome all opinions and comments from my favorite chatty bunch.



Starlia



I love lentils. And tiles. And tabs. Pretty much anything with a flat-ish feel to it, because I do mostly bracelets, and they lie so well against a wrist:)

If you've seen my beads lately, it's pretty obvious. I LOVE the Lollipop press. I don't know how appealing it is to buyers on a larger scale because I think I'm one of the few that is putting that shape out there. It can be pretty limiting for designs because it's not a 'flat' palette once it's squished.

I also have the large Zoozie-Kalera that I am REALLY diggin' but haven't gotten to play with it too much. It makes some pretty hefty beads and I'm not a big focal kinda gal...yet. I'd like to go for the smaller one but haven't yet.

I'm not fond of the squeeze right now because I'm in a chunky phase and they're so thin and light.

Just my take on it.

Thanks Lori and that's just what I wanted to hear. I'm not into big and chunky for the most part unless I'm doing sculptural work. I would love to have the smaller ZooziiKalera I think.

Where do you get the zooiis tools? I tried zooiis.com and kept getting nothing. I was thinking of asking for a press for my birthday. I love that lollipop shape, but I like the pillow shape too.

Here is the addy directly to her store.

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Yipes! She came out with a lentil tool. I love her presses compared to the CBS and I just wished she had them out a couple of months ago.

I don't know this one!

I like the lentil shape and the diamond for sure. The pillow shape looks interesting too. I need to check out some of these and get back to you again.

Where do I find the CBS tools?

You can find the CBS tool on Corina's website under her mall area.

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I'm in search of a new shape, too, but I don't think any of those bead presses would help me. lolololol....

The Jane Jetson Body press?

-Su

Thanks Starlia! I wish I hadn't looked! I really want some of them now!!

LOL You're welcome. I hadn't looked in a while and there were some new ones I saw.

I don't have need for a cube press because I can do those. However, the cube on the side is cool. I don't have a need for the heart press either. At some point they will all look like plain old pressed beads.

I love the ZooziiKalera. The only way you'll get them perfect every time is to use a press. Kalera said it took her forever to get one done the way she wanted so I can see the use of a press there. Other things I'm seeing just make me think that folks won't work so hard on those skills that they could have if they didn't use a press for everything. Does that make sense?

I hae the small ZooziiKalera and love it. Of course, it's the only one I have, so I have nothing to compare it to, but it's great fun, makes a wonderful size for bracelets and earrings. And doesn't use too much glass, so when you screw up (as I still almost always do) you haven't lost too much... :-)

Kar>

Starlia - The only stamps I have are the CBS lentil tool, the CBS round tab tool and the Zoozii pillow tool. Out of those three, the lentil is the easiest to use, but I personally like the square pillows the best. Out of the ones you've listed, I personally love the look of the tiles and saturns created by the presses. I also love the small Kalera shape. Oh, hell, I love them all!!! :)

Hey, I just bought a CBS too! D'oh! But I do really like it. I wish she had a smaller lentil, though... yes, even smaller than the XS. I want a

9 or 10mm tiny lentil.

-Kalera

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starlia wrote:

Yeah... the cube press for example! For heaven's sake... it's a cube. That's almost as bad as having a press to make a round bead! I personally find the presses harder to use than just making a round bead, and I imagine that I'd find the cube press harder than just shaping by hand. BUT, to each her own!

I love my ZooziiKalera presses SOOOO much! The shape is so time-consuming by hand... I could never sell a set for what it was worth if I didn't have the presses! I'm talking 20 minutes per bead, just in shaping, for bracelet-sized beads... so a set would have to run no less than $120.00... for PLAIN beads! I'm so glad I have the shape now. I really wanted a bracelet for myself, and I couldn't justify spending the time to make that many beads just for me. :) The focal has become one of my favorite shapes to make florals in, too, because it sits so well on a choker. I think I like it because it's kind of chunky, but still has that flatness to it, that makes it so easy to use... the same reason I'm obsessed with lentils, actually. :)

-Kalera

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starlia wrote:

I just bought Corina's square tab "tile press" here:

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I can't wait to get it and try it out! It takes me forever to do a rectangle - and I love them so much!

Yep - I can make cubes like nobody's business, so I have no need. But I love the versatility of the tile press for rectangle and square tabs. And that weird circular thing in the middle of the press has potential too. :)

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