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Opinion wanted... oh please...

I have been on a kick of making sets of matching beads for a while now, with the occasional focal tossed in for good times. I'm wondering if it's time to mix it up a bit... and I sort of have two seperate questions. Question one is, how many beads do you want to see in a set? I usually make seven, and am thinking of upping it to nine (enough for a bracelet, a pair of earrings, and a necklace, depending on the design) and was wondering if that sounds like a more useful number than seven.

Question two is, my sets are always matched, as in, seven more-or-less identical beads, sometimes graduated, sometimes with a focal, but all the same design. I'm considering trying out the "themed set" idea, with a bunch of beads that GO together but aren't the same... though I worry that enough people are already taking that approach, and I don't want to leave people who like matched sets high and dry. I'm also toying with the idea of putting together more "eclectic" sets of beads that are all the same size and could be used in the same piece, but which don't match at all other than sharing a sort of vague "feel".

What do y'all think? All of your input is valuable, so don't hold back!

Thanks!

-Kalera

Reply to
Kalera Stratton
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Hmmmmm..... well, I really like matched sets rather than 'themes,' maybe that just says I'm not good enough to make something out of so many different looks. :-) Or else I would tend to use them as focals or onesie-twosies...

I haven't used any lampwork in bracelets, mainly because *I* couldn't wear them (working on a computer all day, bracelets are hard to wear if they're big), so 7 is good for me. 2 for earrings, 5 for the necklace. I like 9, makes a fancier necklace, but also usually heavier and more expensive. I'm still working on teaching my customers why glass should be more expensive than other stones. :-)

Price-wise, for selling, I like focals with 2 or 4 spacers. To make something for me personally, I like the sets of 7 or 9.

Is that non-specific enough for you? :-)

Kar>

Reply to
Karin Cernik

I am usually stopped when I see a set that has the same elements but all different colors. When looking at sets of the same bead I just skip over them. I like bright, funky can go together or not sets.

I like more beads in a set as well. Seven just isn't enough for a bracelet for me. I want my piece and the artist's work to really stand out. As for a necklace...well I usually only wear one piece on the neck so it can stand out alone.

Just my likes.

Reply to
starlia

Well I can only tell you what works for us we put up sets of 15 - 30, mostly different designs some pairs or a focal, if we put up a focal its by itself

Reply to
alex

Hi Kalera,

I like a set to use one set of colors for all the beads. Like Tinks pink, black and (?) beige. I'm going to have to add other elements probably including another color, and also a metal, so unity is important to me. All the beads don't need to be the same for me, but I want matched pairs. Including a small pair with some detail for earrings.

About sets of somewhat similar beads, I would rather get several sets, and do my own mixing and matching. There are just some colors I'm not fond of. For example, I don't want purple included in a set of aqua beads just because purple is popular. Believe me, if I want to add purple I can find it most anywhere. I have also bought several sets and unmixed them, as long as they are in the same families of colors. But it's much easier to add things together, than to pull out things that don't work for me; and then wonder what to do with them.

I like to use at least 3 to 5 beads in a necklace, and have another 2 for earrings. If the set has a focal using a custom glass color, I like to have spacers. At least 2. Four would be enough for 2 to set off the focal and 2 more for earrings. I also have some necklaces with 7 plus matching spacers that were part of the set, and two more of the "fancy" ones for earrings. And I have one necklace (and earrings) from a set of 13 beads that are small (8mm) and sort of paired, plus a few.

I am, however, starting to make more smaller, simpler, less expensive pieces that will sell better locally. Using 3 for the necklace and two for the earrings, or even just using crystals for the earrings. Still, I'd rather split up a larger set have too few.

Tina

Reply to
Christina Peterson

I take big sets apart. Don't want that many beads that look alike in one piece. Other than that, I can work with onesies, twosies, threesies or whatever combo your little heart desires.

Becki "In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

Reply to
BeckiBead

Awesome feedback, everyone, THANK YOU! I am getting a nice cross-section of what different wants/needs are out there, and it will help me tailor my sets to be useful to the widest range of people. I think the answer

*may* be "some of all of the above", which is great... it helps me fulfill my need for variety!

Speaking of which, I have a young friend (my best friend's son) who wanted me to make a set called "Footless Cassowary". LOL! The boy is hilarious... he's become mildly fixated on Cassowaries, and wants to see a set of beads in all the colors of a Cassowary but the feet, which are grey. And therefore, to a small boy, boring. (I *like* grey!)

So, yesterday I worked on this set. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what it should look like, so I started twisting dots, and I LOVE it! I only have to make one more bead to complete the set... I'll make sure to let y'all know when it's done, so you can see what color a Cassowary is! :p

-Kalera

Reply to
Kalera Stratton

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