Designing Jewelry with Semiprecious Beads [Paperback]

Kim Gover (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

Learn to string beautiful jewelry using glass beads, pearls, and semiprecious stones with this all-in-one bead directory and design guide. Featuring more than 75 projects from a selection of international designers, this resource teaches crafters foolproof rules for successful designs including bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and brooches. Beginning with simple stringing examples that are cross-referenced to the relevant technique, each project includes beautiful photography, step-by-step instructions, a shopping list of all the main components, and a unique easy-to-follow stringing diagram, making this an ideal companion for the beginning designer, more seasoned beaders in need of a refresher, and veteran crafters.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Provides excellent and relatively easy-to-construct projects by bead artists for setting off these interesting beads with gold and silver findings and found objects such as charms."  —Library Journal

"A book that stone enthusiasts will love! There are so many features that make this a useful book, starting with the bead directory that teaches you about the characteristics and best companions for each stone."  —Beading-Arts.com

About the Author

Kim Gover is a jewelry maker who runs her own lampworking studio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596681047
• ISBN-13: 978-1596681040
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bling Bling, March 3, 2009

By 

Barbe K. Saint John (Wheeling) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Designing Jewelry with Semiprecious Beads (Paperback)

Whatever your skill or interest level, you'll find lots to inspire you in Designing Jewelry with Semiprecious Beads. The premise of this book is that by adding a few gemstones to your jewelry designs, you can create a stunning piece that is affordable as well!

This book starts with info about the book, materials and tools and then a section on buying stones. I think the buying section is brilliant and very helpful. New jewelry makers sometimes don't know whats a real deal and whats a sham when buying stones they are unfamiliar with.

Chapter one: The Stones. This has a bead directory of semi precious stones by color. Each section describes characteristics like typical color and shapes of the stones, relative price point as well as some interesting facts on each. This is a wonderful resource for beaders who aren't familiar with gemology. It also makes it easy to compare each stones facts, colors, cost, suitable stringing companions, etc... to each other. Its a great way for a new jewelry maker to learn about gemstones.

Chapter two: The Directory. There are over 75 earring, brooches, and bracelets projects from international designers for you to choose from. This sections starts with a photo gallery called the "Project Selector" that is broken down into catageories - Necklaces, Earrings, etc... I REALLY like this. I like being able to look over everything at once and then decide which I want to make first. After the photo gallery are the projects that are broken down by type. Each project has great photography, well written step-by-step instructions, shopping list, and easy-to-follow stringing diagrams.

Chapter three: Core Techniques. In this section are all the techniques you need to know to make the jewelry. There are step-by-step instructions such as stringing beads, wire wrappung, using headpins and crimping multiple strands. All with photos to help you master them. Following this section is a resource guide.

The abundance of projects, as well as the gemstone directory makes it a great book for any jewelrymakers library.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning palette of semiprecious stones in lovely jewelry designs!, April 2, 2009

By 

Jean Yates "jean, jewelry designer, book and... (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Designing Jewelry with Semiprecious Beads (Paperback)

Kim Gover's beautiful book, Designing Jewelry with semiprecious beads, urges you back to your roots if your first love was stones, as mine was. If that was not where you began your jewelry journey, congratulations! Here is the book to learn from about designing with semiprecious stones! You may think they are all expensive, but this is not the case. There is a good guide within the book which marks with dollar signs how expensive the range for each type of stone is, along with photos of the stone, a bit of lore about it, where it is sourced, and some of the forms it comes in, such as rounds, rondelles, etc.
There is no question that I thoroughly enjoy equally wandering into mixed media, lampwork (the author is a lampwork artist as well, and there is a lovely necklace with a lampwork bead on it in this book), polymer, plastic and other types of beads used for designing. However, once again, because of this book, I intensely understand to my core what it is to gather up that first strand of semiprecious stones, and hold it up to the light. It becomes a sort of glorious potential in my fingers, calling to me as a designer to work with it!

As you can see, I feel this is a great book. With over seventy five projects from a variety of designers, who lay out their techniques beautifully clearly, with explanations for why something goes with what, and wonderful photography, the author hits a complete home run with this collection of inspiring, glamorous, lyrical, colorful, fascinatingly put together pieces.
I wish that this had been the first jewelry book I purchased. The reason for this is that if you can design with color, understand your stones, learn your techniques, and get a lesson in what semiprecious stones have meant since each type was discovered, you have a book to return to time and time again.
You will learn to make wraps on beads, use head pins and eye pins, knot onto a clasp, knot cups on a multistrand piece, and more. As well you will learn how to choose which stones to put with which other stones. This is where people might consider beginning when they are eager to learn everything but don't want to lay out the cash for a number of books or DVDs or online tutorials. Specifically, if you want to learn about, or to work with colored semiprecious stones, even just seeing what the newest ones like Larimar look like, if you want to perfect your design layout, or your understanding of WHAT those materials are you are working with, what you will generally need to expect to spend, and what sort of cuts you might be able to find, along with (deep breath!) what kinds of tools you will need, and what sorts of styles you might like to try, you will see that here is a panoply of beautiful ideas available for you to peruse.




A super job by author Kim Gover and her contributors, Designing Jewelry with semiprecious beads is well worth your time!

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love the stone guide in this book, March 29, 2009

By 

Shala Kerrigan (Anchorage) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Designing Jewelry with Semiprecious Beads (Paperback)

This is hands down my favorite stringing book to come out in a long time. There are a lot of good ones that have come out in the last few years, but this one is the one I'd teach my daughter the basics of stringing from if I hadn't already taught her, and it is the one I'll let her use as a reference book.
It's primarily for beginners, and the bright colors and easy to read text make it fun and easy to follow, the first couple of chapters are the reason I love this so much for learning stringing. The introduction to the tools is pretty short, but don't worry, at the end of the book is a basic techniques section that covers techniques very well with photographs. The next section is about how to buy semiprecious beads, and it's a great resource for learning how and where to buy them. The 24 pages following that are descriptions and photos of semiprecious beads, 3 to a page, organized by color. It's a fantastic resource.
After that, the projects. They are well laid out with good color diagrams. They are simple, but elegant in design and execution and wouldn't be at all threatening to a beginner. Most of them could be completed in an evening or less.The balance and color of the projects make them very wearable, and there are some lovely quick earrings I'm looking forward to making myself.
If you're an advanced beader, this may make a good gift to someone you know who wants to learn the basics of stringing, or a good supplement on your own shelf just for that 24 page stone guide. If you're a beginner to stringing, it's a wonderful book to have.