Customer Reviews

Mixed Metals

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The authors Danielle Fox & Melinda Barta seem to out do themselves with each book they put out. Mixed Metals had me when I saw the cover-SWOON!!!!

The focus of Mixed Metals: Creating contemporary jewelry with silver, gold, copper, brass & more is about rethinking the way we use metal in our jewelry designs. Utilizing premade metal beads, charms, clasps. chains and other components accessible at any bead store, this mixed metal jewelry book offers 21 boutique style projects that don't require any metalworking skills. Whether an experienced beader or beginner, these gorgeous projects will inspire you to "mix it up" and have fun with a variety of premade components.

The projects themselves are so lovely, you will be running to your local bead or craft store to find some of the unique items shown in this book. I have a HUGE shopping list already compiled.

Mixed Metals begins with projects based on each type of metal - Gold, Silver, Base Metals, Faux/other metals and Mixing Metals. Each chapter has background information on that type of metal, from history, facts, common properties to care, and cleaning. Each project had step by step instructions and detailed photography.

There are also techniques for altering the metals by using liver of sulfur, other patinas, and hammering. A glossary of terms, beading & wirework 101 techniques, resources and shopping guide are at the end of the book.

You won't be afraid to throw caution to the wind and mix some gold and silver chains with copper charms after reading this book. I think this book will be liberating to alot of jewelrymakers who feel a bit stuck with just using all one type of metal. It's a gorgeous book not only for it's projects, but also for it's inspiration and shopping links.

I love the authors of this box, Danielle Fox and Melinda Barta. I own two other books by the both of them. The projects in the book are stunning, and completely inspiring. My only problem was that the pictures for the projects are not in the same place as the instructions, so you do have to go back and forth to see the end product. But, all in all, well worth it.

I liked many of the projects in this book. I particularly liked the innovative use of component pieces--they make the projects look fresh and new no matter what color or type of metal is being used. I've been making jewelry for about 5 years now and found the instructions and supply lists to be quite good. My complaints are with the photography and placement. As other reviewers have pointed out, the full photos for each project are located at the beginning of each chapter. Why separate them from the actual project instructions? Also, many of the full project photos are clear in the foreground, but fade to a blur in the background. This is extremely irritating, particularly for necklace photos where you are trying to see how the clasp is attached. Some of the project instructions make up for this by shooting half the necklace in close to show the clasp end. Additionally, most of the photos are shot on white or very light backgrounds and they feature white or light colored beads. That also makes it very difficult to see the details of the piece. It's obvious that a lot of care went into the creation of this book, I just wish that more attention had been paid to layout and photos.

This is a beautiful book, with some attractive jewelry designs. However, I was looking for a book with more designs combining different metals, rather than information about different metals used separately. The last section with designs combining different metals was disappointingly short.

None of the local stores had this book in stock; if I'd had an opportunity to look at it before I bought it, I would have left it on the shelf.

Several of the projects use very little metal at all, except for a few head pins, jump rings, and a clasp. For many projects, the metal color comes from a metal-toned glass bead. In several instances, also, the photography (which overall, is very good) doesn't use lighting that makes it obvious that different metals are used. Sometimes gold and brass look a lot alike.

I will give the authors points for some imaginative uses of elements, but overall, I didn't find much here for me. Those who tend to like the steampunk look will probably like this book much more than those who like a more classic design approach.

I was pretty disappointed with this book. I thought it would have lots of great ideas for using different metals in the same design. There was only a small part of the book devoted to this. It gave you info about different metals which some people may want but this was not what I was looking for. I think the cover of the book and advertisements I have seen in magazines showed the best work. I was not impressed with many of the other designs in the book.

Definitely not a book about metalworking. The pictures are very large and clear. The pictures are definitely great. The book is touted as being for beginners. I think beginners would have difficulty following how to string the pieces together. There are no step-by-step instructions with pictures to show what to do. There are some good tidbits of information. I found the oxidizing section to be short and basic. At the end of the book, it has a decent glossary and a good resource section. This book would be good if you are looking for resources for vintage pieces or are looking for inspiration on what you already do. It is good for people who are strong visual learners and need to see examples. The instructions are not great. This is not a metalsmithing book since it just combines metal charms and metal chains. It has not metalsmithing in it.

The pictures are great, lots of that vintage, aged, boutique type look. Not really a book to learn a new technique per say as it is a color/theme inspiration book. After pricing out materials to make something for myself, I came to the conclusion that it would cost me more to make something like this than I would value the finished product if that makes sense. I'd rather spend that money achieving something else... or multiple something elses! ;-) It wasn't a keeper, I gave mine away.

I have read all the reviews on this book. I am not sure why one reviewer would have thought that this book was about metalworking. Obviously, it is not.

But what Melinda Barta and Danielle Fox do so well separately they cannot help but do magnificently when they put their considerable talents together. They make great jewelry. It is as simple as that.

And if you want to make showstopping jewelry designs, you should look no further than Mixed Metals.

Both ladies are editors of magazines and come across all that is the best and brightest in the field of jewelry making on a daily basis (can you say 'dream job'?). When I see their pieces, in their magazines or in any of their books, I am always blown away by the combination of great materials and engaging design. They always make the things I would like to wear myself.

I have a huge library of books in my collection devoted to jewelry design. This is one at the top of my list. But unlike some reviewers who were obviously seeking a step by step plan of attack on the projects, I bought it for my library for inspiration. I would never take a project in a book or magazine or website and try to copy it exactly. While the detailed instructions make that possible in any venue, it is not art when you do that. You need to find inspiration and then go and make it your own. I am a big proponent of making one-of-a-kind wearable art and I have always used a variety of mixed metals in my designs, so I was not looking for a how-to but rather a why-not.

If you want project insructions with detailed pictures, then Beadwork and Stringing magazines are two of the best. But if you want to be inspired to make your own interpretations of the work of some great jewelry artists and find new ways to bring your designs to life with the use of the wide variety of metals out there today, then Mixed Metals is a great resource to have.

My other recommendations at the top of my library of inspiration: Custom Cool Jewelry by Melinda Barta and Simply Modern Jewelry by Danielle Fox. I bought Mixed Metals precisely because I have their other books and knew that if I was impressed with them separately, I would love them together. I think you will, too.

I was disappointed in this book .. didn't have as much to share as I anticipated and had read about ...