Today I would love to introduce a dear friend of mine Laura of LunaBella Originals. I first met Laura many years ago and we were neighbours then housemates for a short time. We tended to nurture each others creativity as crafty types often do and share the same Magpie like attention span - "ooh bright shiny pretty whats that over there" when it comes to beading supplies.
I asked Lau if she wanted to write a piece to tell us about her crafting passions and inspirations and here it is ! Enjoy xox
" I started creating beaded jewelry in 2004 after a trip to my boyfriend's friends bead shop. I was instantly hooked and packed up my paints stopped being an "artist" and became a beader. I was enchanted with all the colours and shapes and sizes and oh there I go getting distracted by bright shiny objects again! My love of beads grew as I explored more techniques and realised the importance of always purchasing quality over quantity.
My creative space - I am lucky enough to have a huge bedroom so all my beads and creative stuff lives in one corner where I have my desk and a bookshelf full of supplies next to it, but I started out on the coffee table with a tiny pair of pliers pilfered from a cheap tool kit and one small tackle box of beads and findings.
I like to create pretty things, what I do isn't avant garde or high fashion. I'd like to think that I can add an item to someones accessory stash that they will pick up and put on regularly. I get a real kick out of seeing my friends and family wearing things I have gifted them in their everyday lives. My current stash of pretties I've made is a bit like me, a mixed bag. A little bit sweet and a little bit funky with a dash of quirk. I collect artisan lampwork beads from Australian artists for my personal stash, but you can expect to find genuine czech glass and swarovski crystals in a LunaBella creation. Seed beads are my new passion and bead embroidery my new favoured technique. I also dabble in papercrafts too. I have a horde of Japanese washi paper and a ton of vintage ephemera collage sheets.
A sense of community - through beading and in turn the Australian Beading Forum I have forged many fantastic friendships. Anyone who is a beadgeek clicks with other beadgeeks on sight. The girls of the forum are incredibly supportive and helpful and I don't know how far I would have got with this without them!
I am incredibly inspired by the following people - Margot Potter ~ The Impatient Crafter, Jennifer Perkins ~ The Naughty Secretary Club, Samara ~ Maddabling, Bianca Velder, Jane Law "
Want to find out more ?
Check out LunaBella Originals Online store
the LunaBella Originals blog LunaBella Blogspot
or the LunaBella Originals Facebook Fan Page
Lovely write up! I adore that green leafy piece.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jess - she is a clever girl - I love the steampunk piece in the first picture !
ReplyDeleteThanks for your lovely comment Jess! That one went to a very special person :)
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