sasha + max studio

Licorice Earrings It is getting busy in the lead up to the holidays - must say, am really looking forward to a couple of weeks at home hanging out with Sasha and Kevin, warm weather and having more beading and sewing time.  I recently reinvigorated my sewing side by buying a new Singer machine - lots of fun but does eat into the bead time - need to rebuild my skills before I will share any creations on that front! On a totally different front, have you read the book " The Dalai Lama's Cat " -? It is such a sweet story, very light, all fiction, telling the tale of a Himalayan cat who is saved from the streets of Delhi and learns Buddhist lessons -  thank you Ingrid of The Conscious Cat who posted about it. Here are some newer earrings using enamel components from Suebeads and Gardanne. Doily Earrings

A dear friend, Alice turned 30 last week, so I made her a special necklace. Her style is minimal, but with lady like flair.  The Japanese bead by by Australian ceramic artist Natalie Fletcher of Peruzi , paired with some simple wooden discs and Elaine Ray's red beads were a perfect fit. Puzzle Bracelet This new bracelet in lovely neutral tones with a gorgeous mix of artist beads has been added to the Etsy store.  Use the code BRACELET20 to get 20% off any bracelet on the Etsy store -  code is however valid for bracelets only. Limited time only, so it is a great time to stock up on gifts.

Continuing my travel related posts, here are the London Highlights of the Forbo tour. The London Design Festival was huge - I wish we had more time (and energy!) The V+A Museum alone could have taken up two or three days! Highlights at V+A were the art installations, the Heatherwick Studio retrospective ( Thomas Heatherwick and team are multi skilled designers responsible for the Olympic cauldron and the new London Buses), and the Ballgowns exhibition, which had many designer gowns from the 1950's to now. Art Installation at the V+A Museum Entry We also visited two expos. The first was an interior design and architecture trade show, 100% Design at Earls Court - it was a fairly standard trade fair, much better than its Australian counterpart and the entry was certainly a highlight. Entry Installation at 100% Design  The second was called Tent, and was primarily furniture, accessories and lighting from more up and coming designers, although there were some oldies the...

Typical Amsterdam houses A work colleague and I were very lucky to win the Forbo award trip for a flooring design using marmoleum. The prize was an all expenses paid trip to Amsterdam and London for a week, to visit the Forbo factory,  have architectural and design tours, plus visit the London Design festival. Forbo's Krommenie Showroom The Forbo team looked after us very well, and we had a wonderful and hectic time, lots of food and great conversation, plenty of galleries and design talk, and a wee bit of shopping! My new shoes from United Nude Found an amazing shoe shop in Amsterdam, called United Nude -the store fitout was very cool, and the shoes are totally architectural, amazing colours, perhaps some not so great to walk in but very sculptural- I played it safe, I am an older chick, so bought 2 pairs in more muted tones, with relatively sensible heels, but will no doubt visit their on line store in the future as they ship to Australia. Restaurant De ...

How has your weekend been - did you watch the Olympic opening ceremony? I loved the Queen with James Bond, probably the best part of the show for me! It was our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday, so on a crisp sunny winter's day we went for a long lunch down by the beach at Balmoral at the Public Dining Room (strange name but great food), a wonderful restaurant with  a casual fitout  of oak flooring and original Eames chairs. Here are a few new beaded pieces. The first is a partner to the Snowgum bracelet, and has beads by all the fabulous ladies, such as Gardanne, Bo Hulley, Elaine Ray, Shannon Levart and Pip's Beads. Snow Gum Owls I must say those owl beads by Pips Beads are sooo sweet. They did not need much but a splash of colour and some wire.   Red The bracelet continues my obsession with Elaine Ray's ceramics. Sasha says "Have a great week!"

Hi there, sorry it has been so long between posts. I've been making only small amounts of jewellery of late, and have been trialling my new light tent to take photos, with mixed results - it can get very dark at our place during winter so I finally gave in. The egg bead featured below is by the lovely Vero of Narrative - what a talented artist she is. Egg Pendant On a personal note, the loss of Main Coon Max cat three months ago left me with not a lot to say for a while blog wise- he might have "only been a cat" as non pet people say, but to my husband Kevin and I, he was a vital part of our lives, and we were not prepared to say goodbye after 4 short years. Sasha, Max's sister, still looks for him every day which is somewhat heart breaking. This all has resulted in a fairly low key frame of mind as we move through our grieving time - time heals, as they say, and we are slowly mending  thanks to the love of friends, family and the sweet nature of Sasha.

Hi all, it's been a while -  I hope you are all well. Thought I'd share some creative love. The Vivid festival in Sydney is a celebration of light and all things creative. The city gets new colour as wonderful light shows are projected on to some of our most prominent buildings, and there are all sorts of talks regarding the creative process held at the Museum of Contemporary Art.  These photos are just a minor sample of what is there. (excuse some of the photos quality - it was so crowded this weekend - it felt like new years eve in the city last night!) The Animated light show at Customs House was amazing Customs House by day A giant Swarovksi Chandelier over the harbour

I'm not sure why I make so many bracelets- they are not that popular with Sasha +Max customers, but I can't help myself - I love making them! Here are 3 versions using wood, filigree beads from Gardanne, and a variety of closures. The red one uses some beautiful bright lampwork beads from my new discovery, Australian artist Marji Darling of  Marjoram Hot Glass . I have given them Australian names in honour of today which is ANZAC day, the day when we remember those who lost their lives at war. Snowgum Red Centre Rainforest

Back at the beading studio this weekend.  Here are some new pieces using Round Rabbit pendants, and my first use of silk fibre. Relic Sahara I've struggled to get back to the bead table as I am now missing my creative partner, maine coon cat Max, who loved to hang out with me and check out the beads. Max lost his battle with kidney sickness at the young age of 4 years and we had to let him go - we are all devastated. Sasha, his sister, is puzzled and is looking for him all the time, and our home is very quiet without the gentle giant. We were very privileged to have him in our lives. Thank you for your kind messages over the past couple of weeks - it has meant a great deal to us.

Sweet Maxy, one of our main coon twin cats (furr kids) after whom this blog and the jewellery shops are named has been very ill over the last few days. We are on an emotional rollercoaster, he is only a baby at 4 years, and has just pulled through major kidney surgery this afternoon. We are hoping and praying that he survives the ordeal.  If you can say a prayer or send some healing karma our way for Max that would be wonderful. Thanks, Vicki and Sasha (and Kevin, my darling husband)

Bronze Age necklace Bronze Age necklace A package arrived with lots of Elaine Ray's ceramic beads. I really love the rustic and unique style of her work - you can see that hand made nature, yet she adds very slick finishes in gloss, metallic effect and punchy colour glazes. Linked Necklace

Secret Garden Bracelet fern earrings Freckles pink earrings As winter soon draws to a close in the Northern hemisphere, summer in Australia ends February 29. It's been a very wet summer in Sydney - more humid rainy /overcast days than sun. We Sydneysiders hate wet weather - there's been lots of grumbling. So I made some pieces that reflect nature -  the carpet of green and the flowers that describes Sydney after all this rain, and as a preview for the long anticipated spring for our northern friends. These pieces will be added to Sasha + Max stores over the next few days. Mist earrings

Empress Necklace The crescent shaped feature piece by Elaine Ray was rediscovered in my beading stash. It is a beautiful piece that I bought a long time ago - I have a bad habit of ordering bits and pieces with some fantastic beading project in mind, only to forget what I needed it for by the time it makes its way from the US to Australia which usually  2 -3 weeks. Sketching and notes would be a good idea! The result is that this necklace is rather bold - she will need a creative and strong willed woman to own her, hence the name, Empress. I want to say many thanks to Zara, a new customer from the Blue Mountains who has bought 8 of Sasha+Max Studio's Japanese necklaces this week to sell in her new gift store. Here are some other recent pieces, all part of the continual Japanese collection. Aieko features a Chinook pendant, and Maya is a longer style to balance the size of Round Rabbit's pendant, with a lacing detail. Maya Aieko ...