sasha + max studio

Teardrop I have been playing with polymer clay this year, wanting to put a lot more of my own handmade into my pieces, and totally enjoying this new direction. So much to learn, so many gadgets one could buy!   Building your own patterns, making canes, adding texture, creating beads - the world is limitless. So many great artists to learn from whilst wanting to work with my own style. The journey continues...  

It's a long weekend in Sydney - a good time for reflection and creative pursuits. My sister-in law Grace suggested that I join her for the Frida Kahlo Diego Rivera exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. What a wonderfully curated show it was, telling in detail about their tumultuous life, the world at that time and the stories behind each work. Photo by Nickolas Muray Self Portrait with necklace Frida was an amazing women who dealt with some very tough health issues, and died tragically young in her mid 40's. She was a total ground breaker for women in art, never playing by rules.  I felt totally inspired both by her work and use of colour, and particularly by Frida's very individual look.  Photo by Edward Weston Her way of wearing chunky jewellery paired with authentic Mexican clothing was enough to get me back to the jewellery studio to make the below, and online to build my chunky bead stash. Frida Get in fast as the show at AGNSW...

Hi there. Hope your weekend has been creative. Hard to find the time some days. I bought this Tibetan bead from Lima beads in the US - isn't she lovely? She had to be the focus of a statement necklace. Enamel beads seem to be also going into my pieces of late - love the texture and colours. One day I will make my own when I can get some flame space organized and work out how to ship Barbara Lewis' torch flame tools to Australia. I also was tinkering with some other bright beads, one of Humblebeads gorgeous birds paired with a Golem lentil bead. Classic layout. Made for each other.

Hi there. Hope your weekend has been creative. Hard to find the time some days. I bought this Tibetan bead from Lima beads in the US - isn't she lovely? She had to be the focus of a statement necklace. Enamel beads seem to be also going into my pieces of late - love the texture and colours. One day I will make my own when I can get some flame space organized and work out how to ship Barbara Lewis' torch flame tools to Australia. I also was tinkering with some other bright beads, one of Humblebeads gorgeous birds paired with a Golem lentil bead. Classic layout. Made for each other.

With the sorry exchange rate between the Australian and the US dollar and ballooning postal rates I've been trying to source more of my art beads from local artists. This necklace features torch fired enamel beads by the lovely Liz de Luca from Queensland.

Happy Chinese New Year! Off to celebrate with my husband's family tonight with a feast at Sydney Fish Market. Short and sweet post today - just thought I'd share images of how my goodies are packaged once sold. I buy my boxes from Fusionbeads in the US and wrap them in Japanese Washi paper and tie with butcher's string. Just done a restock of Washi paper from one of my favourite stores,  the book and art store that is Kinokinuya in Sydney city. What a great shop full of amazing design books, goodies and cards. Sadly there are not many book stores left in Sydney now. I love Washi paper, the intensity of colour and delicate prints are truly a perfect match for the Sasha+ Max style.  The above are 4 different patterns, must say its always hard to pick which papers to buy.

Best wishes for 2016. I hope that you have had a great holiday break. Australia typically shuts down for 2 weeks as it's summer here. We spent a few days down in country Victoria, at Mt Macedon, the region famous for "Picnic at Hanging Rock", staying with dear friends, eating, wine tasting and drinking, bush-walking - perfect. No resolutions from me, except to get the landscaping done at our "new" home where we have been for 8 months, finish painting walls, and perhaps to give torch fired enamel beads aka Barbara Lewis style another try as I have outdoor space and won't set the cat or home on fire. It's been hard to get back into the day job routine this week, but funny enough there is always time for jewellery making! Here are some new creations using handmade lampwork and polymer beads from my favourite artists. All available at www.madeit.com.au/sashaandmax

I've been a busy beader -  both the Etsy and Madeit stores are filled with lots of lovelies for your holiday gifts. Shop sasha+max at Etsy Madeit

Simple is best sometimes...

Hi there, why is my post thus named Technologically challenged you might ask? Well I've been trying to work on a mail chimp database to get my act together with a quarterly newsletter. I've added a button the top right hand side of this blog....I'd really love it if you can give it a whirl then we can see if the thing's working!! I also need to get my act together on Instagram... working on it! Here are some new bits of eye candy. The first features a gorgeous bead made by an Australian lampworker, bought at a Sydney bead show  - have hoarded this for 12 months... meet Flower bed necklace.  The second is named Shades of Grey. It features Kazuri beads with some recycled wooden ones from a broken 'Elk" necklace. Nice and chunky.  These Sorrel earrings have the most amazing lemon lime beads, a bit hard to photograph but wow, they are intricate. And these Sierra ones are some nice modern geo fun Have a lovely weekend.

Simple, bold, colourful, affordable..great gifts.. meet Geo. They can be found at my Madeit store Wont be making too many of these as everyone else seems to be doing some variation of the bib necklace.

I've developed an obsession with Nepalese Samunnat beads, These beauties are hand made polymer hand painted beads made with such dedication by Nepalese women who have sought refuge from difficult vulnerable living and domestic situations. No two beads are alike, so if you want exacting perfection, these are not for you. I love the variation and the odd finger print. I find that simple is best when designing with these to let the beads speak for themselves. You can buy the beads from Antelope Beads in the US. The earrings are listed in the Sasha + Max Made it store