sasha + max studio

Hope you have all had a great holiday season. Love the holidays - never enough of them, and in Australia we get 4 weeks annually so a girl shouldn't complain. . It's been hectic here on the day job work and social front, so I'm keeping a low profile for a few days and getting lots of beading done. News is that I'm having a SALE  in the Sasha +Max Studio Etsy Shop - Here's the lowdown: 15% off when you enter the code :  DECEMBERSALE 20% off orders $50 or over, enter the code: DEC20 The fine print: Ends New years Eve December 31 Total Order value for 20% off excludes shipping. Happy shopping!

How do these wonderful glass artists do it ? I can't believe these copper look beads by Outwest are glass - she is a talented glass artist. All I need to do was keep it simple.. Relic Necklace El Grande Lone Star Earrings  And the vintage glass look that Jenn from Blue Seraphim achieved with these beads is so beautiful ... Vintage Look Earrings As we enter the crazy countdown to Christmas, I ask, where has the year gone.....

Petite Sunshine Earrings The postman brought me my package of Mika of Pinocean's lampwork etched raku beads this week. Mika is a majorly talented lampworker who sells on Etsy. Don't know about fellow bead folk, but I've got a bad habit of not reading the detail on how big the beads are (even though Mika clearly states this) , so at first I thought "Uh oh, very small" They are in fact small and so beautiful, requiring not much more than to be grouped together to create some very sweet earrings. Here's what was made, with no beads to spare!   The bead strand photo is courtesy of  Mika Collins. Freckles Terracotta Earrings Petite Turquoise Earrings Freckles Ivory Earrings Lone Star Earrings

A trio of very different styles - sums up my head space this weekend. On a a small hiatus for a few days (after the post holiday soul searching), I've finished a design role last week with one firm (sad to say goodbye to a very nice and talented group), and will be starting a really fabulous new one with old colleagues in a great senior position on Wednesday  - tres exciting! Less beading time ahead though, so I've been a beading maniac this weekend ....think it's going to be a big week.

There's a show at a friends place in a couple of weeks, so I've been a one woman beading machine - I really enjoy making earrings as you can take colour risks, and it's quick creative gratification.And hey, if it doesn't work you pull it apart and start again. The lovely beads and pieces are from my hoarded bead stash from Blue Seraphim, Bleu Verre,  Outwest, Round Rabbit, Chinook, Humblebeads and some of Miss Ficklemedia's copper rosette hooks.

New  Bird house necklace the name is inspired by the song by They Might Be Giants, "Birdhouse in your Soul" which strangely I can't get out of my head.... My thoughts this weekend have been around a sense of place. My husband and I had lunch with his parents yesterday. They are Chinese Malaysian born, and have been in Australia since 1975. His parents yesterday started sharing some amazing stories regarding their lives in Malayasia during and after the WW2 Japanese occupation, their own parents and how they managed their lives during these time, how they met, why they left Malaysia during difficult political unrest to go to Singapore, and eventually Australia where they built their own home and created new lives yet again. I have been reminded how important it is to retain these stories that form our heritage, that provide us with a sense of who we are, a sense of home and a place to be. We need to remember to take the ask our elders to share their stories. It was a...

Yesterday I reminded myself that that sometimes I have to stop and make jewellery for me to wear too. Must be the change of season.  These are some sterling rounds that I made in a silver jewellery course last year - they're a bit rough but go well with the leather, some wood, and an eclectic mix of beads by Humblebebeads, Blue Seraphim and Outwest. Spending a lot of time in my own head space doing the post-holiday life direction contemplation, as you do. Been a bit quiet on the blog front, just doing some catch up with the Sasha+Max shops this weekend after a lovely big sale to a Brisbane store, having some quality cat time,  and trying to get some fitness regime happening... hmmm,  must be spring...