Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Looking for advise from all the wire peeps out there!



Hi everyone! I've wanted to learn how to wire wrap for a long time now, and after seeing everyone's amazing wire work from the bead hop I'm even more eager to learn.

So I'm looking at books, and the one shown here Wire art jewelry is one of them that I am considering.

I was hoping that maybe some of you amazing wire wrappers out there could share some advise, and perhaps give me some recommendations on what books you love.

I appreciate any help you could give me!

Thank you so much and have a super creative day!!

3 comments:

Clamworks said...

I have that book...lots of techniques with lots of pictures describing each step. Plus it comes with a dvd, I know that can be more helpful for me sometimes.
I would recommend 2 other books, the first being "Handcrafted Wire Findings." Great book that shows you how to make findings, and several variations for each type. The fact you could use these for your beading along with any wirework jewelry you may create would give you a double bang for your buck.
The other book I'd recommend is "Beautiful Wire Jewelry for Beaders." The projects are broken down by difficulty, and each section is color coded so you can pick your section very easily. The other thing I like about it is that for each project, there are pictures at the end with variations or different uses for whatever you just made. (So for a pendant, they link a bunch together to make a bracelet.) I like that it helps give you "inspiration" pictures.
Sorry this is so long!
Christine

Maneki said...

Haven't read that particular book, but have a few others I read as a newbie, like Linda Jones' Making Colourful Wire & Beaded Jewellery. The inside is better than the cover. She's got a website with free basics too: http://www.wirejewellery.co.uk/

I think I learnt most of the basics online. There are many free tuts, tips and beginner's level projects. WigJig was the first place I went. Mostly jig work, but you can learn a lot about wirework in general too there. I also bought several downloadable tuts, e.g. from Eni Oken. If you haven't already, check out jewelrylessons.com -- there are free projects and basics as well as projects for all levels to buy. Other wireworkers sell their tuts on Etsy, do a search and you'll find them. Bead shops like Fusionbeads.com have some basic technique tuts as well. So free stuff and pdf tutorials for a fee -- highly recommended!

Then there's the jewellery making mags like Art Jewelry and Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry. They have projects for all levels.

Other wire books I have and like are Elegant Wire Jewelry by Kathy Frey and Fabulous Woven Jewelry by Mary Hettmansperger (not just wirework, lots of fibre). If you like romantic twisted wire and bead jewellery, you might want to check out Melody McDuffee's books. I've got her first one, Boutique Bead & Jewelry. It's got some downsides, which might not be in her new book, but still inspirational and you learn the basics step by step. There's also mostly wirework in Sharilyn Miller's Contemporary Copper Jewelry. I like that one and think some of the project are ok for a newbie but maybe you prefer another book on the basics as complement.

Other than that, it really depends on what type of wirework you like and which styles are to your taste. Like with McDuffee's delicate wire-twisted jewellery compared to Frey's sleek modern, often bead-free, style or Hettmansperger's earthy creations.

Good luck with the wirework!

Maneki said...

Wow! That was long -- and despite that I even forgot to mention another book I read as a newbie. I got the Swedish edition of this originally danish book. Interesting styles and mixed types of jewellery.

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Silver-Wire-Jewelry-Irene-From-Petersen/9781579906450