Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 20, 1995 TAG: 9502220005
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Now, the skilled craftsmen still create works of art - but, so do some kids, and for a lot less money.
Elizabeth Ferguson makes jewelry she never wears. She just enjoys doing it. And she tried to sell it for a while.
``I made fliers on my computer and handed it out to friends,'' she said. ``I got about 12 orders and then it stopped.''
Elizabeth, a seventh-grader at James Madison Middle School in Roanoke, started out with broken necklaces from her mom and a ``defective bead loom.'' Every time she sent the bead loom back for one that worked, they sent her more beads, too. She finally ended up with a working loom and loads of ``seed beads.''
Seed beads are tiny, brightly colored glass or plastic beads that can be strung on nylon fishing line or very thin wire, or woven into patterns on a hand-held loom. Elizabeth uses them for keychains, earrings, rings and necklaces. She also embroiders with them.
Elizabeth learned to make jewelry by trial and error and didn't get any instructions until she ``pretty much knew what [she] was doing.'' Most of her ideas came ``out of her head,'' but she has also looked in books at the library. She makes what she likes and doesn't pay much attention to the jewelry people are wearing.
On the other hand, Devon Rood of Roanoke, a fourth-grader at Roanoke Valley Christian School, gets a lot of her ideas from noticing what other people are wearing.
``You can get so many ideas in one day at the mall,'' she said.
Devon, though only 10, sounds like a pretty smart businesswoman already. She designed her own logo for cards displaying her jewelry on her computer and has been selling her creations, mostly earrings, to people she knows and in her father's hair salon.
Devon checks magazines and catalogs to see what styles and colors are popular, but she also makes up many of her own designs. Her father gives her ideas and lets her know what sells well, too.
She's self-taught and has a lot of helpful hints.
Devon uses ``friendly plastic'' for a lot of the pins she makes. It's sold as small rectangles (about 2 inches by 4 inches) for 33 cents and comes in many colors and patterns. It cuts easily and shapes can be layered on top of each other. After you've put all the pieces together just the way you want them to look, carefully place them in a regular or toaster oven at 250 degrees (with an adult helping) and check it about every minute until the pieces have bonded together.
Then, you have about 30 seconds to make indentations or other marks on the jewelry or to place decorative pieces (beads, crystals, etc.) on it before it hardens permanently.
Fimo and Sculpey are similar to friendly plastic, but a lot more expensive. A 2-inch square costs around $1.35. Fimo and Sculpey can be molded and shaped and decorated with other materials (and you can change your mind a lot) until it's baked. Then, whatever you've created is forever.
For earrings, Devon uses plastic and glass beads (``Glass costs more, but it looks better,'' she said.), small decorative pieces of metal, and crystals. Her current favorite type of bead is terra cotta, which she said is popular and ``people are wearing a lot of those tones.''
When she shops for materials, she gets ideas as she looks at the beads.
``Sometimes I pick out a bead I like or know my friends would like and then pick beads that will go with it,'' she said.
She also picks out ``findings'' - supplies such as wires, hooks, clasps and pin backs. The only special tool she uses is a wooden piece that looks like a miniature lance (about 6 inches long), for etching the friendly plastic. Otherwise, a small pair of needle-nosed pliers is her handiest helper.
Sometimes, Devon buys a kit with all the supplies she needs. But, she contributes her imagination, as well. She recently added thin wire she bends and twists in abstract shapes to her list of variations.
Devon has made a tidy sum of money during the past year - 10 percent of it goes to her church; 90 percent she spends on POGS or shopping sprees at The Limited.
Although Devon is artistic, she said you really don't have to be to make jewelry.
R.J. Morrison, the Tie Dye Guy, agrees. ``If you can tie a knot, you can make jewelry,'' he said. ``It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do it.''
Morrison said lots of boys are making jewelry, too. For $1, you can buy a strip of leather (called a thong) and add a bead or beads for a few more dollars. Boys are making necklaces and friendship braces, and using molding clay (Fimo and Sculpey) to create action figures.
The friendship bracelets just might be for their girlfriends - the action figures, probably not.
Morrison is willing to offer advice on making jewelry any time you wander in and ask for it. If you get a group of friends together, he'll even teach a class.
The Tie Dye Guy recently moved from Towers Mall to the Scribner's Building, 907 Fourth St., S.E., off the Elm Avenue exit from Virginia 581. He moved his ``couple of thousand different beads,'' too.
Necklaces are among the more popular items, according to Ann Patsell. Patsell bought Apple Lou's Arts and Crafts on Walnut Avenue in Vinton. She changed the name to AJ's Craft Supplies.
Chokers can be made with velvet or ribbon and a charm, or a charm with more hanging from it, Patsell said. Necklaces are made with leather or satin string hung with beads or charms (animal faces and cowboy hats are popular right now).
She's even seen kids weave beads and charms into their shoelaces. Older kids are buying supplies to make dreamcatchers, she said.
At Jo-Ann Fabrics, there's an aisle of nothing but beads and jewelry supplies. Seed beads are popular there, and come in bright primary colors and are made of fancy glass. Jumbo packs in mixed colors, with 500-1,000 beads sell for $3.99; 69 cents buys 100-200 beads of the same color.
Two small spools of beading thread cost $1.19 and beading needles cost 79 cents for four.
``It's easier to use special needles,'' said Susan Parr, merchandise manager at Jo-Ann Fabrics on Franklin Road in Roanoke. (There's also a Jo-Ann's on Airport Road.) Just tie a knot when you're done.
So, to make a beaded necklace would cost ... You do the math.
Friendship necklaces are made with a leather thong and plastic beads. Red, yellow, green, black and white beads have to be used for it to be an official friendship bracelet, but they can be in any sequence. Tie off one end, string the beads, and give it to your favorite friend. Cecilia Bowles, ``the Bead Alley lady'' at MJ Designs, has seen both girls and boys wearing them. Cost: less than $4.
MJ Designs has free make-it, take-it classes once a month on Saturdays. Supplies are provided free, too. But, beware, making jewelry can easily become a habit.
Park and recreation departments have jewelry-making classes, as do other stores that sell supplies. Call for schedules.
Whether you wear your creations, give them as gifts, or start your own small business, it's a nice feeling to know you've made something unique.
When Devon saw a girl she knew wearing a pair of earrings she had made, ``it made me feel great,'' Devon said.
Making jewelry isn't just for grown-ups any more.
by CNB