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The gems of September are lapis lazuli and blue sapphire, but many people believe that other gems belong to September group, one of them is kunzite.

Kunzite is a pink to lilac colored gemstone, a variety of spodumene. It's one of the "young" gemstones; kunzite was discovered in 1902 in the Pala District of San Diego County in California, and was named after George Frederick Kunz, Tiffany & Co's chief jeweler at the time, and a noted mineralogist. Kunzite with delicate pink hues is seen more and more often nowadays, making an attractive eye-catcher in jewelry. Some (but not all) kunzite used for gemstones has been heated to enhance its color. It is also frequently irradiated to enhance the color. Many kunzites fade when exposed to sunlight.

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In the trade, kunzite is available in many beautiful cuts. It is one of the gems, which are available in relatively large sizes at affordable prices. When making a purchase, however, you should remember that it is first the color and then the clarity that determines its value. The more intense the color, the more valuable the kunzite. The question of whether the color should tend more or less strongly towards violet will depend on your personal preference and skin type.

Originally found in the USA, today the main sources of pink kunzite are in Brazil, USA, Canada, CIS, Mexico, Sweden, Western Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The crystals, or fragments of crystals, can attain sizes of up to several kilogram.

Best Use Of Color - Spring Tenderness Necklace
Tatiana Naumchik, Astana, Kazakhstan

It's a pleasure to see young beadworkers among professionals. Tatiana Naumchik lives in the capital city of the sunny Kazakhstan, Astana. This year Tatiana won Best Use Of Color Award in the first Fashion Colorworks Beading Contest, that's a great success!

Tatiana says, "My passion in beading has a long story, though I'm a fresh highschool graduate. Once a friend of mine has brought me pretty nice beads, and we have twisted them trying to make something. I still keep them, and they remember me how my hobby began. Then I had been taken a beading course for about a year, but quitted, it was boring for me there. But I have never stopped working with beads! Even though I have sewn for two years, I always could find time for my beading!

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When taking school tests I had only time to prepare to them, but after graduation I have pulled out my precious stuff and started beading, looking for inspiration in Internet, but adding something new to beadwork by my own. Then I discovered crafting forums, and it meant the new level of my creativity. I was always fond of looking at beadworks of other artists, I learned from them to pick up colors, to make up different elements into a beautiful piece of jewelry.

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A while ago I got interested in bead embroidery, I learned it, and embroidery is one of my favorite techniques now. I like it because I can draw whatever I want and create nice jewelry. As a matter of fact, design might look like twisted lines. Another my favorite technique is square rope stitch that allows geometrical shapes. Oriental Queen Set was one of my first beadworks made using that technique. The idea of design came to me when I sat in the classroom in my school; I wear this set even now.

In spring I read about Fashion Colorworks Beading Contest. I wanted to enter such a contest for a long time, and I was excited with the rules that the contest was to be conducted online, that you were not limited with what to do, but the color combinations. I always have problems picking up colors, and the contest seemed right for me, and I started buying materials according one of the triads."

Full article by Tatiana Naumchik
 
Gallery of beadwork by Tatiana Naumchik
 
Email: kleo62@mail.ru

Best Use Of Materials - Hope, Footsteps On The Sand Set
Viktoriya Katamashvili, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia

Interview with beadwork artist Victoriya Katamashvili

We're very pleased to meet and to talk to Victoriya (Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia) again. Last year she was our guest in the newsletter, but our life goes on, and now we're having Viktoriya as a winner of the Fashion Colorworks 2010. Many of you have already known her by bead tutorials we publish every month in our newsletter. Anyway, nice to meet you, Victoriya!

1. What interesting events have you participated in last time?

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In May the Russian Academy of Arts held the Philanthropy International Award 2010 Exhibition, where more than 150 juried artworks of 40 artists were presented. I was lucky, and my beadworks were among items of 18 artists in Arts and Crafts category, including Russian Leaf Brooch, the picture of that was first published in my tutorial in MyLovelyBeads.com newsletter in April last year!

Another exciting event, Bead Design Exhibition, was in December 2009 in Moscow. During my beading career I created a few ensembles consisting of clothes and beaded accessories, and three of them were showcased in the exhibition.

2. If so, additional question: do you create these ensembles only for exhibitions? Do they have "another life"?

Of course, they go live! The Day Ensemble from the Day and Night Collection was worn by my daughter for the school ball and for our city mayor ball, she put on The Day Ensemble from that collection for the school graduation ball this year. I think the dresses looked even more spectacular than clothes from boutiques.

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First, I'm glad to work with the local fashion designer Tatiana Iordan. Our collaboration is always promising. Making her ideas live I find something new in materials I'm used to work with.

The most interesting project was accepted from another fashion designer, Olga Koroleva. She was commissioned to design clothes for bridesmaids of a Russian bride in London. Try to imagine, the groomsmen costumes should have been designed by another artist in Scottish style! Olga asked me to create Russian style tiaras (kokoshniks) for bridesmaids; I did my best and made them using wire and beads; the tiaras featured Russian churches domes. Olga sent me feedbacks from London, "Your tiaras made furor in the center of London!" It meant success.

Full interview with Victoriya Katamashvili
 
Gallery of beadwork by Victoriya Katamashvili
 
Fashion collection with beaded accessories
 
Email: master-raduga@yandex.ru
 
Website: master-raduga.nnov.ru

Spiral rope stitch is the technique that allows beadworkes creating interesting jewelry. Viktoria Katamashvili gave us a tutorial on two versions of that technique: version 1 (pages 1-4) and version 2 (pages 5-7), and compares varieties when you use thin and thick thread, and when you pick up different number of beads.

           Tutorial: Spiral rope stitch

           Victoriya Katamashvili. Spiral rope stitch in jewelry

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