A Story of the "I Love Blood" Necklace in the Demi-Monde

When I decided that the time had come for me to sell beads - I didn't sell the ones I was making when I just started, they didn't seem to me to be good enough for other people to buy them - I thought that the best place to sell would be at a fair. And the first ever fair I went to was the Halloween weekend at Whitby. I made lots and lots of black beads, mainly tablet-shaped, and as you can see, they are still here with me! :)

There are all kinds, mainly etched with a tiny design on one side which is left unetched, or shiny. I do like them, and I hope one day they will find a good home with someone who will treasure them as much as I do.

The reason why I remembered these beads today is because I made a little necklace that consisted of three beads:

The original transparent red bead had a little white artificial diamond inside, but I could not find that necklace. It doesn't matter really, as today the sun was shining right through the bead making it all sparkly. When you look at them, you see "i", "heart" and a red bead in the shape of a drop. This was my take on "I love blood" - for the Whitby crowd.

BUT there is one other side to this story: in "The Demi-Monde: Winter", the first of the quadrology that Rod has written, there is a tiny episode, where Norma, one of the main characters, is surrounded by the bad guys, and "...The Witchfinder wrenched off the 'I (heart) Blood' necklace Norma was wearing, sending the glass beads skittering over the frost-hard cobbles."... Well, this is the necklace that went into the book!

February Already!

Bead of the Day: "Winter Slumberland" (sold on ebay)

We've been so busy trying to find a new place to live that I have totally neglected my blog - again! :( So I thought that if I keep it brief then it'll take me less time to write things which is always a problem: I write something, then I read it, re-write it, read it again and so on!

Anyway, in January I had to re-think my plans for the next book. Originally I thought I'd go to have a number of classes with Akihiro Okama and then I'd write a book of projects on japanese beads (tonbodama). But it felt like a book like this was very niche and it wouldn't appeal to a large number of lampwork artists and lampwork fans. Instead, I'll be working on a follow-up to my "Glass Bead Jewelry Projects" with possibly another 15 projects. The projects, however, are going to be more complicated, with more advanced techniques, like making and working with your own hand-pulled murrini, creating multi-layered paperweight-like base beads, decorating them using the very thin stringer, etc. etc. I've got lots of projects in my head; the trouble is, I've got to put it all down on paper and, what is a lot more difficult, to capture it all in photos.

I've also written and sent off two tutorials: one for the Bead and the other for Beads&Beyond. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to blog about the contents yet, so I won't :). The only thing is, as it's been bitterly cold and I have practially been unable to work in my usual place - conservatory - I've have a LOT of problems with making the final pieces for the articles, as I needed to send them off to be photographed by the magazines. Luckily for me, this hurdle is over and I'll be looking forward to seeing my projects in the summer issues - I'll keep you updated.

My little garden fairy is all covered in frost - Derbyshire proved to be very cold!

I've also been doing a lot of reading: Rod's second book in the Demi-Monde saga ("Spring") is out now, and I've been proof-reading the third, "Summer", and his other book which he wrote previously but haven't published yet. After that I've got the forth and the last of the Demi-Monde, "Fall", which is also written and is now with the editor. Busy!

Soon I'll start packing. Sadly, it will affect my bead making process... But I look forward to the new place and the new ideas!

And the Winner Is...

And the winner of the Festive Prize draw is Jane Tyrrell! Jane writes a wonderful blog (http://jane-janesjournal.blogspot.com/) of which I am a follower. She also has an Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/janesgemsandjewels ) where she sells beautiful jewellery and cards that she makes. Jane is a very talented jeweller, so it would be great if she lets me have a pic of what she's made with the "Morning Glory" beads. Thank you, Jane, for your support and I hope you have a lovely Christmas and a healthy, prosperous and peaceful New Year!

Apart from doing the Prize Draw, I've been thinking about starting a business page of Facebook for Nelli Rees Lampwork. The thing is, that although everything takes a lot of time for administration, it will give me a great chance of putting the links to my Etsy and ebay listings, especially if and when I put new beads and jewellery for sale. Whenever I do it on Facebook on my personal page, I always feel like I'm bugging my FB friends with my business things. My personal FB page is kind of for my "personal" things and announcements. I think it would be a good idea to split the two. So if you, my dear followers, get an invitation to "like" my new business page on FB, this is the explanation why I've done it.

Also, as you might know, my husband Rod has been writing "The Demi-Monde" books - saga, as they call it now, because there are four books in this series. It's been very close to both of us, as Rod asks me sometimes to proof read his work, and we do discuss the plot and the characters. So I'd also like to let my friends know what's happening on the Demi-Monde side of things, and again, I'd rather use my business page for these announcements.

I've looked into it, and it's not difficult, I'll just need to put some pix together to post on my profile etc, and I'll be in business! Talk to you soon!:)

Flame Off Prize - Please Enter to Win!

I saw an Asian glass artist talking to his glass-making gods before starting his work. Every time I want to make beads now, I come up to my oxycon and say, "Please switch on, please switch on!". Hopefully, I'll be able to take it to Tuffnells next week for a service.

Yesterday I was lucky (the oxycon did switch on almost immediately) and I managed to start on the set of beads which I'm planning to give away as one of the GBUK prizes. This year they called for sponsorship of prizes for the GBUK Bead and Jewellery Competition which will be held at the Towcester Flame Off (http://www.tuffnellglass.com/contents/en-uk/otherurl.html?url=http://www.tuffnellglass.com/contents/en-uk/d65.html) in order to popularize British handmade glass beads. For entry requirements and to download the entry form please go to http://www.gbuk.org/pages/gbuk-bead-jewellery-competition-2011/#more-149. To enter the jewellery part of the Competition, you don't have to be a GBUK member! I decided to make some of my "Mucha" design, the full tutorial is available in my book. So far I'm pleased with what I've made:

These are bright, with orange and turquoise twisties and dots (the photo, as usual with me, has been taken in natural light). The difference between these and the ones described in the book is that I have inserted some hand-pulled murrini in the same colours, so they look even better! (It was getting too much for the book, so at the time I couldn't explain the murrini technique, but I can do it in the second volume). There are only four tabs at the minute, but I'm planning to make a set which will also include bigger lentils, and some of the beads will have turquoise or orange opaque background.

I have also been proof-reading busily, as Rod wanted to send the third part of the Demi-Monde series off to his agent by the end of Friday. When I'm proof-reading, it takes me a lot longer, as I almost pronounce mentally every word I read. It's quite time-consuming, but I do enjoy it, as I get to read the drafts of novels Rod writes! Then we discuss them, and sometimes, if I'm lucky, I even manage to give Rod a good idea for something. Or so he says. By the time he finishes with those sorts of ideas I don't recognise them, but it's even better, because he is great coming up with twists and turns in his stories.

So off to make some more beads - oxycon permitting!

Going to the Forbidden Planet for a Signing

Yesterday was the Old Russian New Year, so my best wishes to everyone!

I've been busy helping Rod to promote his book, "The Demi-Monde: Winter", which involved going to London. I like London, it's always fun. I guess, I'm still a city girl at heart. Crowds, dust, traffic jams - brilliant. Rod had a signing at the Forbidden Planet, and it was interesting to meet the people who came to buy his book. He insisted that I do a little dedication in Russian from one of the main characters, Vanka Maykov, a dashing young conman. So I was busy too, not just opening the book on the right page and blotting Rod's signature at the end, but writing "With the very best wishes from Vanka Maykov" in Russian (and being very nervous not to make a mistake!).

Talking about blotting. Rod has had a special stamp made in the shape of three Valknuts - the emblem of the ForthRight Sector of the Demi-Monde - which also says "The Demi-Monde: Winter". He stamps this first volume of the Demi-Monde saga with it, plus he has a special numbering stamp, which he says he is going to use up to 999, and after that he'll be just putting his signature down. So there is a lot to dry out when you do many books altogether. I had to find a blotter - this old-fashioned piece of office and, for me especially, post office equipment, and it wasn't simple. But the good old ebay helped, as always. To be more precise, the company called "Lucky 7 Pens" (or lucky7pens as their ebay member name). They were terrific: I bought it late in the afternoon and wrote on my paypal payment that I'd love to have it posted asap. They came back to me immediately, so I explained that I needed it for London etc. They posted it specially that night, after their other things had already been despatched, so I got my blotter the following morning. This is what I call Service. Thank you so much, guys!

The Forbidden Planet also video-interviewed Rod for their website, and the three parts of this interview are now also on youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVyjxjeXpFM) - for those of you who are interested. :) I thought it went very well, considering that nobody had seen the questions of the interview beforehand.

We had dinner in a Greek restaurant with Rod's colleagues from Quercus Publishing, including Rod's new editor. That was great fun: some people just open up from a different angle when they are not in the office, and it was great to see that they all have such good sense of humour!

Overall, it was refreshing to go down to the capital, and we both enjoyed it very much.

P.S. to the previous blog: since my blog of the mid-December Rod has had a couple of really excellent reviews of "The Demi-Monde: Winter", notably, in "SciFiNow" and on www.amazon.co.uk ! So, I suppose, I should delete my post and just be happy! :)

No, not very happy at all.

After lots of travelling lately today I was poorly and had to stay in bed until after lunch - this never happens. Then I got up only to discover that I didn't win anything in the Beads & Beyond competition this year - what's new. The only thing I can say is that my understanding of "original" differs a lot from the majority of the B&B readers and judges. I thought Becky Fairclough's Peacock was outstanding. But never mind.

The most horrendous thing though was the review of Rod's book "The Demi-Monde" in the SFX which came out today. It was just a pack of lies and made up crap written in the most malicious way. I couldn't believe what I was reading. As if the reviewer was envious that it wasn't himself who had come up with this brilliant idea for this brilliant love story - you see, they call it "steam punk", but in the end it is a beautiful novel about real love and real heroes. With lots of good humour and wit - so enjoyable!

It was very much like when they reviewed my album "Jazz Noir" in "Jazzwize"; I still remember the ending: "...And "The Boy From Ipanema"? - ouch!" - I am not pulling your leg, these are the very words that prat used!

This review thing made me so cross, I had to write it all down in my blog to calm down a bit. The book, according to this person, is so bad that he gave it three stars and said that it would keep you hooked. I just hope that all those people in Poland, Russia, Germany, Italy, the rest of Eastern Europe, who have bought the rights to the book and are now busily translating it, and, of course, guys in the US have seen something in this book that Mr Holt of SFX has failed to see - or, maybe, he got a bit jealous?

The Demi-Monde Adventures

It was a travel day today! I like travelling, especially looking out of the window of the car, that is possibly why I still don't drive! Can you imagine - driving and at the same time trying to look around - probably not a good idea. Anyway, we went to North Cave which is in Yorkshire, almost on the M62 towards Hull. We met Nigel Robinson, Rod's colleague regarding "The Demi-Monde"'s website, in this lovely hotel/restaurant which we just bumped into! It was called "Rudstone Walk" (in fact, technically speaking it is in South Cave: South Cave, Brough HU15 2AH tel: 01430 422230) and it was truly pretty, the staff were so friendly, and the meal (and the wine!) was gorgeous! If you are ever around in that area this place is strongly recommended!

Then we went to the studios where some time ago I had copies of my disc made, but this time we talked to the guys there regarding making a teaser for "The Demi-Monde" to be put on Amazon together with the book description. It was really exciting! I will be "the voice of ABBA" and I will have to be filmed too. Though it is only going to be 30 seconds at the most, there is going to be a lot of work done, Rod is alrealy starting on the script, and I have to dig out my hats! (the feel is going to be Victorian-esque).

Also Nigel brought a poster - it looks amazing! Unfornately, as it always happens with us, we accidentally left it in the restaurant, so I can't show you a pic. BUT instead here is a pic of the leaflet for "The Demi-Monde" which is also the cover of the book.