Book Review: The Big Ass Book of Bling

Book Review 
The Big Ass Book of Bling 
Mark Montano 
Gallery Books
November 2012 
(Caveat: Mark is my BFF and he sent me this book to peruse.  If I didn't love it, I'd never have written this review.  If I didn't love it, I'd have shoved it in a drawer and pretended I never saw it.   I really, really love this book, almost as much as I really, really love Mark.)

Mark Montano does it again with his latest BIG ASS book bursting at the seams with creative inspiration for craftinistas and fashionistas of all ages! Using everything but the kitchen sink, Mark turns ho hom, hum drum everyday items into show stopping runway ready wearables with techniques absolutely anyone can master. The book is so big, so bold, so beautiful, I will be perusing it for months before I fully digest all of the crafty goodness inside! Mark sees the world in a totally unique way and his vision is reflected in every quirky, creative, one-of-a-kind design in this book filled with ideas that are sure to launch a million 'pins!'

Book Review: Modern Expressions by Fernando DaSilva

Book Review
Modern Expressions by Fernando DaSilva
North Light Books
January 2010

Fernando DaSilva has a fabulous flair for cutting edge design and a uniquely fashion savvy eye that informs every aspect of his work. He is one of the most innovative designers in the DIY world, with a true gift for seeing the potential in materials that most others miss. His is the only DIY designer to have been written up in Women's Wear Daily magazine and Harper’s Bazaar and is the only male Ambassador in the Create Your Style with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS initiative. One can see why when paging through his book Modern Expressions, it is a virtual feast of eye candy that will delight the senses and inspire the reader to break out into exciting new directions in their work. There is no other book in the jewelry making market like it, which is what makes it an absolute must have for anyone who is serious about learning how to think like a designer.

The book has an Haute Couture vibe with gorgeous fashion sketches that suggest how to wear the pieces and lots of style tips from the Brazilian born designer. There are a wide variety of techniques explored including knotting, wire wrapping, exposed wire work, metalsmithing and endlessly creative variations on stringing techniques. You will find an array of interesting materials here including velour and clear plastic tubing, plastic beads, chain and components, various chains, fibers and more. Fernando has a terrific eye for unique combinations of fresh and interesting beads put together in fresh and interesting ways.

Some stand out designs from the book include Rock the Haus, a Bauhaus inspired thoroughly modern study in color and form. The combination of clear acrylic tubing with vibrant yellow sponge beads and simple rounded shapes in silver, white and brown is absolutely breathtaking. Fiesta in Wonderland, a vibrant confection of candy colored lampwork beads with a truly brilliant stacked acrylic pendant is whimsical and wonderful and is dedicated to this humble reviewer. Monsier Laurent is a mod homage to the work of Yves Saint Laurent, elegant in its simplicity. This piece introduces the reader to using copper sheet metal to create a chic segmented crystal embellished pendant. Perhaps my favorite design (in a book filled with favorites) is Back to the Future. This runway ready asymmetrical piece features SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS bicones threaded through crystal clear acrylic tubing combined with sleek silver chain for a stunning effect. It is truly hard to pick favorites because every design has so much to offer in terms of concept, color, execution and idea.

If you’re stuck in a design rut and looking for a book to jump start your creativity, look no further. Fernando DaSilva will take you by the hand and lead your work into fascinating new directions. Viva la Fashion! Viva Fernando!

Rice Freeman-Zachary reviews Bead Chic!

I know, this is supposed to be Freaky Friday...but I'm terrible at following rules, even rules I make up. That's why I wrote my new book Bead Chic. I like to color outside of the lines and I want to help others give themselves permission to do the same. Multi-talented and incredibly charming Rice Freeman-Zachery just posted a terrific video review of the book on YouTube and I wanted to share it with you. She gets it...and I think you'll get it once you get the book and start exploring new approaches to design!

Book Review: Waking Up in the Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo

Kathy Cano-Murillo a.k.a. The Crafty Chica is one of my favorite people on the planet. I'm not just saying that because she paid me. Because she didn't. (Hey Kathy, if you're reading, just email me for the bank deposit info.) No, no, no, all kidding aside, Kathy is a true force of nature. She's a whirling dervish of creativity. She's a wild roller coaster ride of great ideas meeting unstoppable determination. Absolutely no one I know can go from idea to reality with as much precision and exactitude. (My apologies to the reader who complained about my advanced vocabulary words in my last post, but I like words. I intend to keep savoring them so just think of my those words as a prompt to hit Google and learn a few new ones.)

I won't go into the details now, but the manner in which Kathy and I became friends is worthy of a scene in a novel or a TV sitcom. We're kind of like two Lucys without an Ethel. I count her among my most treasured compadres and she's one of the few people in my industry I can call mid-career crisis for some straight up, no holds barred conversation and advice. I simply adore her, and I'm not alone. Everyone adores her. She's absolutely adorable!

When Kathy first started talking about writing a Crafty Lit novel, I knew then she'd do it, she'd get it published, it would be fabulous and it would sell like mad. Kathy has the Midas touch. She is the ultimate example of manifesting your dreams into reality. She knows how to dream big and she's willing to work harder than anyone else each and every day to make her dreams come true. Plus she generously encourages others to explore their creativity and pursue their dreams. I ordered her book on Amazon last week, sat down and read most of it before bed and the finished it the next night...and I loved it!

Book Review
Waking Up in the Land of Glitter
by Kathy Cano-Murillo
Hachette Book Group
March 2010

Craft celebrity and design guru Kathy Cano-Murillo has written one of the most glittery feel good craftacular debut novels in memory. It's a fun filled romp through the wild world of crafting and the bustling arts and craft scene in Phoenix, Arizona. Main character Estrella "Star" Esteban is a lovable hot mess of a girl with plenty of energy but little direction. As the novel opens, Star loses her one true love, her job and the respect of her family through an ill-fated and ill advised drunken spray paint rampage and spends the remainder of the novel working to get back all of the things she's lost. In the process, she finds true friendship, the meaning of true love and most importantly she finds herself.

Ms. Murillo is a wonderful writer with a breezy style that is easy and enjoyable to read. She has a playful sense of humor and fun and a vivid imagination. This isn't a novel for the terminally serious, it's filled with copious amounts of whimsy and wonder and lots of crafty references. Ms. Murillo has created larger than life characters that manage to be entirely believable and even the most outrageous scenes in the book feel totally real. It's impossible not to fall in love with the introverted and craft challenged Ofie who longs desperately for acceptance but is saddled with an unnatural love of glitter and a horrific sense of design. You'll find yourself cheering out loud when she accidentally finds her true craft calling. You can't help but be drawn to Crafty Chloe, a wannabe Martha Stewart who can't craft her way out of a paper bag, especially once she gets her well deserved due and rises to the occasion with grace and dignity. You'll root for Star to find her true calling and win back rising artist Theo, her charming and handsome former flame. We all know people like the characters in this book and that makes it easy to relate to them.

What happens when you take 350 pounds of accidental glitter, 3 strong women in search of themselves, a huge project for a major craft event and a series of seemingly insurmountable crises and you mix them up in the mind of a craft industry insider like Murillo? You get crafty gold! Ms. Murillo is hard at work on a series of Crafty Lit novels and I'm personally looking forward to the next one with glittered breath.

Margot Potter
Author
The Impatient Crafter Series, Beyond the Bead, Bead Chic