Bead Romantique: Elegant Beadweaving Designs

The theme of the book is romantic, almost Victorian looking pieces. Most of the supplies called for are really easy to find in local bead stores, and the rest can be found searching online. The beginning of the book has some basic information about the supplies used, including what the author likes and dislikes about some threads and needles, and what the best application is for them. Then you get into the rest of the book, the projects. They are stunning. They range from very easy and elegant chain and wirework projects, simple beadwoven projects with some lovely surface embellishment, and then some incredibly dramatic looking bead woven pieces. The color photographs are inspiring and the instructions and diagrams are very well written. Many of the projects are meant for the intermediate beader. Don't be daunted though, the back of the book has stitch diagrams, and the text of each project is well written step by step. My favorite thing about the projects is that a few of them combine techniques. Chain as an accent on a beadwoven necklace for example. Some of her designs are completely unexpected pairings of techniques and beads that turn out looking amazing. Like I said, most supplies can be found easily at a good local bead store, and some projects are entirely made of easily found supplies, which is always nice in a book like this. The V Scallop necklace for example, you may have all the supplies you need on hand, or be inspired by it to make something similar with the supplies you do have on hand. My personal favorite project in the whole book is the intricate motif constructed Victorian Diamond Cuff. It looks difficult, but it's actually made of diamond shaped motifs that look easy enough one at a time. If you're an intermediate beader looking for inspiration and ideas, or a beginning beader looking for a challenge, I recommend this book.

As a designer I judge a book by two criteria. First, does it inspire me to think of my own jewelry designs in a new way? Secondly, does it offer enough new techniques to help me further my knowledge and spur me on to add some new tricks to my design repertoire. Lisa's book offers both. You may be new to the world of beading, nary a thread and bead to hand or you might know every beading stitch under the sun. I believe Bead Romantique has something for every level. The designs range from basic stringing and wire wrapping to complicated right-angle weave. If you are new to beading, don't fear. There are earring projects to start out with that will help you with the basics. You can build up your skills as you work through the projects in this book. I love that many of the beading projects are small components that repeat and build together to create larger and more complex designs. The mix of chain and brass filigree add depth to the construction of some of the simpler beaded pieces, which is oh so clever! I'd also recommend this book to someone who is an advanced beader. I could see this adding some creative sparks to those who have seen it all in the world of seed beads. I see quite a few projects that call for size 15 seed beads. (Those are the tiny ones smaller than regular seed beads!) In the beginning of the book Lisa says she wanted to create projects for the intermediate to advanced beaders who are looking for new inspiration. Another bonus is the historic inspiration behind the jewelry, from the Renaissance period to Art Deco, along with a generous sprinkling of Victorian and Art Nouveau styles, Lisa covers 400 years of art history with style and grace!

Lisa Kan has a wonderful sense of color and design. She brings a lot of elegance to her designs and at the same time makes them very wearable. The enthusiastic beginner can follow her directions and create exactly what's pictured, while the experienced beader can use the pieces as a starting point for their own work. I'm looking forward to making at least half of the items in the book! And as one of those beaders that has a HUGE variety of beads, I really enjoy the different types of beads in the projects.

I'll echo the previous lady's comments on it being for a more intermediate / experienced beading person. Designs are great, lots of step by step pictures, I'm sure I'll try at least 5 of the projects in here. This is a wonderful find, not a book you'll pick up for just 1 thing. In particular, I'd like to let others know that her designs bring together a wide variety of beads. You'll need a few of these, a few a those, 2 colors in size A, 2 colors in size B, some pearls, some crystals, etc. A variety of components bring a much classier and refined look to the overall piece. Love it! Personally I get a sense of accomplishment just pulling together the RIGHT colors and combinations to assemble my "kit" before I begin with material lists like these! This book is next to my Laura McCabe book on beading with crystals, these two together have a big ol' smile on my face and I'll be happily referring to these two books for many months to come! She does use some unique findings, a lot of brass/bronze filigree pieces not easy to find. As a silver fan, I'll have to do some reworking of the findings/closures to adapt these patterns to my preferences.

If you love jewelry from the Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco, and Renaissance periods, then you will love this book! All 17 of the designs are beautiful and unique -- and definitely very romantic in nature. The book opens with a short section on the basics of beading (choosing thread, needles, etc.), before moving into the 17 projects. While most of the projects focus on using seed beads and Swarovski crystals, some also integrate chain into the pieces. To give you an idea of what the pieces are like, they have names like Quatrefoil Renaissance Bracelet, Black Lace Lariat (which is inspired by Victorian jet mourning necklaces), Rivoli Y Drop, and Medici Rhinestone Necklace. The pieces draw on various time periods for their inspiration, and all definitely have a "romantic" flair to them. On her website, the author mentions that the book is designed for beginning and intermediate beaders, but I think that the projects may be a little too advanced for new beaders. Some familiarity with stitches like Ndebele, peyote, ladder, and right angle weave is probably good to have before attempting these projects; the instructions are detailed and there are good diagrams, but some knowledge of these stitches will make your beading more enjoyable. One potential problem I foresee is that some of the materials may be a bit hard to track down. The book does include a list of resources at the end, but I've already noticed that one of the brass findings suppliers only sells to wholesalers. Other than that drawback, the projects are lovely, and the instructions and diagrams are very clear!