Featured Artist. Janice Swain of Strands on Etsy

These amazing wearable art pieces are by Janice Swain of Strands on Etsy.

Janice left feedback after a purchase at Bumbershoot Supplies and she also attached some photos to her feedback. I was delighted to see what she had done with the vintage cabochons and vintage rhinestones she had purchased, and beyond that, I was amazed.

Janice uses vintage cabochons and rhinestones, as well as gemstones, as focal pieces around which she beads fabulous swirls of color and sparkle, each piece unique, each piece a story.

For example, this bulldog cuff…

And this glacier cuff…

 

And this one inspired by Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings…

If you love beads and sparkly things, you are probably someone who is captivated by light and color and the special magic of how they both come together in glass. I love how Janice has used the characteristics of the vintage glass cabochons and vintage rhinestones so effectively in her designs. I am truly in awe of the vision and skill required to take diverse bits of glass and turns them into gorgeous wearable art. Not to mention the amount of time I imagine must be involved in bringing the vision to tangible form...

It is for these reasons I am delighted to have found Janice and Strands. Plus, she is from Bumbershoot Supplies’ home town of Seattle, and it’s always nice to meet a neighbor.

Janice’s shop is a recent addition to Etsy – Strands opened at the end of 2010. I’m featuring the cuff bracelets here because they are so spectacular, but there are many other lovely jewelry designs available at Strands, so I hope you will head on over for a visit and a dose of inspiration and color, especially if you are in a part of the world that is still awaiting spring :)