#ornamentum by katia

[katiajewelbox]

Mermaid 🧜‍♀️ necklace duo. These simple but elegant necklaces are inspired by the fresh colours of the tropical ocean. The lower necklace features pressed glass beads in fish shapes. These necklaces look especially cute with simple white pearl earrings and pink outfits.

Techniques and materials: assorted glass seed beads in blue, green, and white, silver lined aqua blue seed beads, rice shaped pale grey freshwater pearls, pressed glass beads, fire polished glass crystals, round white freshwater pearls, clear AB finish Swarovski crystals, gerdany gothic drape pattern, nylon thread

[katiajewelbox]

The Sutton Hoo Jewellery Set

“Sutton Hoo” is a peculiar name for this exquisite set, but if you know about British archeology it won’t surprise you. Sutton Hoo is the name of an archeological site in England where burials of important people from the 6th-7th century AD Anglo Saxon kingdom of East Anglia were studied and excavated. These graves contained a plethora of beautifully made metal jewellery and other items like swords, helmets, and tools with red and gold designs. The artefacts now reside in the British Museum in London. The Sutton Hoo artefacts have inspired the “look” of a lot of mediaeval-inspired jewellery, including this beadwork set I designed and made. The golden brown seed beads and reddish crystals along with the woven look of the beadwork bring to mind the ancient Anglo Saxon ornamentation. 

Materials and techniques: beadweaving with needle and thread, polymer beading thread, bronze seed beads, red seed beads, bronze metallic fire polished crystals, swarovski crystals, antiqued brass findings

[katiajewelbox]

Double Helix 🧬 necklace. This piece of beadwork was inspired by the structure of DNA, with the bases A, T, G, and C represented by different colours of seed beads. The gold drops on the end symbolise telomeres as drops of immortality. It’s a perfect piece to wear to a science festival or when doing outreach since In my role as a biologist I can tell people what it means 👩🏻‍🔬.

Materials and techniques: glass seed beads, glass teardrop beads, nylon thread, silver plated findings

[katiajewelbox]

Deep Forest necklace. This necklace combines literally every type of green bead in my jewellery supply collection! It includes glass seed and bugle beads, Amazonite, aventurine, forest agate, snakeskin stones, peridot, green fluorite, malachite, and dyed green freshwater pearls. There are also green crystals of various hues.

Techniques: simply stringing!

[katiajewelbox]

The Kemet necklace, earring, and hair ornament set. This set was inspired by the jewellery of Ancient Egypt. The central focal strip and the triangular fringes are meant to recall the stylised shape of a lotus bud in ancient Egyptian art.

Techniques and materials: bead weaving based on Ukrainian beadwork patterns in an original design, glass bugle beads, glass seed beads, nylon thread

[katiajewelbox]

Here’s an example of beadwork made with a needle and nylon thread 🧵. I made these charms for my friends according to the colours they requested, which was a fun challenge to see which beads in my collection fit their colour combinations. These charms are perfect for hanging on your phone, back pack, purse, or usb thumb drives. I made them with assorted glass seed beads, semi precious stones, fire polished glass crystals, Swarovski bi cones, and other glass beads. Do you have a favourite one?

[katiajewelbox]

Deco SnowFlake set

This elegant beadwork set recalls the geometric shapes and minimalist colours characterising the 1920′s aesthetic. The centrepiece is an abstract shape that could be a snowflake. This is a lightweight necklace that complements any black and white outfits.

Materials: Polymer beading thread, beadweaving, glass seed beads, swarovski bicone crystals, fire polished beads, silver plated findings

[katiajewelbox]

The Cathedral Jewellery Set

This necklace features a Celtic inspired charm in the centre that I bought at the York Minster Cathedral in York, UK, many years ago. With the unusual combination of silver, blue-green, purple, and dark green colours, this necklace goes with a wide variety of outfits. 

Materials: plastic coated metal beading cable, pewter metal beads and spacers, glass seed beads, amazonite round beads, aventurine round beads, amethyst round beads, silver dyed freshwater pearls, swarovski crystals, labradorite flat beads, fire polished crystals, silver plated findings

[katiajewelbox]

Ice Crystal Collar

This jewellery set was inspired by the “Snow Queen” aesthetic, with clear rock crystal spears that resemble icicles in a delicate collar with a distinct “touch me not” message. This necklace is simple but striking and does well with many colours. Wear it over a high necked outfit and the colour beneath plays inside the crystals. The dove grey earrings are not my own design but combine well with this set.

Materials and techniques: stringing on coated bead wire, silver plated findings, glass seed beads, dove grey seed pearls, clear rock crystal shards with top drilling, souvenir earrings from Hawaii (Chinese origin?)

[katiajewelbox]

El Escorial Set

This striking set was inspired by my visit years ago to the imposing fortress El Escorial in Spain. This brooding castle is where the decadent kings and queens ruled and plotted intrigues in the past, as shown in operas like Don Carlos. I bought the Toledo steel centrepiece there as a memento of this powerful place. From there, I fashioned a whole set around it based on the black, red, and silver colour scheme seen in the Spanish fashions of the 1600's. The beadwork is meant to recall the lace ruffs and collars in the menswear in those times.

Materials and techniques: Beadwork using patterns from Maria Rypan's beading books, beadwork patterns from Pinn Thailand beading books, original beadwork designs, glass seed beads in opaque black and silver-lined white, vintage round garnet round beads, Spanish-made Toledo steel engraved pendant, silver plated findings, steel barrette with nail polish, polymer beading thread

[katiajewelbox]

Cornucopia Jewellery Set

This opulent necklace and earrings have diverse colours that look great with many different outfits. The set was inspired by the rich colours in Italian Renaissance art and stained glass windows in Mediaeval churches. This set uses chains and wrapped headpins, which was more labour-intensive to do than my usual needle and thread style of jewellery making. The centrepiece is a genuine Murano Italian glass bead with gold leaf inside.

Materials and techniques: Antiqued brass chains, headpins, clasp, and earring hooks, Murano glass centrepiece, fire polished glass beads, amber chip beads, amethyst chip beads, amethyst round beads, lapis lazuli chip beads, Swarovski crystals, cats eye plastic beads, dyed freshwater gold pearls, citrine chip beads, round amber coloured glass beads, mother of pearl beads, wire wrapping

[katiajewelbox]

Perfumed Garden Jewellery Set

Inspired by the colours and shapes in Indian miniature paintings, this necklace features an antique Indian silver piece with two peacocks in the centre. The colour scheme of silver, blue, teal, and purple make this a very versatile set that combines with many outfits.

Materials and techniques: Glass seed beads, fringed glass beads, sodalite round beads, flower sugilite round beads, Swarovski crystal pearls in "petrol" colour, frosted glass beads, faceted glass beads, small Swarovski crystals, fire polished glass crystals, pewter cones, antique Indian silver centrepiece, silver plated findings, silver plated headpins, steel barrette, plastic coated beading wire, polymer beadwork thread

[katiajewelbox]

Steampunk Ore set

This set was inspired by the colours of Steampunk art and fashion. The rich browns and golden tones are mixed with subtle hints of red and purple, all set off by black. The necklace shows off the interesting rugged shapes of the semi precious stones and freshwater pearls, bringing to mind minerals freshly dug out of the Earth. This necklace was commissioned by a friend who loves Steampunk culture, and it turned out so nicely that I decided to make a daintier version of the set for myself. The hair ornament can be draped across the forehead or on the back of the head.

Materials and techniques: glass seed beads, Swarovski crystals, fire polished crystal beads, agate round beads, baroque bronze dyed freshwater pearls, obsidian pebble beads, bronze dyed round freshwater pearls, opaque black faceted glass beads, antiqued brass findings, plastic coated metal beading cable

[katiajewelbox]

Flores Rojas set

Meaning "red flowers" in Spanish, this set uses seed beads in a gradation between red and purple. The centres of the flowers are bright red and the rims are purple, with a glimmering Swarovski rivoli crystal in the centre. It is an eye catching necklace that is nonetheless very comfortable and light to wear due to its 2D beadwork construction.

Materials and techniques: Glass seed beads in silver lined scarlet red, rainbow red, rainbow purple, and dark purple, Swarovski Rivoli beads, silver plated findings, polymer beading thread, Thai beadweaving designs adapted from floral earring patterns

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Dark Jewel Collar set

This short necklace features an unexpected combination of earthy toned pearls and crystals with sparks of orange, fuchsia and pale pink. This dark with flecks of light colour scheme means the necklace looks perfect with a wide range of jewel toned clothing, and is great for adding a touch of glam to professional outfits. The necklace is composed of 3 strands braided together and attached to the back part connected to the clasp. The multifaceted crystals add a lot of sparkle!

Materials and techniques: glass seed beads, glass crystal beads, swarovski bicone crystals, freshwater pearls in natural and dyed colours, fire polished glass crystal beads, steel findings, polymer beading thread

[katiajewelbox]

Rosa Mariposa jewellery set. This set was inspired by the warm combination of pink and gold often seen in Indian 🇮🇳 jewellery. The gold butterfly 🦋 findings are earrings from the @vamuseum . The 🏵 rosettes are based on ring centrepieces from Thai beadwork patterns with gold chains worked into the necklace.

Techniques and media: Thai beadwork rosettes, gold findings and chains, glass seed beads, Swarovski crystals, glass drop crystal beads