Design This – Earrings to Match Costume

The perfect accessories for a costume are like the icing on a cake. They should complement the costume while supporting the theme and not detract from it. Whether your costume is for a play, Halloween, a party, a convention or other fun event, I’m always happy to brainstorm a solution to your needs.

A general Etsy alchemy request for “Earrings To Match Harlequin Jester Costume” caught my eye. There was a sketch of the costume and it suggested to me some materials that I had on hand. The request also included a need for hypoallergenic ear wires. I stock a variety of colors of niobium ear wires for people with sensitive ears so I was off to my supply room to put together a mock up for the request.

The basic pattern of the costume was an angular, geometric one in black and white. I had some square, white shell beads as well as some black gemstone cubes that I thought would lend themselves to this project. I included a gray pair of niobium ear wires in the photo of my initial design idea. (photo #1)

The person that placed the request liked the basic design but wondered if I could add some of the blue accent color in the sketch. I had just picked up some awesome blue sponge coral beads that seemed to be the perfect color and had some that were small rounded cubes that I suggested adding as a dangle from my original design. I also suggested a dark blue pair of niobium ear wires as an option. (photo #2) After looking at a photo of my other available blue sponge coral beads, my customer decided to go with the dangling cubes and the dark blue ear wires that I had suggested.

All that was left now was to make up the earrings (photo #3) and get them shipped to my customer. I think the shapes and colors of the materials of the earrings will be a good fit for the design of the costume and the niobium ear wires will both add a bit of color and provide a hypoallergenic solution for comfortable wearing for sensitive ears.

If you would like for me to brainstorm a solution to your accessory needs, please click on the “request custom item” or “contact EDCCollective” button in my shop.

Design This - Custom Yellow Necklace

I have a friend that loves the color yellow. I thought of her after I had put together a necklace that included some pastel yellow gemstone teardrops. I sent her the link and though she liked it, it was not yellow enough for her, however she liked the thought of a custom yellow necklace. A week or so later while I was rummaging through my materials for inspiration, I noticed/remembered a variety of beads that I had picked up at different times that were a more intense yellow than the teardrops were. I took a photo of the beads(1) and sent them to my friend to see if they sparked her interest.

While she was pondering my offer, I decided that even if my friend didn’t want a necklace at this time, the colors in the beads would make a great necklace for accessorizing summer outfits, so I got to work on a design. I sent my friend a photo of this(2) before I strung up the beads. By this time my friend had an idea of what she wanted. She wanted to use the three types of beads from the first photo along with freshwater potato pearls. I put together a design and sent another photo(3). She suggested a small change which I made to one side of the necklace so the she could compare the two designs(4). This was a winner except that the necklace would now be a little longer than my friend wanted so I removed one bead from each end of the necklace for the final version and strung it up.

I enjoy sitting down with my assortment of beads and having the beads suggest a design like my most recent, summertime inspired, necklace and earring set. However, it is really gratifying to be able to fulfill a specific request for something that a customer is looking for. I look forward to my next design challenge.