Bead Dreams

Well, I have finally finished my submission for the Bead Dreams competition! I can only show you a little peak of it since registration is still open till April 5. My piece "Fleur Noir" has been entered into the seedbead category, so wish me luck!!!
Bead Dreams is an international competition held each year by Bead and Button magazine and shown at the Bead and Button show. Since I am in Paris this year, I will not be able to attend the Bead and Button show. I highly recommend going if you are in the Milwaukee area during June.
Now that I am finished my show piece, I can get back to working on ones for sale through my website www.glimpsebeads.com I will be taking a little trip to England for a few days, so check back next week for some jewelry creations!

Springtime in Paris

Spring is in the air here in Paris, and what better way to celebrate than to make spring jewelry! I have been creating new designs for the spring season, and will be posting them to my website www.glimpsebeads.com next week! These new designs will include more chunky styles, and wooden paired with semi-precious stones.
To gather inspiration for my new designs, I have been enjoying the warm weather in the various parks around Paris.




The Jardin des Tuilleries is full of people this time of year with children sailing boats in the fountains, and groups of men playing bocce ball. It is nice to sit and watch all the people enjoying the warm sunshine.







Another great place in Paris is the parc de monceau near the Champs Elysees. It is filled with statues and flowers and has a many little hidden bridges and pathways.




Parc Montsouris is great for nature lovers. It offers a little piece of greenery in the middle of the city. I loved the little waterfall, and the ponds filled with ducks and fish. The only strange part about this park is the subway that goes right through the middle!
I am looking forward to all of the flowers to be full bloom so I can enjoy them at these various parks!

Alice in Printemps

I recently went to see the windows at Printemps department store on boulevard Haussmann, dedicated to designers creating their vision of Alice in Wonderland. I had been very excited to see these windows, and once I was there, they did not disappoint! The windows were spectacular and the clothing was beautiful.

These shoes created by Nicholas Kirkwood were whimsical and the shoulder pads made from cards by Manish Arora were fabulous!




I loved all of the designs, but my favourite had to be Alexander McQueens dress with the huge ruffled sleeves. I could totally imagine wearing this pretty dress wandering through the Jardin des Tuileries on a warm spring day!

Shoe Dreams

If you are like me, and love shoes then Paris would be a dangerous place for you. There are shoe stores every couple of meters along Rue de Rivoli and more around every corner in Les Halles. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in Galleries Lafayette, then you must make your way down into the basement of the store to the shoe department. It is shoe heaven! Hundreds of brands can be found here while 25 are exclusively distributed throughout the space. You can browse through the latest Jimmy Choo designs, then look over to find the Chanel shoes that you have always wanted. If one day I win the lottery, I will go shopping in the shoe department here.
All of the must-haves of the season can be found in a very “Cinderella” like ambiance, where the shoes are arranged by theme and displayed on tall podiums decorated with fringes of crystals, beads and sequins.

A couple of fashions that are in trend here for the season are ankle socks with high heels, as seen in Burberry's styles a few years ago. Seems like this trend isn't going anywhere. Another trend is the cuff sandal. I bought a pair of these, and can't wait for the warmer weather to start wearing them!
Overall, if you plan on visiting Paris anytime soon, bring lots of money for shoe shopping.

Chloe in Jardin des Tuileries

Paris Fashion Week is now officially over, so I will no longer be lurking outside shows freezing to death waiting to meet someone important. The last show that I went to was Chloe in Jardin des Tuileries. I saw the editors, stylists and models that I had previously bumped into at the previous shows. It is funny how I think that running into someone like Grace Coddington, or Suzy Menkes is not unusual. Before I moved to Paris, I never dreamed that I would have seen or met some of these amazing people! Overall, Paris Fashion Week was a lot of fun and I met a lot of inspiring people. However, Couture Fashion Week is still my favorite! Haute Couture is what brought me to Paris, and I am still and will always be obsessed with it!

Dior, Vivian Westwood and Lanvin

Fashion week is still going strong here in Paris, and I continue to go to the shows in search of fashion and celebrities. Last week, I headed out to the Dior show in the Jardin de Tuileries. I got there late, just in time to catch everyone coming out from the show. Grace Coddington from Vogue was there taking pictures with fans, while Frida Gustavsson was posing for the paparazzi. The event was held in a huge tent in corner of the Jardin de Tuileries near place de Concorde.

Inside the show, John Galliano showed a line of beautiful clothes full of romance. There were negligee dresses in pastel silk chiffons, lace tops and over the knee boots. The accessories at this show were also amazing with layered pearls, and long shimmering earrings.


Next, it was on the Vivan Westwood, and Lanvin. Outside these shows, I found myself surrounded by every fashion editor, stylist and journalist you could think of. At one point I was standing beside Grace from Vogue, then turned around to see Clemece Posey, while Hilary Alexander rushed past. Only a minute later, my friend told me to turn around only to see Jared Leto standing right behind me! (I used to love him on "my so called life!)

Such great experiences already, and still three more days of fashion week to attend!

P. Diddy @ Gareth Pugh

Paris Fashion Week has started, so yesterday I lurked outside of Gareth Pugh in search of celebrities and fashion! Outside the show at Palace de Tokyo there were some very interesting fashions to be seen. Gareth Pugh is known for his experimentation with form and volume which was also the case seen in many of the attendee's outfits.


I really liked this woman's outfit as she rushed past me into the show.




Attending the show were P.Diddy and Cassie.


Inside the show, Gareth did not disappoint his audience with his over the knee black boots, trench-style, military coats and cobweb-crochet cloaks, worn over skinny leather jeans.

Button Rings!

After a nice relaxing trip to London this past weekend, I am back to making more jewelry. The button rings are finally for sale on my website! www.glimpsebeads.com These funky rings are made from a collection of buttons and Swarovski crystals. Spring is in the air, and what better way to celebrate, than with these bright funky chunky rings. Pair them with your favorite sun dress, and you will be stylish and ready for the warm weather!
Each ring is handcrafted in Paris, France. Buy one for yourself, or as a gift for someone today!