On Friday, May 13th 2022, Morley College hosted a Craft Workshops event as part of the London Craft Week. It was a day filled with entertaining and engaging craft activities led by well-known artisans and craftsmen. Lynda and Daniel Kinne, accomplished fashion designers and founders of La Disposition, graced the event and discussed the wonders of Venice Carnival in their talk 'Crafting the Past: Costuming for Venice Carnival.'
La Disposition creates unique and one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces and accessories using wire and gemstone beads. It was founded in 2015 by Lynda and Daniel Kinne, a husband and wife duo who have been crafting wire and gemstone jewelry for over 30 years. They specialize in creating unique pieces that will last a lifetime. Their products are handcrafted using only the finest metals and gemstones. Every piece is truly one of a kind.
Their jewelry collection includes rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets. Each piece is beautifully handcrafted with meticulous attention to detail. They are crafted in a variety of metals and gemstone colors. Their creations are hand-soldered and hand-finished. Their designs have a European and Asian influence. The jewelry is comprised of 18k gold and silver, and a variety of gemstones, including diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls.
One of the workshops that I attended was on how to create a tree of Life Pendant using wire and gemstone beads. There were several steps involved in the process, and the final product was stunning. Lynda explained the process of creating the beaded Tree of Life Pendant.
The first ting we did was to create the trunk and roots of the tree whose colour should be different from that of the branches if possible. I had chosen purple and blue wires, and used the purple one for the base and the blue one for the branches. The base can be made in a variety of ways, but I chose to use a continuous twist.
Next, I created the branches of the tree. The branches can be made using metal wire or wire forms. After that, I added the beads to the branches of the tree. For the beads, I used apatite, one of the gemstones they'd provided. Apatite is a phosphate mineral stone that some believe to possess healing and psychic properties, which could explain why it has traditionally been used to make such ornaments as pendants. The last step was wrapping the blue and purple wires neatly around to secure the pendant and for aesthetics.
All in all, it was great to see what a wonderful event it was and how to create such a unique piece of jewelry. The event was a success, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Interested in learning more about how to make an intricate pendant using wire and beads? Here's a great video courtesy of Beadaholique.
