About me, Nelli Rees
My name is Nelli Rees, I live and work in Derbyshire, England. I started making handcrafted jewellery as fun-time with my children, and gradually decided that I really liked doing it. Looking for handmade glass beads led me to realising that one can make them oneself, and after buying a torch and some glass rods I embarked on learning this beautiful art, reading as much as I could find on the subject and spending days experimenting in my studio. Later, when I felt it was time to improve my technique and also to see how other people do it, I attended classes with a number of well-known bead artists. I also studied silver-smithing, making jewellery and other skills which are important for what I do, again, through reading and lessons with professionals. I continue to experiment and discover more about glass beads and various other materials which can be used to make jewellery.
Glass... It's a female substance: it is beautiful, sensuous and very temperamental. The result - every handmade glass bead is unique: every flower, every stripe, every dot. At the moment my glass beads are created out of Effetre/Murano and Bullseye glass on a Nortel minor burner. I anneal them in my kiln, wash and clean them properly. Sometimes I etch my glass beads too (this is usually specified in the description).
I take inspiration from the world around me: my garden, my beautiful flowers in it, seasons passing in it; people and their emotions, my husband, my children, my parents; I love going to exhibitions and concerts - so, from music, paintings, fabrics, ceramics - you name it! And, of course, from work of other people, I love looking at other artists' glass beads, I admire their talent and I get inspired by them. Among my influences are: Loren Stump, Daisuke Takeuchi, Ryo Ono, Akihiro Okhama, Diana East, Clare Scott. I am open to new experiences, always ready to learn more and to share my knowledge with others. I hope you'll like what you see on my website - my handmade glass beads are happy beads, and, I'm sure, they'll bring you joy and good spirits.
Links:
- Chameleon Designs - exquisite beads by Becky Fairclough (www.chameleondesigns.co.uk)
- HandMade By Me - truly beautiful jewellery of glass and polymer clay beads by Michelle Eve (www.hmbm.co.uk)
- Off-Mandrel - beadmaking supplies from Glasgow - check them out! (www.off-mandrel.com)
- Tuffnellglass - beadmaking supplies (www.tuffnellglass.com)
- The Silver Corporation - suppliers of silver, swarovski and lots of other stuff (www.thesilvercorporation.co.uk)
And this one is the most exciting website dedicated to the most exciting book coming soon - whether you like SF or not, I guarantee that you'll love this one!:
