1000 Jewelry Inspirations (mini): Beads, Baubles, Dangles, and Chains (1000 Series)

As with the 500 design series, this 1000 design series on jewelry (there is also a 1000 ATCs book) really does inspire re-examination of their own designs/works with new/different/"out there"/creative ideas. Yes, many of the designs have been seen described in other books or magazines, but these images gave me a different perception on how to use various types of stones, beads, fibers, metal, wire, etc.I look at this book and others like it without directions on how to make the piece (e.g. Polymer Clay Design book in my library) as great coffee table books and for the times I need to get my designing out of a rut or give it a jump start when I am just sitting looking at all my beads and doing nothing with them. By giving step-by-step instructions for any piece often deters an aspiring artist to follow in the same footsteps of the person making the original design - NOT GOOD! Without the step-by-step directions, as in this book, even if you want to make something similar, I believe that you can come up with a unique flair for a piece of jewelry.As for all images within the pages having this inspirational quality - I partially agree with another reviewer that not all provide this and often you wish you could just delete that image from the book for it detracts from the other pieces (e.g. I hate hair combs & pins and pieces in this book decorated with flowery beads - particularly brooches (IMHO) - luckily only a few are shown)[Sorry to those that love this type of work]. And some of the pieces are repeated with only a very slight change such as different focal beads, chains, or other component to make it different enough to be considered one in the 1000 jewelry pieces...in fact these are often done by the SAME artist. These should NOT be counted in the 1000, yet I am sure that they are.In summary, I beleve that well over 75% of the images provided me with enough inspiration to work the right side of my brain expanding with new ideas. Hence the reason for authors to compile images from numerous artist for the 500 and 1000 series of art books. If you want something that describes how a piece of art is made, get a guidebook and make sure that is what you get - then you won't be disappointed. Treat this book as TRUE inspiration.

There are many inspirational pictures in this book and that's it. No explanations of what the pieces are made from or the artists process. I knew this was not an instruction book, but had hoped for more descriptive accompaniment.

Beautiful book. This is not a how-to, more like a big book of jewelry design and color combination inspirations. It is broken down into 6 chapters (1. Beads + Baubles 2. Paper + Mixed Media 3. Ploymer + Precious Metal Clay 4. Vintage + Repurposed 5. Fibers + Fabric 6. Wire + Metal). Since many of the artisans/designers in the book use, say, beads & wire in their designs, their designs show up in two chapters (chapter 1 and chapter 6), thus, the comment that the title is deceiving. In truth, there are not 1000 Jewelry Inspirations, more like 990 Jewelry Inspirations, since I've found approx. 10 designs that have been repeated throughout this book. Hard for me to believe with all of the jewelry designers out there (the DIY movement in this country is HUGE, be it at local craft fairs, farmer's markets or on [...]) that the editor was not able to find 1000 truly different, unique designs out there.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will keep it on my beading table as a reference. I own an absolutely frightening stash of beads and other components, so I was thrilled to find finished pieces in "Jewelry Inspirations" that showed me possible uses for many of my inventory items. Of the book's 1000 photos I bookmarked at least 90 for future reference.No, this is not a "how-to" book. There are no instructions or materials lists for the projects. But if you've ever experienced "beader's block", when a beautiful component stubbornly refuses to tell you what it wants, this book should kick-start your creativity. And if I can't figure out how to make something I've bookmarked I'll refer to a book or magazine from my jewelry-making library.I do agree that the book contains some duplicate photos, where some items are included in more than one category, so perhaps the author did cheat just a little bit.I'd bet that many of this book's critical reviews reflected the preferences of the reviewer. I did note the absence of dainty, girly crystal pieces, but I didn't miss them at all since they don't appeal to me. To each his/her own!

If you want a how-to project book, this isn't the book for you. This book contains lovely photos of jewelry meant to get your own creative juices flowing. Not everyone is going to like every piece of jewelry shown in this book, and it's unreasonable to expect that you'll love every photo. And yes, there are a few duplicates, but I didn't personally count to see if there were really 1000 different pieces of jewelry. As a bead-addict (mostly bead-weaving and bead embroidery, plus a little stringing and wirework) I found quite a few inspirational photos in this book, and spent an enjoyable hour or two going through it. I subtracted a star only because this probably isn't a book I'd return to again and again.

this book was to put it mildly a surprise- I thought it might be full of entry level projects for aspiring beaders but was happily surprised as although there are simple ones all can be adapted to any level of expertise, and the classification system helps to find any combination of materials you could wish to try the only gripe, if that could be classified as such is that where some have been made with definite stitching techniques these are not named, and only by cross referencing can you find out how parts of these gorgeous pieces are made, if you wish to try to use parts of them in a design of your own- though even with that, they are a great cure for designers block- and a great source for ideas of, how to use that pretty earring you may have found on the floor as you walked to wherever, or, what to do with those pretty beads that you picked up at the bead show, or charity shop, or, that necklace you love, whose thread has stretched and you would like to update ever so slightly. I am glad I bought this as even without notes, it is a valuable design resource

1000 pictures of jewellery, not a how-to. My opinion:- A little small, but not too small to enjoy the pictures.- Some artists are repeated rather more than others. I feel the "american" style of beading are dominant. All in all though, the variation is good.- Most of the jewellery are made with simple techniques. The contents are very relevant for people beading as a hobby, without access to expensive equipment.- I have looked through the book from start to end one time, and found that about ten of the pictures are repeated. A small annoyance of course... but still.- The picture quality varies. Most of the pictures are good, but there are some scattered here and there that are so blurry they shouldn't be included in a book.The book is not top quality, but you get a lot of inspiration for your money.

This is an amazing book, it is full of so many nice jewellery designs. Good as design inspiration for ideas.

This book is a true world of ideas for those who like to create their own items of jewellry. I loved it.

Lots of inspiring ideas and beautiful pictures, it would be nice if there was a little bit of info about the designer but a nice book for inspiration.