The newest issue of Wirework Magazine hits newsstands this week and we are thrilled to announce that it contains not one, but TWO great chainmaille projects by B3 Ambassadors! Pick up your issue and try your hand at Kat Wisniewski’s Celtic Diamond Pendant or Vanessa Walilko’s Art Deco Necklace (…or why choose?  Make both!)  We will not be selling kits for these projects as of yet but we will of course be selling everything you need to complete them including 20mm Crystal Rings and Crystal Triangles.  Check out our magazine projects page for your shopping list for these projects and more (we’re working on doing some major catching-up/updating to this page in the coming weeks so check back often for even more project supply lists.)

ORDER YOUR COPY OF WIREWORK FALL 2011

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Celtic Diamond Pendant

by Kat Wisniewski

Customize this project a million different ways with our top-quality jump rings and shiny glass rings. Note: the sizes in the magazine are incorrect! We’ve tested this piece heavily in our ring sizes listed on on the magazine supply page, and it works perfectly.

GO TO PROJECT SHOPPING LIST

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Art Deco Necklace

by Vanessa Walilko

We’re selling these dazzling large crystal rings and crystal triangles, especially for this beautiful project.  Make it impossibly light with our bright aluminum rings, or pair these glittering crystals with our impeccable sterling silver rings for a real show-stopper.

GO TO PROJECT SHOPPING LIST

See a project in a book or magazine that we haven’t made a supply list for?  Send us an email at community@bluebuddhaboutique.com!  Our interns LOVE testing new projects and can help take the guesswork out of your next project.

B3 Ambassadors · chainmaille projects · Fall 2011 · kat wisniewski · vanessa walilko · Wirework Magazine

We came across this very cool online, International, jewelry exhibition on Wearable Art Blog today (a blog we highly recommend – they feature tons of inspiring things on there!)  As we were clicking through, we noticed not one but two pieces made by B3 Ambassador Vanessa Walilko.  You all know Vanessa as a very talented chainmaille artist, yet (as these pieces prove) she is an equally gifted beader and one look is enough to let you know why she is so frequently featured in exhibitions of awe-inspiring jewelry and wearable art.  We are so proud to have her as a supporter of Blue Buddha and wanted to give her props as always on being included in this cool collection of contemporary jewelry.

Photos by Larry Sanders.

Clicking through, we also noticed a couple very striking pieces from jewelry artist and mailler Anne M. Kelly (who incidentally, like Rebeca, is a contributor to Chain Mail Jewelry: Contemporary Designs from Classic Techniques!)  We of course had to visit her site to see more and boy, we were not disappointed.  Really beautiful work.

Ann M. Kelly · beading · chainmaille · jewelry artists · vanessa walilko · wearable art

Kits are now available for chainmaille artist Vanessa Walilko’s recently published project, Galdriel’s Cuff (Elf Weave). Invented by Johnny Nilsson (known online as Nadrendion), Elf Weave is a dense, intricate pattern from the European family of weaves that it is incredibly fluid and has a lovely weight in enameled copper.  The floral clasp for this project makes a beautiful focal point and the perfect finishing touch.  (And yes, stay tuned because we will be selling the clasp in several different finishes—including gunmetal!—by the end of April.)

Learn more about Vanessa, the artist behind this kit, by visiting her website, liking her page on facebook, or following her on Twitter.

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Instructions for this project are available in the April/May 2011 Issue of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry.  However, weavers beware – the magazine lists the wrong size!  Use size H19 enameled copper to make this piece.

Did you know Blue Buddha has supply lists and precious/base metal conversions for more than three dozen magazine chainmaille project? Check out the page, and save yourself the time of doing the calculations yourself!  After that, use our Ringpicker page to get everything on your project shopping list.



Also in this issue of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry…check out Sara Richarson’s review of Rebeca’s book, CHAINED on page 62! Sara concludes, “If you’ve been resisting making chainmaille pieces, Chained will definitely convince you to break out of your shell and try it.  Go on, break out your pliers and make this beautiful jewelry!”

chained · chainmaille · elf weave · galdriel's cuff · help · instructions · kali butterfly · project · step by step wire jewelry · trouble shooting · vanessa walilko · wrong size

Even though many folks around us here in Chicago are in full, post-holiday hibernation mode, we’re not letting the weather scare us away from venturing out to get our weave on with you folks.  Check out what we’ve been up to the past couple weeks!

At the end of January, B3′s Kat Wisniewski had the great pleasure of teaching a workshop at the Chicago Craft Social. This event, which features crafts of all kinds, happens a couple times a year here in Chicago and the event on January 22nd was, in Kat’s words, “insanely busy for us.”  Insanely busy also means hugely successful as people clamored to make the Japanese Cross Earrings from CHAINED for the entire 3 hours of the event.

Kat actually said some people waited for almost 2 hours just to be able to sit at her little 5 foot table (a tight fit for the 6 crafters we were able to squeeze around it at a time!)  While Kat was rightfully exhausted at the end of the event, she was thrilled that everyone was so excited about the project and that she was able to introduce B3′s unique take on the art of chainmaille to so many folks.  (More pictures to come from this event – stay tuned!)

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On the same day in another part of the state, Rebeca had a super-successful book-signing at A Beadtiful Thing in Aurora, IL. Lot’s of folks came out to have their book signed by Rebeca (seen right with ABT store owner, Karen), enjoy refreshments, and shop for CHAINED kits.  Preceding the signing, Rebeca piloted a new advanced project tutorial for her Beaded Fire Wyrm design (shown left).  Students (shown below) were challenged by the project but left with smiles on their faces as they learned to create this beautiful weave.  Rebeca will use her experience teaching the project to perfect the tutorial which will be released by B3 in the coming months.




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Not long after this very busy B3 day, Rebeca was boarding a plane to LA to attend the Craft & Hobby Association’s Winter Conference and Trade Show where B3 was honored as an Innovative Retailer. Rebeca spent a couple days checking out the conference and trade show and even ran into some folks from home.  Lindsay Obermeyer, a fellow Chicago Craft Mafia member, had booth in the artist’s Licensing and Design section and B3 designer & teacher and founder of Kali Butterfly, Vanessa Walilko was there as the winner of the CHA Fashion Fever contest this summer.



B3 was considered along with 4 other retailers for the top honor of 2011′s Most Innovative Retailer at last night’s Moonlight Mixer event and while we didn’t win, Rebeca still had a great time rubbing elbows with some “celebs” at the event *grin*.

Now Rebeca is off to Arizona to teach a few classes and have another book-signing before she heads back here to snowy Chicago.  How did she manage to plan to be somewhere sunny while we’re bracing for what could be the worst blizzard in Chicago’s history?  Let’s just chalk it up to chainmailler’s intuition.

Want to take Rebeca’s classes in Arizona?  Registration is still open.  Sign up today!

arizona · CHA innovative retailer · chainmaille classes · chicago craft social · kat wisniewski · vanessa walilko

We all had great fun “ring”-ing in the new year and are busy settling back into the swing of things around here.  2011 is a year slated to bring big changes and continued growth here at B3 and the effects of this stretch are already starting to become apparent on our about page.  If you have visited our about page recently, you may have noticed some new faces. Over the past few months, the B3 team has experienced some changes and while it means that we miss seeing some folks everyday, they are all positive signs of growth for everyone involved!

First our B3 goodbyes (and best of lucks!)….

Several months ago the incredibly talented Vanessa Walilko made the decision to take the leap to become a full-time, self-employed jewelry artist starting Kali Butterfly. While we miss her terribly at the studio, we could not be happier for her. In the short amount of time that she has been focusing all her energy on her own work, Vanessa has received tons of well-deserved praise, won awards, and found herself swamped with orders – a great problem to have. Not many people may know that Vanessa was actually the first employee Rebeca ever hired. She was hired to help Rebeca keep up with jewelry orders and while she had been mailling for only a short time, she proved to be technically proficient and talented beyond many others considered for the position. Her vision and talent have only grown over the past several years and we are thrilled to think that Rebeca and Blue Buddha Boutique had a part in helping her get where she is today.

Vanessa is not the only artist leaving the B3 nest – Kat Wisniewski has also been working incredibly hard over the past several months to start her own jewelry business, Elemental Art Jewelry. Many of you have probably experienced Kat’s impeccable customer service skills and chainmaille expertise over the past few years as she was the friendly voice on the other end of the phone at Blue Buddha for quite some time. Behind the scenes, Kat worked tirelessly to help B3 grow, training new folks and managing employees with the same patience and enthusiasm she gave to our customers. Kat has transitioned out of her full-time customer service position and is now doing order fulfillment while she works to get her business off the ground.  She will also continue to design kits and instructions for B3 (like her incredibly popular Glass Caterpillar) and like Vanessa, will remain a close comrade in the chainmaille community.

While the energy that Kat and Vanessa brought to the studio can never be replaced, we are happy to announce that we have added two new employees to help ease the transition. They are both lovely and bring with them to B3 hefty brains and great personalities.

Grey Litaker is not only a speedy and detailed inventory assistant but a Natural Philosophy student at Shimer college. She adores creepy crawly things and animals and says if she can’t spend her life somewhere beautiful looking at animals and thinking, “she’ll settle for doing math all of the time.” Yes, she’s our kind of gal.

Lisa Rosenburg is the newest lady processing your orders.  Like many of you, she feels most at home being creative and is an avid crafter and certified graphic artist.  Originally hired as a seasonal worker, we quickly realized she was too great to let go after the holidays and decided to keep her on as a full-fledged employee to continue to help us manage the ever-growing mountain of orders.

Speaking of that mountain of orders, I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the entire B3 team who worked 7 days a week during the holiday season to keep up with orders, inventory, and shipping. It is quite incredible to be part of a team of people so dedicated to delivering superior products and services to our customers. Even when things are crazy busy, people are still smiling and bringing positive energy to the table. If you have been on the receiving end of this dedication, consider taking a moment to let everyone know that you appreciate all they do by dropping us an email at orders@bluebuddhaboutique.com, posting on our facebook wall, tweeting to us, or leaving a comment here on the blog. So many of you already let us know how much you appreciate us and it really does mean the world to us.

Happy New Year!

B3 Employees · elemental art jewelry · kali butterfly · kat wisniewski · vanessa walilko