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Bead Jewellery IdeasBead jewellery is *not* in a vocabulary which deals with building renovation: hammer
and chisel, concrete and wheel barrow, yes. Beads and colourful bauble, no. How did
creating bead jewellery come into the picture? Read on...
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Spain has
the right idea: when it's high summer and too hot to work,
they go on vacation. Having
worked solidly on Perleta
Magic for
eleven months straight, so did we.
To South Africa.
Why
South Africa? Because South Africa is on a
nearby longitude to Spain so there's less jetlag, and it's in
the
southern hemisphere so cooler as they are in winter
(very
mild).
Also, friends of ours who live there have bugged us for
ages to come visit. Lastly, it has lingered on our
travel To-Do
List for years, the little hand at the back of the queue
always wanting some attention.
It's
always a challenge to distil ideas into a solid plan, one
which you
fervently hope goes off without a hitch especially if it's a completely
new destination and you are doing it on your own.
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That's the
benefit of DIY: it reinforces your can-do attitude and gives
you
a great amount of satisfaction.
Armed
with flight
plans, and travel plans, ideas of things to do on our vacation - should
we go on a safari, or do multiple safaris?
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Should we take a
scenic
route on the Garden Route from Cape Town and
Port Elizabeth?
Or maybe the wineries up the other coast.
Perhaps check out wine lodges
around Stellenbosch, where it's picturesque with old Dutch
gables and
famous wines, and go big on gastronomy. Food? yes please.
At last, we
were on our way - overnight flight, to land at Cape
Town. Three days of exploring and sampling what was on offer,
e.g.
Victoria & Albert waterfront and Table Mountain. |
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We did stay
in Stellenbosch - top spot. Then up the Garden route
including the
Karoo region, stopping for lunch. The Karoo Lamb Curry alone
could have
fed a football team.
Overnight at Knysna, then to the
highlight, three days at a Big Game Park just
outside
Port Elizabeth.
An experience not to be missed.
We
boarded a flight for the short hop up to Durban where our
friends
lived.
Surprisingly, Durban appeared to be a shoppers paradise.
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Suburban malls,
boutique shops, markets, all abound, and
are very smart establishments; a real pleasure to visit.
Gateway,
the largest mall in Durban is popularly referred to as the 'theatre of
shopping'. How big? Biggest mall in the
Southern
hemisphere... you almost need your passport to go from one end to the
other.
There
are so many craft shops and craftware available. The beadwork
is
fantastic, amazing and impeccable I was quick to notice. I
was always
interested in beading.
Before I
suffered the stroke due to an AVM
(Arterio Venous Malformation), I was already in throes in of bead
madness.
Every
evening in
London, I would bead something, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, all manner of costume jewellery.
After
my stroke, all that was locked away possibly never to see the light of
day again.
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Until
we vacationed in South Africa, beads and jewellery making were confined
to history. But now, goodness me, I discovered bead
stores and beadcraft everywhere in South Africa.
Inspiration
from the country’s
native African artists and craftsmen and women, extravagant bead jewellery
made from
colourful beads and gemstones.
At
the airport we found some
lovely
examples of jewellery and craftware, proudly made in South Africa and surprisingly
very affordable. I recalled
bead artwork
and beads were ultra expensive, more
than 15 years ago. I was mesmerised! If you've
never
been into a beadstore in South Africa you're in for a treat.
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Everywhere
you
look there are beads, beads, and more beads; lampwork beads,
Czech beads,
gemstone, crystal, Swarovski, Millefiori beads, and an endless
possibility of designs from the African perspective.
The
list goes
on and on. I could spend hours in a bead store, even days there.
Needless to say, we brought some home to Spain with us, our luggage a
trifle heavy at the end of our vacation, and I've been happily
beading again ever since. |
Due
to my stroke, I've only got one
hand to
bead with, so I make, on the whole,
bracelets with a difference.
They are very easy to put on being elasticised, and they fit
any
wrists.
The
bead jewellery bracelets shown here were made and photographed here at Perleta
Magic.
Comments welcome on jewellery.
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