Custom designs available now!
Unique and wearable Art
Every piece of OBP jewelry has its own story
My jewelry is designed and fashioned one piece at a time, one bead at a time. It can send a message or express a mood. It is part of a long design tradition, yet each one of a kind piece is original and adds its own message to that tradition.
Fine Crart Jewelry is Art you can wear
Each piece of OBP is extravagantly made, and requires far more time and attention to detail than any purely commercial producer could possibly invest. Concern for quality leads me to locate and use glass, pearl, stone and metal materials of high quality. I search shops and warehouses, in person and online, for beads, pearls, fossils and crystals, for gemstone cabochons, for metal castings and glass lamp work. Fine craft jewelry requires fours things: imagination, time, beautiful materials and the artisan’s skill. The result is one of a kind jewelry that is elegant, graceful and wearable.
Beads. Beads. Beads and how they become jewelry
OBP jewelry is made by bead weaving and/or bead embroidery. Each process requires the use of needle and thread, and involves pickling up each bead individually so that it can be woven or sewn into the work. As most pieces contain many thousands of beads, weaving and embroidery are both time consuming activities that require close attention and precise execution. In weaving, the elements of a piece are stitched together with strong technical thread; it is the tension in the thread and the positioning of the beads that provides the structural integrity of the work. In embroidery, beads and embellishments are stitched to a foundation fabric which is then backed with leather or Ultrasuede and further embellished. These two techniques are often combined to produce complex pieces with great dimensional interest.
The Maker and her Method
OBP jewelry is imagined and made by me, Robin Gower, a former History teacher who draws much of her inspiration from styles and esthetics from earlier times — Our Beaded Past. Her work has been featured in national magazines and has won awards at juried shows. OBP does no production work, and never makes the same piece twice.
Custom Work
Occasionally, as time and inclination permit, I accept commissions for special occasions or special gifts. Please contact me by email - robin@ourbeadedpast.com - if you would like to explore this possibility.