Sagit of Sigaliot Designs, Israel (Karmiel)

Who is she?
Sagit is a polymer clay artist based in Israel and does much more than beads!

How does her work inspire you?
The first time I viewed her works, I was immediately attracted to all the bold and striking colors she uses. Sometimes you can never imagine how certain colors can go so well with each other and hers never fail to do that! They are always so cheery and colorful... it just brightens your day. So for that, I am definitely inspired.

How do I feel about her work?
I feel that Sagit has one of the best pillow beads around. I love the fact that they are all so artistically produced. I am drawn to her color combinations!

Find Sagit's work @ Sigialot Designs

Celia of Cêbijux Beads, Portugal (Seia)

Who is she?

Celia is an art teacher and also a polymer clay artist based in Portugal. We met at Flickr.

How does her work inspire me?

I love Celia's matching color combinations that is always very natural and her rose canes! Her round ball beads are also one of the best I've seen around. Her color blends of her lentils also seems perfect all the time. I can always imagine using her beads for my own jewelry so how can I not be inspired!

How do I feel about her work?
I think she does a wonderful job with her beads - she definitely has a natural flair! Her jewelry line using her clay beads are very artsy yet without compromising the femininity. Now that's my kind of style. *wink*

Find Celia's work @ Cêbijux beads

Karina of Kabi Designs, USA (New York)

Who is she?

Karina is a clay bead artist and based in New York city. She was my first contact when I was curious about polymer clay.

How does her work inspire me?

Well, I was awed by her skills and I remember asking her many questions about learning the ways to handle clays - the sanding and the buffing. Her works are made better by the day from the time I've known her and what still amazes me is that she buffs her works till it has the natural gloss effect. That is something that requires a lot more work and I truly respect that because I can't do that!

How do I feel about her work?

Karina does wonderful work with image transfers and her jewelry line boasts a ethnic look. Her trademark (to me) would be her pendants and other focals. Her clay figurines are also a joy to view. My favourite is the mermaid!

Find Karina's work @ Etsy

Questions about my work

Lately I've been receiving a lot of questions about how I make clay beads. While I try my best to answer all your questions, I hope that you will also be able to understand that at the moment, I won't be able to answer everything in detail. That is because I have done my hard work in researching and learning the techniques of doing what I do. There isn't any shortcuts to what I have built on my blog so if any of you wish to use similar content or design, please let me know. I will not mind it (seriously), it's just basic courtesy to me.

I am really happy to know that many locals in Singapore are getting into clay bead crafting and a few have written to me on how I've inspired them and some have acknowledged it in their blogs. That is really sweet and I appreciate it a lot. This is what good ethics is all about. It will boost good relationships and friendly competition. The community for this in Singapore is still rather small so let's all built a nice and supportive one. =)

I think I will be seeing many new blogs coming up with such craftworks very soon and I want to sincerely wish everyone success in their new undertakings. Don't give up.

Most of all, have fun in the process.

Thanks for hearing me!

More about me

My first love in crafting is jewelry making back in 2005. I found my creativity unleashed from it after attending a 2 hour workshop - which was meant to be just a bonding session with a very close friend. (Lucky thing she did not manage to get her creative juice unleashed. hahaha! oops...shhh... =p)

Anyway, I started making jewelries for myself and friends initially (that's what usually happens first to most - I'm sure) then venture into selling them, just for fun in yahoo auctions and then migrated to my own website. It took me about 3 months to sell my first item and I was ecstatic! The feeling of the first sale is still how I feel about my other sales till today.

2 years on, I can happily say that I have "established" my existence in the internet. (What will I do without it!) And I've taken one step further by establishing this blog to showcase my new love for clay bead making. I'm really happy that this has taken flight so quickly and it always excites me to bring new designs to my pool of customers.

Now, as a stay-home mother to 2 young children, it has not been easy for me to juggle my time enjoying my hobbies and spending time with them. But I need to keep my hobbies alive as this is my outlet to curb the insanities of a homemaker. =p Don't be mistaken that I am complaining about quitting my job to stay home and looking after the family. In fact, I have to thank my other half for being so supportive of what I am doing now... without that, I probably would not have discovered the creativity in me. So thank you, my darling! *muacks*

Another thing you need to know is the way I price my creations. Some may think its cheap but I always think about what I would pay for something I see before I price them. Moroever, its really more of the love of doing what I do than profitting. Most times, what I profit will be pumped into getting more raw materials and accessories to improve on my creations. Quality and good interpersonal relationships with my customers are my priorities.

I hope you've gained more insights about me through this post.