Custom Orders: A Guide - Sculptural Blossom and Foliage Beading by Amy Colbert

Guide to Placing a Custom Order
or Commissioning a Piece

See also: Glossary for term definitions and descriptions

To place a Commission Order, you will need to have an example for me to have a look at, either of someone else's bead work, or of the item you want me to convert into a beaded piece. I am willing to have a go at any technique and any shape or size, if just has to be made with beads! I can do small bits at a time and keep in consultation with you to make you exactly what you want (within reason and to the best of my ability, of course) within your budget.

To place a Custom Order, you need to have in mind the changes to an existing piece that you want made. Be as specific as you like.

For both Commission and Custom Orders you may want to specify the following:

Bead color and finish (choose beads from my supplier).

Leaf Types - Would you like crysanthemum leaves, grass-like leaves, russian rose styled leaves, basic double pointed leaves, single pointed leaves, coffee bush-like leaves, lavender leaves, round leaves, geranium leaves, ivy leaves, maple leaves, water lily leaves, coils, frilled leaves...? Mix and match from other pieces, or find an example photo or drawing for me to copy (if it is already beaded) or design a beaded version of. (More photo examples coming soon)

French-Russian Rose leaf (Maslennikova)

Crysanthemum leaf (Nathanson)

French-Russian rose x Crysanthemum leaf hybrid

Rose leaf (basic double pointed - Nathanson)

Stem Types/Lengths - Would you like your cut pieces with a long-stem, medium stem, short stem, thick and fully beaded like a Bird of Paradise, thick and taped, thin as possible and taped, reinforced or accented with taped curls, wired...? Mix and match from other pieces (more example pictures coming soon).

Fully beaded stem

Bloom Sizes/Degree of Growth - Would you like large, heavily petalled fully blown blooms, regular fully blown blooms, small fully blown blooms, several blooms of varying growth, one fully blown bloom and a bud? Any combination is possible.

Varying degrees of growth

Numbers of Petals/Leaves - Tell me, for example, if you'd like 4 petals on your miniature geranium blooms rather than 5 and you'd like 6 extra leaves.

Finger/Wrist/Neck Circumferences - For your jewellery and accessories, let me know your measurements or the length you would like your pieces to be to fit the way you want them to.

Findings - Choose your jewellery and accessory findings from my available stock in gold or silver: heart toggle clasps, hook clasps or bolt ring clasps; studs with loops to dangle piece from, plain studs with piece attached to front, hook earrings, hoop earrings, butterfly backs or rubber backs... let me know if you have allergies and need me to source hypoallergenic or pure gold findings for your piece... or select something else from my supplier (example pictures coming soon).