We want to thank you! Last year saw so many global changes. It was a scary time for small business. We were fortunate to have a community that let us thrive during a time when the future was uncertain. Thank you! We hosted Customer Appreciation Week for you. We wanted to give back. We brought some friends together and hosted a week of educational beading classes. All of the shows were free to attend. We wanted to show you techniques and bead stores that might not be on your radar. Each exhibitor offered beading kits and supplies if you wanted to make-along with them. What a blast! If you missed out on the fun or just want to revisit the excitement, we have collected all of the shows in one spot. Let's make jewelry!
We gathered 9 bead store friends for a week of beading fun and jewelry making demonstrations. This unique event was full of creative minds and unique jewelry designers. Our guest presenters were: Andrew Thornton and William Jones of Allegory Gallery, Abbi Berta of The Bead Place, Kay Goss of Star's Beads, Joyce Trowbridge of Just Bead It!, Elena Zuyok of Mirrix Looms, Rebecca Combs of Design & Adorn, Kellie Sutton of Kellie's Bead Boutique, Jamie Yoshida of The Bead Gallery, and Nealay Patel of SilverSilk & More. Sara and Kristen, from Soft Flex Company, hosted the live shows. If you would like to take a deeper dive into the DIY jewelry and hobby/craft industry, this is your chance to get up close and personal. We engaged each presenter with a casual interview and then made jewelry right along with them. If you grabbed a kit from a presenter, this was your chance to make what they made. If you opted to just watch, this was a chance to learn a new technique - like kumihimo or using a loom.
Jewelry Making Videos
Learn How To Make Jewelry In 30 Seconds
Check out our 30 second jewelry tutorials on Soft Flex Company's Instagram Reels! This week, Sara showed us how to braid Soft Flex Beading Wire. Braiding adds texture and is a lovely visual element. She added beads from our Butterfly Garden Bead Mix and finished the necklace with a stunning pendant from Allegory Gallery. Master a new technique in minutes. These videos move quick but are easy to follow. You will get a sense of how to use your tools and finish your crimps securely. If you need more assistance, make sure you check out our YouTube catalog for deeper dives into jewelry making education. Become a better beader today!
INSPIRE - CREATE - CONNECT
Soft Flex Company Customer Appreciation Week: Kick Off Party
Let's meet the presenters! We gathered a fun collection of makers and artists. You may recognize some of these faces from the Great Bead Extravaganza. Others are joining us for the first time (in this format). Many of the designers you meet will have met up with us for a beading party. This is your chance to find an exciting new store or craft. This is a great way to get informed. Some of the presenters will be doing advanced techniques, but every project will be slow and this is a great teaching moment. You are sure to learn something new, even if you did not grab a make-along kit.
Note: We will provide a short description of the kits that were sold by our presenters. Kits may be sold out as there was a big demand for them. If the kits are sold out, you can find similar beading supplies and goodies from each store. You may even be able to direct message or contact the exhibitors and find out what you can purchase that would be similar to the kits.
CAW Presenter: Allegory Gallery
Soft Flex Company Customer Appreciation Week Kit
Feeling in a slump and need something to get your creative juices flowing? This kit is a great way to jump-start your creativity! We've curated a collection of components that we think will be perfect to motivate you to create!
Shop: Allegory Gallery
CAW Presenter: Sara Oehler and Kristen Fagan
Butterfly Garden Design Kit
The Butterfly Garden Design Kit was a colorful collection of beading supplies. This kit included beading wire, components, and beads. Everything you need to make a bunch of lovely jewelry designs. You just need basic tools to finish - cutters and crimping pliers. If you missed this kit, make sure to check out our other limited inventory kits. Each kit is brainstormed and designed by Soft Flex Company. Each kit is hand assembled and full of love!
Shop: Soft Flex Company
CAW Presenter: The Bead Place
Jupiter's Bangle
Our Featured Kit for Soft Flex Company's Customer Appreciation Week is Jupiter's Bangle. Inspired by the planet Jupiter itself, and named after the ancient king of the Roman gods, this monochromatic bracelet features nods to both astronomy and numerology. The bracelet is constructed using 5 ft. of Heavy Soft Flex Beading Wire in Antique Brass, 1 10mm rhinestone sparkle ball bead, 35 gold washed taupe Czech Glass accent beads, and 1 2x2mm 14kt gold-filled crimp tube. We hope you'll join us for our live segment demonstrating the versatility of Soft Flex Beading Wire. This design is adjustable in size to fit comfortably over ALL hands and on ALL wrists!
Shop: The Bead Place
CAW Presenter: Star's Beads
Dagger's Delight
Daggers Delight is a fun design to get you playing with dagger beads! These earrings are sure to delight with all the fun patterned daggers along with more than one way to design with them! Kits are limited.
Shop: Star's Beads
CAW Presenter: Sara Oehler
Butterfly Garden Design Kit
The Butterfly Garden Design Kit was a colorful collection of beading supplies. This kit included beading wire, components, and beads. Everything you need to make a bunch of lovely jewelry designs. You just need basic tools to finish - cutters and crimping pliers. If you missed this kit, make sure to check out our other limited inventory kits. Each kit is brainstormed and designed by Soft Flex Company. Each kit is hand assembled and full of love!
Shop: Soft Flex Company
CAW Presenter: Just Bead It
Magical Sparkle Maker
Bead along with us as we create our version of a suncatcher with a mermaid theme! Featuring a “beaded bead” woven together with Soft Flex Very Fine Beading Wire and Czech glass beads, see how to create a one-of-a-kind, magical focal piece. Then, add a Crystal prism to the bottom to bring rainbows and sparkles all around!
Shop: Just Bead It!
CAW Presenter: Mirrix Looms
The Bonifacio Bracelet
This summer transport yourself to the island of Corsica where the sea and sand are as inviting as the apéritif you savor in at shady restaurant by the harbor in Bonifacio. This bracelet, made with Soft Flex wire, C-Lon Thread and stunning stones in two colorways, “ Sea" and “ Sand", is perfect for one’s first foray into bead weaving on a loom or for anyone looking for a quick, polished, and beautiful bracelet project. The combination of wire and stones (Peach Moonstone and Porcelain Jasper or Apatite and Fluorite) give the bracelet a certain elegance that makes it a perfect piece to wear from bistro to beach.
Shop: Mirrix Looms
CAW Presenter: Sara Oehler and Kristen Fagan
Summer Rain Design Kit
Lightning races across the summer sky in a magnificent flash. This is the herald that Summer Rain is upon us. Dark clouds, heavy with rain, release a long needed shower. The earth turns damp and wet. Plant oil is diffused into the air, it mingles with ozone and the odor of petrichor intoxicates us. Drops tap our shoulders and mat our hair. The water tickles our skin and invigorates our senses. Summer Rain has arrived and world is vital and whole.
Shop: Soft Flex Company
CAW Presenter: Design and Adorn
The Illusionist
They say a magician never reveals their secrets, but with The Illusionist necklace kit you'll peek behind the curtain to learn some very cool tricks. The Illusionist necklace features six strands of Czech glass beads that appear to float on Soft Flex beading wire. Six strands become three and then disappear into TierraCast hammered endcaps. From there the necklace transforms into a color changing beaded kumihimo braid. The Illusionist is a kit for all levels. Previous experience with the basic round braid (kongoh gumi) on the foam disk is helpful, but not required.
Shop: Design and Adorn
CAW Presenter: Kellie's Bead Boutique
Garden Party
The kit consists of a mixture of Soft Flex, Czech Glass Rondelles, Matte Ebony Wood and Metal Accents. You will also learn how to create crimp covers using leather knots!
Shop: Kellie's Bead Boutique
CAW Presenter: Sara Oehler
Summer Rain Design Kit
Lightning races across the summer sky in a magnificent flash. This is the herald that Summer Rain is upon us. Dark clouds, heavy with rain, release a long needed shower. The earth turns damp and wet. Plant oil is diffused into the air, it mingles with ozone and the odor of petrichor intoxicates us. Drops tap our shoulders and mat our hair. The water tickles our skin and invigorates our senses. Summer Rain has arrived and world is vital and whole.
Shop: Soft Flex Company
CAW Presenter: The Bead Gallery
Summer Love Bracelet: Shell, Glass & Stone Bead Mix or Kit
Bring home a 'pocketful of paradise' in this breezy, beachy mix of shells, recycled glass and stones. Custom-blended here in Hawaii, you can use this mix in a variety of stringing projects for a tropical vibe that will carry you way past summer!
Shop: The Bead Gallery
CAW Presenter: SilverSilk and More
Light and Magic Necklace Design Kit
SilverSilk & More's kits are all sold out but, Nealay has a wonderful selection of design kits, knitted chains, and more. Visit his site!
Shop: SilverSilk & More
Soft Flex Company Customer Appreciation Week: After Party
We thank all of you in our community. You made this week special. We hope you enjoyed this week of jewelry making classes. We hope you have found a new designer or store that intrigues and inspires you. We hope to keep educating and enlightening new beaders for years and years to come! Thank you!
INSPIRE - CREATE - CONNECT
Join our
Facebook group – VIB. Stay in the know. Stay up to date. From our bead shows to our video shows and sales, you can stay in touch with us. The community is full of artistic and helpful beaders and crafty people. Inspire and be inspired. Share your pictures and get the beading bug from others!
Visit the
Soft Flex Company YouTube Channel!
Blog contributor Thomas Soles loves Jazz Age writers and crunchy french fries. His favorite gemstones are Lapis and Pietersite. His favorite hobby is day dreaming. And his favorite mustache is Freddie Mercury's. As you can see, he has a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) sense of humor. You can write to him at Thomas@SoftFlexCompany.com