The description of the book sound very similar to the book I was in the middle of completing for Rockport Publishers: Making Designer Bead and Wire Jewelry: Techniques for Unique Designs and Handmade Findings. To me, it sounded like my book had already been written and published! Yikes!
At the time, I decided not to look at Bateman’s book but to keep writing my own and just hoped the books were not as similar as they sounded. Now that I’ve finished writing my book, I finally got up the courage to buy Findings and Finishings (I purchased mine through crafterschoice.com, but it’s also available at bookstores and Amazon.com, retail prices is $21.95), and I can report that I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I was amazed at how differently Bateman approached this similar topic. We often talk on the forum about how two artists can use similar ideas or materials and come up with very different finished products, and this is a great example of that.
Now, why are they so different? Bateman’s book does cover findings and finishing of jewelry, but the most distinct difference between the two books is that she focuses primarily on bead weaving. Of course, I should have had a clue about this since the book is published by Interweave, which publishes Beadwork magazine, which is primarily devoted to seed bead-based jewelry.
While there is some wire work and attention to findings like ear wires, I think the strongest parts of the book deal with finishing seed bead jewelry. For example, Bateman includes beaded toggle instructions, lots of fringe how-to’s, seed bead bezels, strap instructions, and tips for beginning and ending threads. Therefore, I think seed bead lovers will probably find this book the most helpful. Beginners should not expect to learn everything they need to know about how to seed bead from it, but they will learn a lot of very important methods that will help them make their finished seed bead pieces look more professional.
Other than the book jacket description, my only other beef with this book might be the organization of the information, and I have to wonder if this is my own issue since I obviously approached this topic very differently. If I hadn’t done this, then I might not have any preconceived ideas about how the book should look, and then I might not have found the format of the book so confusing.
If you are a bead weaver or even if you work with other bead techniques, I highly recommend taking a look at this book and then deciding for yourself if you think you need it in your jewelry making book library. Personally, I’m glad I bought it. Along with bead and wire jewelry, I also make seed bead jewelry, so I plan to try some of the techniques discussed in this book.
