Contemporary Bead and Wire Jewelry: More than 40 Fabulous Projects

Contemporary Bead and Wire Jewelry: More than 40 Fabulous Projects by Nathalie Mornu and Suzanne J.L. Tourtillott (Lark Books $14.95 US; $19.50 CAN) has a fresh take as far as design ideas on some traditional wire and bead jewelry techniques.

The 40 plus projects are designed by 22 designers and requires basic hand-tools, beads, and wire. No soldering is required.

This is a very project driven book, so the sections that cover tools, materials, and techniques are informative but do not go into a great amount of detail. For anyone who has worked with wire before, this would not be that much of an issue. However, for beginners, the techniques section could have used more illustrations and breaking down of steps.

The tools used are all pretty basic such as pliers, mandrels, and hammers. Therefore, there is no need for a soldering torch or related set up.

I counted 43 projects and 22 designers. Some of the designers are pretty well known too: Eni Oken, Joanna Gollberg, and Connie Fox for example. In fact, the earrings pictured on the cover of the book are a pair of signature wire wrap style dangles from Eni Oken. All the designs are very unique and updated, both catching on new trends as well as creating some. The variety of designers is really a great touch to this book since there is such a wide range of styles, though again, all very contemporary.

The projects also incorporate a lot of different wire and bead techniques. For example "Lantern Earrings" by Kate Drew-Wilkinson uses wrapped loops to connect some gorgeous turquoise beads and carved amethyst beads with dangles of chain on the ends. Carolyn Skei's "Beaded Dragonfly Brooch" uses a wire form (which you create of course) as the base for wrapping wire and beads around. Susan Campanini uses a wire jig for her combination necklace and earrings project called "Arabesque."

My only issue with this section is much like that of the techniques. There could be more illustrations. Most projects include a color photograph of the entire finished piece as well as an up-close or cropped photograph, sometimes an illustration or two, and then the regular step-by-step instructions.

This books is packed with projects, which is a big plus for those who have some wire and bead jewelry skills already because you can just jump in for the most part, and there is a lot to pick from. While all the designs have a trendy and contemporary feel to them, there is a good mix of styles since there are so many designers who have participated in creating this book. I just wish there were more visual elements throughout to assist those with a little less experience.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.