Twisted Tuesdays - Spotlight Melissa Rediger

Welcome to the first post in a new Twisted Tuesdays series spotlighting the work of the bead artists featured in Totally Twisted! I am so excited to be sharing these spotlights with you. It is such a blast getting to play interviewer and I am thrilled to be able to help support these fabulous artist friends.

If you have a copy of Totally Twisted handy and flip through it right now, you'll discover that the artist I am about to spotlight isn't in the pages as she should be. So much of the publishing process is out of the hands of the author, it wasn't until I was looking at the laser proofs of the book that I said "hey, were did the Hula Hoopla earring project go?" and it turned out it had been edited out due to the book already being more than a dozen pages longer than expected. I was totally bummed because Melissa Rediger of Sea Of Glass is a wonderful glass artist that I really wanted to share with everyone.

Thankfully, I was able to convince Step By Step Wire that this project needed to be shared and Melissa's beads are getting their due time to shine. Be sure to check out the August/September 2010 issue for step by step instructions on creating a really unique earring design below. You can pick up the same beads I use in the project here on Melissa's website. And while you are there, besure to browse all her other beautiful beads. (I already spy a few that would be perfect for my second book!) AND, make sure you read through to the bottom of the interview because there is a special code just for you blog readers.

One more thing before the interview, there is an interesting tale to tell about Melissa and me. We were a "first" for each other each in a special way that the other will never forget!! For Melissa, in 2006 when launching her new website, she had set the site live and waited and waited and waited to see what would happen. Feeling a bit silly for thinking an order would come in right away, she took a walk to take her mind of it. When she came home, lo and behold, she had her first order. It was from me!! Who remembers this bracelet and this bracelet? That was the summer I was just learning to make beads and didn't have a torch of my own, let alone a kiln, or I dare say a studio. Fast forward to the 2007 Bead and Button Show and that is where the first for me happened. It sounds a little silly and even a little vain on my part but, Melissa was the first person to ever recognize me in public, LOL. Yep, I was walking the aisles and wandered in Melissa's booth. She said to me "Hey, aren't you Kerry from that blog?" I will never forget that!! It is wild when the cyber world and real world come together like that.

Without further adu, I would like to intoduce you to... Melissa Rediger!!! (insert applause here)

Hey Melissa! Thanks so much for chatting with me today. Of course, I have to ask, how did you get started making beads?
I am so honored to have this opportunity to share my beads with you and a little bit about myself. I got started making beads kind of randomly. I had never seen lampworking before or been into beads. Seems like so many artists I know have fun stories about collecting rocks as kids, rummaging through their Grandma's buttons, beads, etc. I have no such story. I had never been into beads or jewelry. I graduated from the University of Iowa in Elementary Education and substitute taught for a year or so before having our first daughter. I knew I wanted to stay at home with her after she was born. I was surfing online one day looking for "things to make" hoping to find something that would make me RICH ;) I came across lampworking, found a class in Iowa City and it took off from there (after convincing my husband of course) I would make a bead set in the afternoon when my daughter was sleeping, sell it on ebay for $20-$30 and be thrilled! I started making beads about 9 years ago when there wasn't as many listings on ebay.

I love love love color and by the look sof your beads, you do too. Is your favorite color in life also your favorite color in glass? What are a few of your favorite combinations to work with?
My favorite color is green or orange, so I would probably say it is not my favorite glass to work with. That is one of the struggles I find myself in, trying to think out of my box of favorite color combinations and think of what others would like. I am not a pink/purple person, but I know lots of people are. I am always worried that my sets would have the same colors or look alike, but the compliment I hear the most is that I have such a wide range of colors and combinations, so that really helps me to know I am doing what the customers like. I use a lot of glass frits in my beads, I love the way they react with different glass and silver. I would say that my favorite though is working with boro glass. I love the look of the organic swirls and earthy colors. I get bored easily, so it's good for me to be able to switch from soft glass to hard glass (borosilicate).

What gets you super excited, creatively, at the moment?
Right now I am excited about some upcoming publications that will be coming out, or have already come out with some of my beads in it. I am excited to see this issue of step by step wire with the earrings Kerry made. There is an issue called Creative Jewelry that has a couple pieces with some of my beads in it by Jess Italia Lincoln and Trish Italia. I have a necklace with one of my flower focals that will be in the October issue of Bead Trends. I also just got an email that some of my beads were used in a project that will be in an upcoming special issue of Handcrafted Jewelry. I LOVE that and appreciate it so much when people use my beads in publications.

One thing we have in common is kids and I have talked a few times this summer about struggling having the kids home on vacation. How do you balance the titles of both artist and Mom?
I feel very blessed that I have found something that allows me to be at home with my children and help my family financially. Finding the time to balance the two is a struggle for me. Having a business at home, I feel like any spare moments I have I should be working on beads/jewelry. There is so much that goes into owning a small business besides just making the beads. There is the marketing, organizing, advertising, creating, shopping, etc. With 4 children, it is hard to manage it all. That is why I appreciate so much when I have beads/jewelry in magazines and the advertising that comes with it.

Any future plans you have coming up that you would like to share?
This was my second year doing the Bead and Button show and I had a blast!!! (along with selling lots of beads) It's at a good time for me because then I really don't have any shows during the summer and can gear up for my fall and winter shows. Well, here we are, almost half way through the summer and I have not really made any beads. It is really hard to do when the kids are home from school and want to do things and be outside. In the last few days I just realized that my first show is in September and that is going to be here soon. My youngest will start preschool this year (sad face), so I will have a little more time to work on beads. Starting in September I usually do 2 shows a month until December. I do some trunk shows at local beads shops, a local festival where I set up my torch and do demonstrations, and I also have a store at my house and have an open house. I have lots coming up ~ not to mention all 3 of our girls birthday's are in December.

Thanks so much Melissa! You are awesome and I love that you were a part of my twisted book writing experience. Best of luck at your shows this fall!!

And as promised for those of you that made it all the way to the end here...
A Special Offer!! Melissa would like to offer my faithful blog readers a discount on bead orders placed through her website. Enter the coupon code totallytwisted in the code box when checking out and get 15% off your order through Friday. Visit www.mjrbeads.com to place an order!

And if that weren't enough...

A GIVE AWAY TOO!! In honor of that first order of mine, Melissa is giving away a set of the beads I bought that day! Just leave a comment here (say hi or tell me your favorite color, what ever you wanna do!) and I will draw a winner on Friday July 23rd at noon. What are you waiting for, leave a comment and enter!