Intro to Odd Count Peyote: The Stackables Class

Three separate rings | Stacked

Many bead weavers go through a very long time working in peyote without ever experiencing Odd Count Peyote.  For the simple reason that you have to perfect what many call the "funny turn", and which I have recently called the "Double U Turn".  However, Odd Count Peyote is very important in that it allows you to create a piece that is ideal for rings and bracelets especially with patterns and designs. 
In this case, you will be creating a ring that is seven beads wide and will learn to quickly add rows to your base.  We will be using the beautiful Size 11 Delicas from our Miyuki range and you will have enough material to create two distinctly different rings.  You can make a whole range of these Stackables and then mix and match them according to your mood and palette. 
This class is definitely an ideal introduction for those of you who are taking the Tarachi Bint Yagout Earrings Class this coming Saturday September 29.  As we will be creating a link with the triangle beads in odd count peyote. 

The kits are currently available at the shop for registration and pre-selection.  

Date:  September 25 Tuesday
Time:  10:00am- 12:30pm
Technique:  Odd Count Peyote
Level:  Beginners / Foundational
Venue:  LB o J'zazz Beading Zone
Jabriya Block 9 Street 6 House 13 ( Side Basement Entrance) 
Created and led by:  Lubna with support by Bettina 

For more information you can send us an email at info@lbojzazz.com or contact us at 2261-0686.

The shop opening hours are 

Saturdays -Thursdays

9:30am-1:00pm and 5:00pm-9:30pm

NOTE:  The class will also be offered on Wednesday, September 26 in the evening. 

Tuesday Night Class: Crystal Fusions Bracelet This July 17

Many of our customers have requested we bring back more classes on weeknights and with less traffic on the roads and more people out of town this was an ideal time to add these days to the calendar.  I have been delving more and more into rope designs with beads and exploring the connections that are created along with visual flow.  So, this summer I wanted to share some of these experiments in creating a variety of beaded rope solutions that can become the focal part of the piece or used to interchange with pendants depending on the mood and style of what the person is wearing. 
This spiral stitch with Czech Crystals is the perfect starting point and allows you to showcase the 4mm bicones and the beauty of the seed beads in a spiraling ladder sequence.  Very much like a DNA helix that seems endless and infinite. 
The other concept introduced in this class is to use a Swarovski Crystal Rivoli button as the closure that solidifies the visual flow of the piece.  This project comes in eight unique kits that are now available for registration and reserving the colorway at the LB o J'zazz Shaab Al Bahry shop. 
We are KNET friendly.  For more information on class fees and materials list you can contact us at 2261-0686 or via email at info@lbojzazz.com

Date:  July 17, Tuesday
Time:  6:00pm- 8:30pm
Technique:  Spiral Stitch
Level:  Beginners / Foundational 
Venue:  LB o J'zazz Beading Zone
Jabriya Block 9 Street 6 House 13 (Side Basement Entrance)

We work in a relaxed environment so we suggest you dress comfortably.  Class project was created  and will be led by Lubna and with support by Bettina.

Fusion Series: Tarachi Bint Yagout Class This July 7

A melange of techniques  in the debut of our Fusion Series of Classes, whereby, guest teachers bring an array of new techniques and approaches to the table.  Madhawi Al Yagout accomplished teacher of Classical Piano and possessing creative talents in various mediums will launch this new endeavor in conjunction with LB o J'zazz.
Tarachi Bint Yagout will employ four distinct techniques with an end result that harkens to the earrings of the past yet with a twist.  Tarachi is the local word for earrings and Ms. Yagout is known for taking old local symbols and techniques and infusing them with a contemporary crafted feel.  As substantial as this pair looks, they are surprisingly light and easy to wear. 
You will also be mastering odd count peyote to create the links and connect the pieces.  There will be no less than six rich colorways highlighting the resilient beauty and sheen of Turkish cotton yarns for the crocheted base.  Explore your love for colors, fibers and beads in this celebration of fusion!

 

Date:  Saturday, July 7, 2012

Time:  9:30 am- 1:00 pm

Venue:  LB o J'zazz Beading Zone- Jabriya, Block 9 Street 6 

House 13 (Side Basement Entrance)

Techniques:  Bead Embroidery, Basic Crochet, Peyote and Embellishing

Level:  Intermediate ( You should be proficient in bead embroidery and peyote and comfortable handling a crochet needle for basic slip stitch)

For more information on class fees, materials required and other information you can either send us an email at info@lbojzazz.com or contact our Shaab store at 2261-0686.  Kits will be available at the shop for pre-registration and to secure your space. 

 

Fusion Series: Tarachi Bint Yagout by Madhawi Saturday July 7

A debut and a new direction for us at LB o J'zazz as we launch our Guest Teacher Program this summer.  Bettina and I wanted to bring new ideas, talent and focus on projects that was a fusion of techniques and incorporating creatively the wide selection of beads, findings and what nots we have on offer at LB o J'zazz  that are familiar and not so familiar.

Beautiful Turkish Cottons selected for the class

We debut with none other than the multi-talented and effusive Madhawi Al Yagout of Karkoosha Bint Yagout Creations. Ever since we met Madhawi three years ago, things have never really been the same at the shop and at a personal level.  Madhawi, an accomplished teacher of Classical Piano at the Higher Institute of Music Studies, painter, tailor, maker of hand bags, crochet master and lastly beader has many talents that we all have yet to discover.

Madhawi at play with her palettes on our kitting day last week

Her sense of colors and patterns are bold and confident.  Whenever she attends our classes, I ask her:  "Madhawi, which kit and colorway do you want to select today?" she answers brightly : " I love all colors, there is not a color that I do not love!" It is in this vein that she approaches her projects and the outcomes are varied, surprising and quite intelligent.  She takes the mundane and elevates these pieces into something special and unique.
Her positive bubbling energy, talent and outlook infuses her work and her life approach. So, one day as she was visiting me at the office I asked her if she would show me a few tips on crocheting and jumped to get my stash.  It had been years that I had held a crochet needle. In  a mere few minutes she had me doing techniques I never imagined  mastering effortlessly. 
That afternoon when she returned home, she said she was inspired by the session and went on to make the prototype for the earrings.
Here we are a few months later concocting a fusion of bead embroidery, Odd Count Peyote, Fringing and Crochet and her results are quite a surprise.  
You will have no less than six luscious colorways to choose from and this will  be a great basis to explore creating links in crochet with embellishments.  Stay posted as we gear up for this special debut with you, our special beaders in our midst. 

Turkish Cotton Yarn Delights for Tarachi Bint Yagout Class Debut

A few days back as Madhawi has been preparing the kits and samples for her debut class at LB o J'zazz, we went on our excursion to select the main component of beautiful cotton yarns from Turkey that she had introduced me to and I had fallen in love with a while back.
Originally she was thinking about creating four distinct colorways, well as soon as we got to this home based shop of Um Nasser that notion quickly evaporated as we delved and were mesmerized by the array of skeins on display. 

Just seeing all the skeins was a treat!

Madhawi was gracious enough after my eyes were feasting on all this eye-candy to help her select the colorways for the project, that will combine our LB o J'zazz selection of Czech Crystals and Miyuki triangle beads and findings.  So, I started with a whole lot of colors, about fifteen thinking how to narrow them to four and that was very difficult.  Madhawi being the trouper and ever the consummate crafter said we could have more colorways.  So, this is what we came up with, the palettes were to be vibrant and bold and to evoke jewel tones along with bright summer days full of intense floral hues.

Final selection of ALIZE Cotton Yarn for the class

  This morning Madhawi had already created the base in exquisite crochet for all of the six hues!
Now, the next step will be her selection of beads to embellish this amazing set of earrings. Which will be taking place this week. 
Many of the nomenclatures we have in our Kuwaiti dialect derived from other cultures and languages that Kuwaitis dealt and traveled to such as India, Persia and Turkey. 
The word "Tarrachi" indeed came from India and as many Kuwaitis of old were heavily involved in gold smuggling, many of the terms related to adornment and jewelry became a part of our local dialect. 

That morning the crocheting bug bit me again and there was just no way I was going to leave without my own selection for projects with the intention of making beautiful, comforting afghans for friends and loved ones.I can only imagine how yummy and welcoming these yarns will be when created into throws and afghans. 

Final selection for the Afghans

"Tarrachi Bint Yagout" class will debut this June 30 at the LB o J'zazz Beading Zone and is a first in terms of technique and our Guest Teacher.  So, take a look at the palettes and we will be posting the samples soon. 

Miyuki | Haiku Celebration Monday January 9th at Shaab

In the 1940's which was considered the Showa Period in Japan, seed beads were being made and in 1949 on the island of Hiroshima, Miyuki Shoji of Japan was established.  The world of ornamentation, embellishing, off loom and on loom beading has never been the same.  They consider the making of bead a fusion of artistry, hand crafting and technology.  Creating new shapes such as the world renowned Delica Beads and Tila Beads has changed the face of how we are creating beaded objects to treasure and to transcend the times and to resonate. 

Miyuki's New Galvanised Seed Beads in Size 11/0

As a child all the way in the US I was taught Haiku Poetry as a concept that came from Japan and it has different constructs from Japanese to English yet still holds the same depth and accessibility to approach.  Haiku tends to use nature and seasonality to evoke moods and moments of reflection that are quite symbiotic to the contemplative practice of beading.  In the English version of Haiku, one will have a total of 17 syllables so to speak broken into three lines whereby the first line consists of 5 syllables, the second line of 7 syllables and the last line of the poem is 5 syllables. 

Here is one of the most famous Haiku poems in Japanese by Matsuo Basho " The Old Pond" and then transliterated:

Furuike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto

An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

Translated by Harry Behn

So, we would like to invite you to contribute your hand at Haiku poetry, we will be showcasing the poetry amidst the beauty and new range of our Miyuki beads as they feed our desires for beauty and poetry.  Themes of nature, seasonality, moods and colors can be your starting point. It can be in English, Japanese or any language as long as it fits the syllable construct.  You can email your Haiku poem to info@lbojzazz.com and it will be showcased in the shop during this month as we celebrate life, beads, Haiku and Miyuki. 

In addition, for our Miyuki passionistas we will be celebrating the whole new range with over 72 new beads ranging from Delicas, Magatamas, Seed Beads and Bugle Beads so mark your calendar and please join us for some Japanese Tea, Edamame, Japanese Music, Haiku and the breathtaking beauty and luster of  Miyuki Beads.

Date:  Monday January 9th
Time:  6:00 PM- 9:30 PM
Venue:  LB o J'zazz Shaab el Bahry
Block 8 Mohammed Darwish Al Aradi Street (formerly Ibn el Khatib)
Shopping Complex adjacent to Executive Flex


For more information you can also contact us at the shop at 2261-0686.

Life, Art & Love; A Collaboration

The past two weeks, the LB o J'zazz family has been experiencing a whirlwind of activities at the business and personal level. For the founders, creating an extension that reflects our life philosophies has been instrumental in our development and evolution.
Lubna and Bettina have been running the store, administration, government paper work, marketing and school events in addition to gearing up for a life changing event of one of the partners; as Lubna is getting ready to tie the knot.
Creatively and personally, the demands have never been more challenging as a small entrepreunerial outfit. We were able to use this very personal day and incorporate meanings and nuances at several levels.
Whenever I had the chance to communicate with my dear friend, creative inspiration and designer Claudia Shames, I would say: " Claudia if I ever decide to take the plunge, you will have to design and make my wedding dress." Due to the short notice this was not possible and I had to find something that suited my persona fast. So, the focus then moved to creating a bridal veil that would be the focal point of the whole ensemble. So just three days ago, Claudia, Bettina and I began a creative and material collaboration. We selected the tulle, a silvery beige dream of a material. Then Bettina seeing my anguish when Claudia asked if I could create a bejeweled band, jumped in and offered to design and make it for me.

As ideas were thrown around, both Bettina and I realized that as we have been espousing quality materials in the textile realm here in Kuwait, we saw this as the ideal opportunity to only use LB o J'zazz Czech Crystals, our Premium Japanese beads and C Lon thread as the perfect sampler combined with my favorite designer who has a keen understanding and sensitivity of how to enhance our individuality in her creations.
We will share with our friends and readers the joys of colloborating in a field that will end up creating an adorned piece that will be part of our memories, joy and celebration of a special day of matrimony. This is what makes us tick. Artfully living, and creatively loving. This is who we and this what we do.