I like this event its a time to stock up, make contacts and see the trends for the future year.
White metal dominated Silver for the lower market and for the higher quality market white gold and platinum.
Fancy cut Diamonds and mini super sparkly diamonds chips in black, yellow and champagne where everywhere. This will be interesting to see how the high street takes this trend, maybe mini crystals?
There was lots colour and a wide range of different gems, last years murano glass trend seems to have evolved into the use of real gemstones.
Freshwater pearls in every shape where available plus the prices seemed cheaper and the quality seemed higher than previous years (which is good for me and my new range of sterling silver, gem & pearl stitch markers)
The charm bracelet was still popular with many more individual component style companies .
I noticed many beaded necklaces were stung using silver coloured silk threads to give a look of metal without the weight and making the necklaces very fluid. In contrast I also saw some beautiful french wire wrapped pieces with very delicate wire, beads and crystals in organic shapes that can be shaped to the neck with stunning effect.
Some more fun with polymer clay, cured this batch on a lower temperture and the colour stayed the same. Going to make some more canes and will post the results soon. Also making some of the petals and leaves into stitch markers.
