BeadStyle : submissions

Blog post removed

Naomi Fujimoto — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:29:00 GMT

You may have noticed that I removed two previous posts regarding a call for submissions for a jewelry calendar. The editor just notified me that the company will not be producing a 2011 beading calendar. I apologize for any confusion this has caused. But keep on beading!

Submit your favorite book excerpts

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:58:00 GMT

Bill Zuback, one of BeadStyle's photographers, is assembling a photo series based on his interpretations of book passages. Bill meets regularly with a group of creative people who get together to discuss art and politics, and one of their themes was "ten favorite books." That helped spur his idea of putting together a series. His favorite books? "Anything by Paul Auster," he says. His first set of images is from Travels in the Scriptorium. He's interpreting both fiction and non-fiction and posting the black and white images on his blog.

Tea, an associate editor at Bead&Button, gave Bill an excerpt from Scott Huler's Defining the Wind. Lately, Tea's been interested in learning more about how the world works, and she said that the book bridges her love of language with her love of science.

If you'd like to submit text for Bill's consideration, you can get more information from his post, What Have You Read Lately? You can also take part in the conversation by leaving comments and voting for your favorite images.

I'm trying to narrow down my submissions. I've got a novel and a memoir picked out, but I just got distracted by Gregory Berns' Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment, which I read a couple of years ago. Oh, how to decide?

Tips for submitting your designs to BeadStyle

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:23:00 GMT

Here at BeadStyle, we get lots and lots of submissions. This morning, we reviewed submissions for 52 Bracelets (on sale in mid August) and for upcoming issues of the magazine.

Cathy, Jane, Stacy, Erin, and I all have different design sensibilities, but we share a commitment to showing fun, stylish, beautiful jewelry. We love to see your designs! Here are some tips to help you get your work accepted.

Look over back issues to familiarize yourself with the magazine. We rarely run stitching projects, and when we do, the techniques are very simple. Also, we don't show many home décor or men's jewelry projects — you've told us you're not really fans of those.
We look for jewelry's visual appeal. Beyond that, though, you can also let us know why you think your design is a good fit. Did you use unusual materials? Is it a new take on a classic? Is it budget friendly?
Edit before you send your ideas. Two or three well-chosen pieces suggest you understand our magazine better than photos of every piece in your new collection. Be selective; we don't need to see each piece in every color option.
On a related note, we're happy to look at images of specific jewelry, but we aren't able to go through hundreds of photos at a time (so please don't send a general link to your Web site). Again, be selective.
Keep our lead time in mind. We work several issues ahead. Now (in February), we have all of the July issue lined up. So it's best to submit designs that are suitable for a couple of seasons away. That said, we sometimes schedule timeless projects for an issue several months away.
Please don't submit photos of jewelry you can't bear to part with. If we accept your design, we will need to hold on to your jewelry until the magazine goes into production. We understand that you could be selling your jewelry instead, and we try to keep that in mind. You can expect to receive your jewelry back by the time the issue goes to print.
Provide information about where you bought supplies. If you bought your beads at a show, please research other options and let us know where readers can buy materials. Also, we will need prices for our shopping lists.
When we accept your submission, we'll send you a list of questions about your design inspiration and tips. Please send this back in a timely manner.

You can find more information in our guidelines. Good luck; we hope to hear from you soon.

BeadStyle contests and reader challenges

Erin Dolan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:54:00 GMT

We have all been talking a lot lately about our plans and goals for 2009, and I'm sure you have your own list of projects you'd like to accomplish.

Well, I challenge you to add a few more (simple!) items to that list!

BeadStyle has several opportunities for reader involvement already underway, and many more will be announced in future issues. I challenge you to enter one or all of them! Participating takes almost no time at all, but you will have the chance to put your creativity and your opinion out there for your fellow beaders to see. It's a difficult step to take sometimes, but you really have nothing to lose!

Let's start with the absolute easiest way to get involved: Nominate your favorite local bead store! We want to hear about great bead shops and what makes them unique. Go to BeadStyleMag.com to nominate your favorite. Just tell us the name of the store, the store's address, and why it deserves to be featured by BeadStyle magazine. We will pick six winners, based on how many nominations each store gets, and those six will appear in the Bulletin Board section of six future issues. Store owners/employees cannot nominate their own store, but they can encourage others and even promote the contest. Hurry, the last day for nominations is Monday, February 16!

Now for our reader challenges.

In the September 2008 issue, we announced the reader art-bead challenge. We received many submissions, and picked our seven favorites in the March 2009 issue. Now, you can vote on your favorite at BeadStyleMag.com. Voting ends March 2. The winner will appear in the July 2009 issue.

Many of you also submitted designs to the class challenge. Look for those finalists in the May 2009 issue!

Our two current challenges are still open for submissions. The jewelry box challenge, announced in the January 2009 issue, ends on Wednesday, February 18. Send us images of "old" pieces you transformed into something "new" by Wednesday to be considered as a finalist! Finally, we just announced the clasp challenge in the March 2009 issue. We are accepting submissions featuring show-stopping clasps until April 18. To enter, email us editor@beadstylemag.com. Be sure to include photographs and brief descriptions of your work.

If you want to challenge yourself further, submit a piece to the magazine to be considered for publication. Take a look at our submission guidelines and give it a shot! Again, just email us at editor@beadstylemag.com.

We look forward to seeing your work!

Take a chance on beads

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:53:00 GMT

I just stumbled upon Monica Bhide's website, A Life of Spice. Monica is an accomplished food writer who has newspaper, magazine, and online clips (plus three cookbooks) to her name. She hosted a contest on her blog, paying it forward with two really cool prizes: a free class and a half-hour phone consultation.

Well, today was my lucky day: I won the consultation!

I asked Monica if she'd be willing to read a food essay I wrote. She was, and she also offered to answer any other questions I had about food writing. Within a couple of hours, she sent me a gracious email with her thoughts about how to revise my essay, where to submit it, and how I could pursue my idea for a cookbook. She also had some advice about what not to do (very helpful).

Which brings me to the point of my post. In your jewelry making efforts, are you setting goals and following your aspirations? Without overstating the law-of-attraction point, are you putting yourself out there and being open to new people and experiences? You never know what's possible until you ask, and people are generally willing to help others.

So, I wish you much success with your jewelry. Whether you find satisfaction in creating, teaching, selling, or donating, I hope that you're reaping the rewards of investing your good energy in bead-related activities.

And on that note — have you submitted any of your work to BeadStyle? We are happy to take a look.

Call for jewelry submissions

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:04:00 GMT

Calling all beaders:

Sharon Hessoun, the editor of the Beading Bead-a-Day Calendar, is accepting submissions for the 2010 calendar. Here's your opportunity to be seen: 100,000 copies are marketed in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia.

You can submit a finished project or a hi-res (at least 300 dpi) digital image for consideration. All levels of projects and techniques are welcome, as are inspiration pieces. If you submit a project, you'll also need to provide complete instructions and a materials list.

Sharon might also be interested in spotlighting your local beading group or society, so let her know if you belong to one.

It's time to get beading: the deadline is November 30th. Contact Sharon with questions (and for a copy of the release form) at calendar2010@gmail.com.