World Artisan Gems

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Name: Astrid Riedel

Website Link: Flickr     Etsy

Where are you located?  South Africa

Silvered Beauty

Tell us a bit about yourself: Well, originally I am from the Netherlands, but immigrated with my parents many years ago to South Africa, where I still live currently, with my husband and 2 children, and a dog called Sherlock!

Little Ponds

When did you start designing jewelry/art? I have been creating glass beads since 2003 and am enjoying it tremendously, my original training lies in Goldsmithing  which I have practiced many years, but bead making has taken over my passion.

What do you make? Glass beads 
What materials and methods do you use? I use mostly Moretti glass and other special silver glasses. I love using silver foil, copper mesh, copper leaf, and enamels.

Where do your design inspirations come from? I don’t think I have a specific style, because I enjoy trying out as many new ideas as possible, it keeps me challenged and moving forward. I’m inspired by the colors of the flowers and creatures around me, and there are certainly other glass bead artists who inspire me too. 

Floating

What is your best working environment/where is your studio? My studio is at home, I have a wonderful loft area where I spend many hours creating my beads.

Where can your products be seen? You can find me on Ebay  and on Etsy by  name, and you can view my beads anytime on my Flickr site and BeadArtists.org

Who are you a fan of? Many of my fellow bead artists

Tell us a little about one of your favorite creations: Each new creation seems to be my favorite! But I like the feather bead a lot, I think the style is unique to me and I found it amazing how the glass interacted with each other to give it a real feathery appearance.

feather bead