About Bijou Beads and Design
This is the best little bead shop in Sydney. The owner, Julie Sutherland, has been designing, making and selling her designs for 15 years, has completed Levels 1 and 2 Certification for teaching Precious Metal Clay (PMC), is a qualified Gemmologist with a Practical Diamond Grading Certificate and also makes fused glass and dichroic glass jewellery.
If you are looking for 'something out of the ordinary', then this is the place to come. Bijou Beads and Design specialise in unusual beads and findings and hand-pick products from over thirty different suppliers in Australia and around the world. Their range includes Czech, Indian and Chinese glass, as well as semi-precious gemstones and freshwater pearls. They also stock Precious Metal Clay (PMC) products and one-of-a-kind dichroic glass jewellery hand-crafted by Julie.
Bijou Beads and Design have classes in beading, wire-work and Precious Metal Clay. Most bead shops teach 'projects' so that their students know how to copy a particular piece of jewellery but not why it was designed that way. They believe in teaching 'techniques'. In their classes they cover the basic techniques, the names and uses of all the findings and the correct ones to use to achieve the required result, how to adapt a basic design to suit your own taste, how to create a balanced design (and get it to the right length), and three different methods of stringing. This means students are able to produce the most creative and professional designs instead of just producing the same ones but in different colours. On completion of the 4-week 'Essentials' course, students become Very Important Beaders and receive a permanent 10% discount on purchases of beads and findings as well as reduced rates on further classes.
Bijou Beads and Design conduct Introduction to Precious Metal Clay (PMC) classes in their fully-equipped PMC studio. Customers may also use the studio tools and equipment or just have their pieces fired in studio kiln for a small fee.