Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence

My job puts me in close contact with lots of creative people. When I edit a book for one of these people, my task is really to act as the doula, or midwife, to see that the book gets born in one perfectly formed piece. I don't know if you've ever given birth or been in attendance before, but it's an incredible experience, filled with equal amounts of drama and joy. Giving birth to a book has many of the same qualities, and I've been so lucky to be around for the arrival of many, many book births.

Like a real baby's birth, helping give birth to a book is very emotional. I see authors when they are at the height of their genius, but often at their most vulnerable. It's during this time that I often make very close bonds to these authors, and I'm so grateful to count many of them as friends.

Editing Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence was no different. I didn't know Marcia that well beforehand--she was just one of those big-name teachers that I'd always dreamed of crossing paths with. So when I was asked to work on her book, I was thrilled. Working with Marcia on her book was a delight, and we became fast friends.


I'll be honest, though. When I was first asked to do this book, I wasn't too excited about the subject matter: right-angle weave. I hated that stitch and avoided it like the plague. But when I dove in to start helping Marcia shape the words and refine the instructions, I was flabbergasted. Marcia's projects, instructions, and illustrations make right-angle weave actually fun. In the book, she gives us a flavor of the stitch with easy projects like Spun Glass and Abacus, then builds slowly to show us different ways to open up, sculpt, embellish, and combine techniques in projects like Amphora and Quetzal.

When editing a book like this, you really get into an author's creative mind, and I found that Marcia's mind for jewelry construction is superb...just plain smart. I'll give you an example: When I'm working on an editing job I usually tackle one project first thing in the morning while my brain is still fresh. Some pieces take a few hours, some take all day. When I was editing Marcia's book, I woke up one morning with lots of energy decided to pick out the most gnarly-looking piece in the box. It was a bracelet called Fanfare, an accordion-like number that undulates with sparkling crystal ribs. As I began to read Marcia's instructions, I audibly yelped with delight! This project is very straightforward and relatively easy. It's the way Marcia combines the elements that make it look so complicated, and as far as I'm concerned, that's just pure genius.

Beaded Opulence has been out for a while now and has consistently been at the top of the Amazon jewelry-making charts. I know the book is doing well and Marcia doesn't need too much help promoting it, but I wanted to underscore that this is a great book for any beadweaver to add to their shelves. If you've been on the fence about getting it, just do it, especially if you hate right-angle weave like I did. Because of Marcia, I use the technique all the time now. Thanks, my good friend!