Learn To Bead

Sometimes, jewelry must conform to a type of numerology — odds or evens or multiples of some number, like the number 3 — related to the numbers of beads or the numbers of strands or the numbers of drops.

Do you have a personal preference for ODDS or EVENS?

Such as,

— The number of beads on a strand?

— The number of strands in a necklace or bracelet?

— Or the number of bangle bracelets you wear on one arm?

— Or the number of beads you use to begin a peyote stitch project?

— Or the number of drops you include in your piece, or dangles you include in an earring?

— Or the number of colors or elements repeated in a pattern or jewelry segment?

— Or the number of fringes on an earring?

Is this ODDS/EVENS preference consistent all the time?

Or is it situational? That is, in certain circumstances you prefer ODDS, and in others, EVENS.

Is there any experiential, aesthetic or hypothetical basis for your preferences?

If you have a preference for one over the other, has does that affect your design process?

Do you get more compliments, when you are wearing one- or three-strand necklaces, than when you are wearing a two-strand or four-strand necklace?

Historically in Europe, it was considered bad luck and inappropriate to have an EVEN number of strands in a necklace. If you had a very long necklace that you would occasionally wrap around your neck multiple times, then it had to be long enough so that you could wrap it around an ODD number of times — such as tripled, never doubled. Even today, in etiquette books, such as “Miss Manners”, the rule is “Always Wear Odd Numbers of Strands of Pearls.” No explanation is given.

Russians even believe that you should never give an even number of flowers to your wife or girlfriend!

In ancient Babylon, even numbers were believed to be unlucky and somewhat demonic. To them, something should never be repeated an even number of times.

An ODD number of beads lets you define a specific center and focus.

Cognitively we prefer things with clear pointers and with clear symmetry.

But we also like balance and harmony and things to be distributed EVENLY.

Where do you come down in this ODDS vs. EVENS debate?

Other Articles of Interest by Warren Feld:

Do You Know Where Your Beading Needles Are?

Consignment Selling: A Last Resort

Odds or Evens? What’s Your Preference?

My Clasp, My Clasp, My Kingdom For A Clasp

Why Am I So Addicted To Beads?

The Bead Spill: My Horrifying Initiation

The Artists At The Party

How To Bead A Rogue Elephant

You Can Never Have Enough Containers For Your Stuff

Beading While Traveling On A Plane

Contemplative Ode To A Bead

How To Bead In A Car

My Aunt Gert: Illustrating Some Lessons In Business Smarts

A Jewelry Designer’s Day Dream

A Dog’s Life by Lily

I Make All The Mistakes In The Book

How Sparkle Enters People’s Lives

Upstairs, Downstairs At The Bead Store

Beads and Race

Were The Ways of Women or of Men Better At Fostering How To Make Jewelry

Women and Their Husbands When Shopping For Beads

Women Making Choices In The Pursuit Of Fashion

Existing As A Jewelry Designer: What Befuddlement!

The Bridesmaid Bracelets

How To Design An Ugly Necklace: The Ultimate Designer Challenge

I hope you found this article useful. Be sure to click the CLAP HANDS icon at the bottom of this article.

Also, check out my website (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com).

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