My name is Faith and I have been experimenting with polymer clay since 2007, when upon wallowing from a book hangover, I came upon a tutorial that spoke to my inner book geek. Immediately, I saw myself creating miniatures of my favorite books! It took about a year of solid research, experimenting & effort to get it to its current form. And pounds of book bead clay disasters and mistakes.

I come into clay design naturally, having worked with fondant as a Wilton Level 3-certified cake decorator. Polymer clay is a very interesting medium to work with. It is resilient, flexible and forgiving. I knew that I wanted sharp details to show, so I opted for quarter dollar-sized books.

Getting the image on the clay was another matter. Not a stranger to image transfer techniques, I knew that this was going to be a challenge: getting double-sided images onto a book form. Following suggestions from fellow clay artisans, I tried a number of things, but none were full proof. Sometimes it worked. Most of the time it didn't. Just like Edison, I found 2000+ ways of how NOT to place an image onto clay.

In the end, it took a combination of painting, chemistry, physics, baking and lots of patience to pull it off. It was discouraging at times but ultimately, persistence paid off: sharp images permanently baked onto clay. Voila! Book Beads were born.

Once I had them the possibilities were endless! Because it takes SO long to create a book bead (about 3 weeks), I didn't want to slap it on any cheap backdrop. I love the geometry behind weaving chain mail (the mathematician in me), so I located a good supplier for the rings and bam! — Found the perfect background for my book beads.

Pewter charms were a logical next step. They became an offshoot of trying to display more mementos from books I just finished. Other products came as a result of requests (stitch markers for my sis-in-law the knitter, leather cord necklace for my dude of a brother, customer request for such & such a novel etc. etc.) Every new item I introduced became a culmination of long hours of research, design, innovation and the search for the best materials - all married into the spirit of the book itself. I believe I have the most well-read fan base out there! You guys rock!

MISSION
Another bonus to my craft is the opportunity to give new life to old forgotten books, many of which live in the public domain (check out Project Gutenberg). Dabbling into designing book covers with the specific goal of making sure they were eye-catching when miniaturized came naturally. Sadly, many of these books do not have decent covers or if they do, they are stock images. The Literary Charm is helping find ways to "rescue" them from oblivion — one Book Bead at a time.

CLIENTS
I've been blessed to have worked with so many folks who share my love of the written word — and also suffer book hangovers companionably. It's been a privilege to design custom pieces with several authors whose works range from historical sequels to fantasy — and everything in between. I've also been energized designing creative swag for our B2B and B2C business partners.

AUTHORS
Marina Adair
Lucinda Brant
Suzanne Lauder
Susan Mason-Milks
Melanie Moreland
Nikki Stafford
Abigail Reynolds
Shannon Winslow
and many more to come ...

ARTISTS
Treebo Jazz Band
Emperor Gusto's LLC

B2B, B2C
Jane Austen Books
Yakit
NDC Publishers

This Etsy Store carries only a fraction of our design offerings. The entire gallery is only available at the MAIN site http://www.theliterarycharm.com . Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest to find the latest deals and offers!

Away from crafting, I enjoy spending time with my family and playing with our English bulldogs, who, despite their sour mugs, are just charming!