Fish Leather

The necklace I am showing today is made with fish leather. The royal blue salmon skin was imported from Iceland. The people who sell it were the speakers at the last Upper Midwest Bead Society meeting. It was interesting to learn about how the fish skin is processed. The focal beads are enameled copper from C-Koop Beads. I bezeled the two enameled pieces with large royal blue crescent shaped beads and seed beads and added a faceted drop to the bottom cab then sewed them onto the leather.  Next I added two bezeled  glass cabs as accents. I did use bead backing behind the leather to stiffen the piece and help it support the weight of the beads.When I was done applying the focals I glued ultra-sued to the back to cover the stitching. I edge stitch seed beads with daggers at the bottom to finish the piece. The straps are bugle beads and seed beads in a herringbone pattern. Blue crystal rondelles and silver cones finish the straps. I chose a silver toggle clasp as the closure. I had fun working with something unusual. I hope you like it.