One of the most talented  jewelry designers I have come across is Coco Paniora Salinas. I featured this Peruvian born artist before. He and his American wife, Melanie Vento, are the team behind Rumi Sumaq. While Coco is also wonderfully skilled in metal and wire work, his macrame designs are unique and stunning.


Rumi Sumaq now offers a unique opportunity to learn from Coco.  Melanie explained,  "We decided to launch our tutorials with what we heard people struggled with the most… creating macrame bezels for cabochons or stone wrapping."  The bezel work is so important - it is where Coco begins his knotting for his stunning designs as shown below.

Primavera Rising Macrame Necklace
Their first is a 5 part macrame stone wrapping tutorial course is available as a bundle for just $25.
Once their launch period ends, the course will be unbundled and be priced at  $10-$15 each.

Quiri Macrame Necklace 

I was able to have a look at the course.  Firstly, I was impressed that the instruction is available in both video and PDF formats.  This is a remarkable offering which does address the differences in how people learn. Some prefer static formats. Others want to see an actual demo. In either case, the instructions are always available to be viewed again and again, at any time of the day.

Tuktu Macrame Necklace
Not only that, I had a choice of whether to learn on my computer or on my smartphone using the Gumoad app.  Gumroad is an alternative marketplace which allows artists, designers, writers and so on to sell their digital or physical products easily without having to set up an online store.

Sacha Macrame Necklace

On the computer, the full course overview looks like this where the student can click on either format.  I found it useful to watch the videos first and then rely on the PDFs to review the key steps. There are dozens of beautiful photographs for each of the PDFs.  Tutorial 4 for instance, had 43 and Tutorial 5, 51.


Over on the smartphone app, the course overview is similar.  Viewing on a smartphone is useful as you can have it set up on your worktable which, if we are to be honest, rarely has space for laptops!  High resolution video will take a bit longer to copy over. If space is limited, especially on a phone is an issue then opt for the low resolution version. I didn't see much difference in quality between the two. Downloading the tutorial photos on a smartphone also takes up space.


Tutorial 1  covers the creation a bezel for a cabochon with a grooved edge. This is a lot easier to accomplish than working on a smooth edged cabochons. So the learner can concentrate on Coco's demonstration.  His little visual tips include how to neatly manage so many strands of cord, the way he pulls, tightens the knots and controls tension.



The videos have no voiceovers. Instead there is a beautiful background track of Peruvian music (or you could just mute and use your own music).   Having no vocal instructions means you can concentrate on the demonstration. The video controls include a rewind button. The slider button at the top allows you to advance or backtrack where you like.


Tutorial 2 is also a good beginner DIY .  The overhand knots used give the design definition.




Tutorial 3 is more challenging as a macrame bezel has to be created to encompass the edges of a thick cabochon.  Worthy tips on how to complete the circle neatly.


Tutorial 4 was outstanding as it deals with how to create a macrame bezel for the common flat back cabochon.  These have no grooves to assist in tightening the bezel around the cabochon. The tutorial does not cover what to do with all the lengths of cords introduced.


Tutorial 5 shows how to tackle much deeper cabochons.


The basic stone wrapping course is the foundation which naturally leads on to completed designs. Their second tutorial for a gorgeous macrame bracelet is now out.

Giveaway

If you'd like to win Rumi Sumaq's 5 part macrame stone wrapping tutorial course, please make a comment below. Make sure you leave contact info below if you do not have an online shop or blog.

Email subscribers need to scroll down the post they receive, click on Share Comment and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank.

This giveaway is international.

Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments.

It ends in a week's time at 6 pm EST Monday, November 9, 2015 . I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!

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