Winter Holiday Video Wonderland!

Are you having a great holiday time with your friends, neighbors, and family? All of us at the Sheffield School in beautiful New York City wish you and yours the brightest of holiday seasons. Here are some of our seasonal video picks, all with the design-lover in mind - including a TV show episode where our Sheffield Feng Shui student advisor Jennifer Frank helped a woman sell a home that had been on the market for one year in only 24 hours. Enjoy!

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Jewelry Design Frustration: Bent Wire

Bent wire isn't necessarily a problem when it comes to making jewelry pieces. In fact, you have tools to help you bend thick or thin wire to meet the particulars of your design.

But have you ever gotten some thick or thin wire from your jewelry supply wholesaler or retailer and you wound up taking home something amazingly bent, twisted, or misshapen? It happens all the time, particularly when you get wire off the end of a spool - it's just naturally bent in order to begin the wrapping process. And you'll want to start your wire bending process with a straight piece of wire, so this unintentional bending needs to be rectified.

We found this helpful video from jewelry designer Nancy LT Hamilton on wire-straightening tips. No more wire messes!

READ MORE: If you're designing your own jewelry, be sure to read our in-depth look at The Importance of Play and how it will help you create more interesting pieces.

As lead curriculum developer for Sheffield School, I enjoy finding video tutorials for our students from experts like jewelry designer Nancy LT Hamilton. If you're interested in learning the craft of jewelry design, then I encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Video Defines an Interior Designer's Identity

It's challenging for many homeowners to find the interior designer that's just right for them. Some clients want to be able to manage their own projects, so they're looking for designers who can implement their personal vision and perform good, efficient service. Some clients have no idea what they're looking for, but they yearn for a high-end space that is accomplished by a great designer's vision.

The following video from Westport, CT interior designer Katy Cleare of Catherine Cleare Interiors is a great personal statement of what she believes and who she is - and any client will be able to see in an instant that with Katy, what you see is what you get. You'll be able to determine if Katy is the right professional for your project by watching this "identity" piece. She comes across as natural, fun, creative, and results-oriented. Your style of interior design may be more formal, ultra-contemporary, blending feng shui with interior design, or something else that makes you unique and worthy of being hired. If you're a student of interior design, you'll want to think about creating a video or an "identity" piece on your website that calls attention to who you are, what your design brand stands for, and what homeowners will get when they hire you. 

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What Goes Into a Feng Shui Living Room Staging?

There are several schools of Feng Shui, but they all come down to a mystical and a practical side of approaching how objects in your home and life are positioned to maximize health and harmony.

At the Sheffield School, we emphasize the interior design aspects of feng shui. A whole home or a single room can be staged using existing furnishings and accessories so that it flows better, reflects the residents' intentions better, and feels more inviting and beneficial.

Have you ever walked into someone's home and felt trapped or oppressed? Contrast that with walking into someone else's space and feeling a sense of welcome, peace, and wonder. The latter is what feng shui can help achieve.

We picked this video from Denver feng shui practitioner and stager Nicolette Vajtay. As part of her Inspired Living Feng Shui practice, she interviewed a young couple and captured before and after scenes of their living room to emphasize

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Fall Wine Season Alert: Tours & Parties Ahead

With Labor Day here and gone, it's time to be thinking about the upcoming wine season this fall. Summer is a time for outdoor parties, white wines, BBQs, and delicious snacks. But with fall getting closer, wineries are gearing up to harvest their grapes for the fall wine tours, and you should start thinking about planning as well.

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