There’s an interesting question on our BeadAndButton.com forum right now about how to choose colors and what resources you can use. Do you follow the trends for the coming season, or do you simply go with colors you like? Either choice is valid, and there are times to consider both.

If you’re looking to make jewelry that coordinates easily with clothing or might be more saleable in season, checking out upcoming color trends is a good idea. Type “color trends spring 2009” into a search engine, and you’ll find a number of resources to show you what’ll be hot in the spring.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with picking your beads because you simply like the color, and I have a feeling that’s how most of us choose colors most of the time. We choose by instinct, or we learn the rules that artist and designers have been studying for centuries and select our shades based on those. Either way, we have a lot to choose from. In addition to the many, many colors available, there’s a wide range of finishes and materials for us to work with — the options and combinations really do become endless.

For my herringbone/St. Petersburg chain experiment, I’m taking the second approach. I went into our store room and raided our stash, looking for beads in the same color families, in different sizes and finishes. You can see I found some lovely beads in pink/brown and purple colorways, and I’m going to look for some blue or green, too. Now it’s time to play around, and see how the beads work together in the pattern I created.