I acquired Bedazzled for the museum collection in 2004. I had seen an advertisement in a shelter magazine and wanted to visit the showroom to experience it and pick up a sample. When I walked into the showroom this wallcovering, in silver, was installed on a large curved wall and was totally breathtaking. It was just so elegant and understated. Granted, just about anything installed in a design showroom is going to look fantastic, otherwise it wouldn’t be there. But with Bedazzled I saw the potential for dressing up any space, even smaller and less designed than a New York City showroom.
Not only do you have the light playing off the reflective foil ground but the glass beads are also putting on a light show. Depending upon the beads proximity to its neighbor beads and the amount of adhesive adhering the bead to the foil, there is a tremendous range and depth to its appearance, all dependent on how the light is falling across its surface. It’s kind of mesmerizing, as well as soothing.
At the time, Bedazzled was only available in the small glass beads on either a silver or a gold foil ground. But it has evolved over time. The original design with small beads is still produced and is now available in eight different colorways. This is also available with multiple sizes of glass beads which increases the visual drama. Below is a detail of Bedazzled Sparkle Geode. This same technique of applying glass beads to the surface can also be used to create custom murals for a more personal touch.
One of the problems working with the largest collection of wallcoverings in the United States, containing over 10,000 samples, is that I don’t get to view most of the papers on a regular basis. So I was pleased to have the opportunity to roll this out for photography and was again captured by its beauty.
