StitchesAndStrokesCo

Hello and welcome!

I’m Stephanie, and I'm so excited that you've found me here. It's been a long time dream of mine to share some of my beaded and watercolour creations with the world, and I'm hoping Etsy will fulfill my vision.

I definitely think that creativity runs in my family. My grandpa was a jeweler in Vietnam in the 50s. Visits to my grandparents’ house always involved a dig for treasure through grandpa’s old work drawers. We always found some sort of trinket to talk to my aunt’s about, which led to the retelling of countless stories from their childhood. My sister and I still have gold apple rings and more in our jewellery boxes today. Before we even started school, mum taught my siblings and I how to draw. She still has these exercise books at home full of sketches of chickens, frogs, Disney characters… you name it! Since then, I’ve experimented with pastels, acrylic paints, knitting, sewing and Chinese calligraphy. Without my sewing machine, my interests lie in bead embroidery, calligraphy and watercolour – hence the name of my shop, Stitches and Strokes.

My day job is a researcher in the pharmaceutical sciences. Since completing my PhD, I moved from Melbourne, Australia to Tel Aviv, Israel to continue my research. What a birthplace for my shop! Did you know on average there are 302 sunny days in a year there!? When I’m not in the laboratory developing new drug formulations, I’m dreaming up new designs. I just can’t wait to go home to start experimenting, artistically! With a needle and thread in my hands, or a brush and paint, I can get lost for hours at a time, just ask my husband! I’m so happy to have discovered a new passion, in addition to reading, whipping up goodies in the kitchen and travelling this beautiful world of ours.

I’m always juggling projects, which is also how I like to read books, so please be sure to revisit me. Thanks for visiting! xo