An Uplifting Expression You Can Wear! Color, Movement, Light = Beauty, Femininity, and Gifts!
I have been making jewelry for more than 25 years. Opening an online shop in 2019, allowed me to become passionate about my hobby. I am focusing on my own style within this art and I am inspired to create even more for my beloved customers.
I create unique, vibrant jewelry with high quality glass beads, crystals, and gemstones. My favorite technique is bead “weaving.” It is here that the jeweler takes one small bead at a time with a needle and weaves them into a pattern to create a form: a rope, a tube, a band. No matter what technique I use, my goal is to create something lively with the colors and to utilize light and movement. I love this intuitive part of the creative process: starting with one bead and combining. contrasting, designing and then suddenly transforming these tiny little pieces into something beautiful, something with a personality. Usually my pieces are reminiscent of either the Roaring Twenties or the Romantic Victorian time period, and I stray to the bohemian 1960s as well.
My inspiration usually comes from looking through experts’ books full of beautiful artistry created all with tiny, tiny beads. Usually what attracts me is a stitch; I’m intrigued by how the weaving creates such shapes and structures. These are the ones that I itch to make myself with my own pallet of beads. After about an hour or so of sifting through my collection of beads, I find the ones that dance together the way I was hoping.
Many a time I have set out making a bracelet or a necklace, and then I start to see something... "How would this look as an earring?" I am in love with earrings. I love the movement in an earring, the allurement that an earring can spur, the statement of personality and mood an earring can make.
How did it all begin....
I was home from college on break in the small town, New Paltz, NY, where I had grown up. I walked into one of the shops, one of the many which smelled like patchouli, India, and incense. Behind the counter were books on the wall. One had a Native American man decked out in a beaded headdress. For some reason, maybe it was because there wasn't much going on in this snoozy college town over summer break, I picked it up. Inside were neat diagrams, patterns to make out of seed beads, the needle and thread going in and out to pull together beautiful chains, ropes of ladders, and flowers. I loved wearing jewelry, but on a summer nanny job and work study income, I didn't usually have much money. I could make my jewelry! Boredom, breeds creativity….and so does a lack of expendable income.
From the beginning, the vast color display, the different textures, and the endless possibilities attracted me. I went back to St. Bonaventure University, and being a pre-med major didn't have much time, but when I met up with some friends each week to watch our favorite TV lineup, I would bead away. Mainly, I made necklaces for my friends and for myself. There was a cute boutique in Olean, NY, and I asked the nice shop owner if she could try to sell some of my items. I was thrilled that they sold! I will never forget the brick stitch parrot earrings I made which sold right away. I never made another....It's so interesting to look back on who we used to be and how we've grown into somebody with different style and tastes.
Medical school and residency did not allow for much beading, but I picked it back up in my 30s and fit it in while watching tv or sitting poolside on vacation. I never sold anything again since those college days; I only had enough time to finish pieces that I could give to a friend, which I truly love to do. It seems somewhat of a meditation on the person since I think of them as I plan it and as I make it: what colors I picture them wearing, their movement, their style, their personality, and how I can’t wait to give it to them!
As a mother, a wife, and a busy, energetic woman, this craft brings me such peace. It helps slow me down, keeps me present, and truly is a mindfulness practice for me. It soothes and fulfills me. I love this work for this reason and also for its beauty, its femininity, and the opportunity to give something personal and reflective of what I admire in those whom I love.
Please visit and revisit my Etsy store. You’ll see popular pieces in new color combinations and you’ll see totally new styles that I’m exploring. Please leave comments and feedback on my Facebook and Instagram page. I'm looking forward to sharing this passion of mine with old and new friends, new online acquaintances, and my dear family. Thank you for reading!
