Why it's my sister's fault I'm in the jewelry business

I've been in the jewelry business for over 10 years. When I started, the technique I used was called "stringing", it's putting beads on a wire and securely attaching the ends of the wire to a clasp. It sounds simple, but it does take a few years to get good enough for selling it on the open market. Here's one of the first bracelets I made with little freshwater pearls and seed beads.

 

But then my sister bought a bead shop and taught me the technique of bead weaving. It can be a difficult technique to master and I almost gave up just trying to get the needle on the thread. Or you wreck you whole pattern just going the wrong way through a bead! But she managed to get me hooked and so that's why it's her fault I'm still in the jewelry business. Stringing is fun, but very limited. Here's another early piece I did using two different types of wire so that I could get a slightly more interesting shape.

Here's an early bead weaving bracelet I made that my sister taught me with a Deborah Robberti pattern.

Now I'm going to plug her bead shop in Florida (and online) where you can still take the best classes and find a wonderful selection of beads!

Laura's Beads

Have a nice day!