My
Background in Beading
"Beads, beads,
glorious beads..... so totally delicious to the
bead enthusiast that they almost make your mouth
water, and their appeal is just so infectious".......
About
twenty years ago, I got together with a friend of
mine and we decided to "do something different".
We'd both always been interested in antiques, and
decided that with "a bit of a clear out"
at home, we would be able to have a small stall
at a local antiques fair. And that is exactly what
we did; and we eventually began buying antiques
to sell on with a little profit. However, after
about a year my friend decided to go his own way,
so my husband Pete agreed to join with me and we
continued to do the fairs together.
I'd
always had a keen interest in costume jewellery,
and without consciously doing so, started acquiring
and selling more and more. At times, pieces came
into our possession broken, in the need of extension,
or with some other adjustment necessary. I had to
learn all the necessary skills from scratch, but
soon was doing all the 'running repairs' without
a second thought. On the way, I learnt how to 'string'
and 'knot' beads to a professional standard, how
to wire beads and make simple earrings.
I
first started tentatively trying out my designs
among friends and family, and after they were well
received, I took the brave step of trying them out
for public sale. I was extremely pleased that my
first designs were very quickly snapped up, which
gave me inspiration to develop my skills even further.
I researched about everything there is to know about
beading, and made contact with suppliers of raw
materials around the globe. So,
within quite a short space of time, I was designing
and retailing my very unique pieces using combinations
of old and new beads, and now even have several
customers who even collect my pieces.
Today,
I regularly attend many trade fairs and crafts shows,
selling finished items, loose beads and a wide variety
of beading accessories. I now also do a few jewellery
parties, and of course retail a wide range of items
directly from this website.
[sales]
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