Do you like hobbies?....
Do you have a hobby or something special you like to do with your spare time? I have had several hobbies over the years. I like to do things with my hands. It relaxes me. Knitting in front of the TV over the years has been one thing I did on a regular basis. Never could figure out how to just sit still and watch TV.
I found beads in 1990. I really didn’t know what I planned to do with them. But I loved them. Seed beads, gemstone beads, and eventually lampworked beads. And for a girl who likes neutral colors all the shimmery bead colors were fascinating.
I lived in Las Vegas Nevada at the time. Never had that city on my bucket list to live in, but I made the best of it. We bought our home there in 1987 when we moved from Chicago. That’s an interesting story all by itself. We were looking at homes on October 19, 1987. How do I remember that so specifically??? Well it was Black Monday for the stock market when it fell 22%. We left wondering if we could still afford a home at all, but it eventually all worked out. The home we purchased was close to the University of Nevada School of Medicine where my husband had taken a job. And the detail of interest is that we bought it from …. Diana Ross. I had visions of Michael Jackson floating around the house. They were great friends at the time. Oh, yea… our pool was in the shape of Nevada.
Anyway back to beads. Las Vegas is just 4 hours from San Diego. Or just an hour by plane. And I liked to visit there - plus we had good friends there. So we were on one of our frequent trips and staying in Old Town. That’s where I discovered The Shepherdess, a fantastic bead store (I think it’s closed now - things change!). It’s where I bought seed beads to make a necklace because I saw a necklace there that I thought was fantastic. And it’s where I took a ton of classes as I delved into learning anything I could about jewelry making.
My first beading project…… a lariat necklace which became my signature style.
Old Town is also home to my favorite Mexican Restaurant EVER - El Agave Restaurant and Tequileria. I discovered El Agave in 1997. Three of my favorite things at the restaurant - tequila, mole, and flan.
So that’s how I got started on my journey of jewelry making. Seed Beading tiny little beads one by one to make a piece of jewelry. I loved learning the variety of stitches. By the way, these lariats use a stitch from Africa called Ndebele. I always go back to the lariat necklace - iconic design for the southwest. Eventually I made them with my lampworked beads and those bead caps were Precious Metal Clay.
I look back in time because to understand my jewelry designs today; it’s nice to see the history.
Wish you well!!!