When did you start making jewellery?
When I had my son, 25 years ago, I wanted be a stay-at-home-mum but needed to work, so I worked from home representing an American bead manufacturer by looking after their key accounts, in particular, giving support with training and education. I was trained in jewellery techniques as well as how to teach and train others. Teaching and sharing my love of beading is what I enjoy most!
How did you get into designing jewellery?
I think I fell in to it accidentally! Once I had learned the various techniques, I found myself looking at the jewellery other people were wearing or what I saw in the shops. I would mentally take them apart to work out how they were made and then I would go home and try them out with my own beads. I like to mix techniques and I enjoy making jewellery to go with specific outfits that I wear. Sometimes I want something to compliment what I am wearing. Occasionally I want something to draw attention to my jewellery – not my clothes! But when I am designing jewellery to inspire others to create jewellery, I take into account the current fashions in style, beads, colour, textures and fashion accessories in general.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I love to travel and I spend a lot of time looking at both the components available and the styles and trends of people in other countries. I love the flamboyancy of the Italians. I love the simple use of natural elements that I found in the Hawaiian Islands. I love the rich combination of colours that I found in Mexico and South America. Wherever I travel, I try to visit bead shops and if possible I take a class or two. I learn so much by making friends with the shop assistants and teachers. What are their hot sellers, what do the locals like, what do the tourists like, etc.
Tell me about your show on QVC
My Creative Jewellery Show on QVC UK gives the creative jewellery maker, whether a beginner or experienced, lots of opportunity to use their initiative and creativity but with lots of support with good technique demonstration and a wide range of finished samples to inspire. We offer very few complete kits. By that I mean, we don’t have many kits that make a specific piece of jewellery. Mostly we sell bundles of product, whether beads, tools or findings. For example, we will have bundles of beads and bundles of everything you need when using a specific technique. Some of our best selling bundles include our assortments of real turquoise (large and chunky or small and dainty), basic findings and tools such as the spinning seed bead threader and the Thing a ma Jig! I think the success of the shows is the excellent value for money and variety in addition to the technique support and design inspiration.
Do you prefer designing or teaching?
I don’t think I could have one without the other – but I get the most satisfaction from teaching. I love to share what I learn and I get the biggest kick out of seeing a student create something fabulous – often, much better than mine!
You have a book out soon, tell us about it.
This is my 4th book and it is aimed at women between 18 and 35 with limited experience of beads and beading. It will include more than 25 beading projects with an Asian element. Six of the chapters each has a different technique with a number of variations using that technique. I am already half way through completing the projects. Each chapter keeps growing because when I start designing – I find it hard to stop!
What are your tips for making good jewellery?
* Firstly, attitude – give it a chance!! It is like most things, it take a little practice to learn and perfect techniques.
* Secondly – start with simple techniques. With 25 years of learning and then teaching, I have developed my own fool proof way of learning, where one technique builds upon another.
* Thirdly – be observant! Notice the jewellery other people wear, that you see in the shops, or in books and magazines. Question what it is that you like. When you see things you don’t like, work out what it is you don’t like. You will soon start to build up some personalised design criteria.
* Finally – enjoy it!
You are an American in Britain, what do you love about the UK?
I love British culture. I love the British countryside. I love British history. I even love the British weather!!
What’s next for you?
I want to carry on as I am now – mixing it all up with writing books, travelling, time with my family (I have 3 gorgeous granddaughters!), travelling, presenting on QVC, travelling, teaching, travelling, travelling, travelling.
