Only a few days to go until the deadline of the 1. Storytelling Beading Contest. We are gradually receiving the entry pieces and couldn’t be more excited about the competition. You can read all the necessary information about our contest and if you’ve ever made a Storytelling Jeweller design or used an L2Studio cabochon, here is your chance to participate and show it to the world 🙂
Let us introduce our lovely jury:
HELENA TANG-LIM of Manek Manek
“I live in the Far East – an area that is rich in potpourri of many ethnic cultures, races and religions. From this melting pot of cultures, many influences from both the East and West have created a society of people that have come to love very intricately designed and hand-crafted fashion and accessories. But how did I come to be so fascinated with these little manek-manek? Way back in 1995, I came across an old pair of antique beaded shoes that are extremely popular with the Straits Chinese people of the then Malayan Peninsula. I was absolutely fascinated by the intricate details of individual hand beading using tiny size 13 charlottes (potong manek). I set myself the task to find out how this could be done. The birth of my first own hand-beaded shoes (kasut manek) as worn by the Straits Chinese lady (bibi) of the day came soon after. From there, the rest you could say is history. After shoes, there came little amulet bags in peyote weave, then knitted bags, then crocheted bags and accessories and … Do explore my dedication to manek-manek. I would love to hear from you and share other manek-manek obsessions with you.”
KATIE DEEN of Bead Flowers
“I stumbled into beading by accident. Back in 2002, I had been working for a Strategy Consultancy firm in London (UK) when I gradually fell ill. I had always had a strong interest in all different types of craft and ‘creating things’ as I was growing up. During my time at University (Cambridge, reading History), I dabbled a little in beads after stumbling across a local bead shop, but I had no idea what I was doing and no thoughts of making this into a career. Later I received the book ‘Beads in Bloom’ by Arlene Baker. I was simply amazed by the three-dimensional beaded rose on the front cover of this book and I just HAD to find out how it was made. It turns out, this was a French Beaded Rose and, to cut a long story short, I bought the book, taught myself French Beading, then discovered the whole wide world of beads and the rest, as they say, is history! The beads also speak to my innate creativity and my imagination was, back then, and still is today, constantly fired up with new ideas and endless possibilities. My progression from those early beginnings to where I am today can be charted in a short biography, so you can see how I entered competitions, achieved some successes, then was invited to create designs for magazines and eventually went on to write and publish my own books, then work with professional publishers. I also discovered a love for teaching the craft about which I am passionate. Life takes some funny twists and turns. I never set out to be working freelance in the beading world, but actually, I can’t think of a more perfect job that combines the professional skills I learned early on in my career with my natural love of writing and creating. ”
ANNA LINDELL of Tigerguld
“My name is Anna Lindell and I am the bead artist behind Tigerguld’s beadwork. I discovered the beading world in 2007 when I searched for jewellery to wear to my wedding. I couldn’t find anything, but when our girls showed the necklaces with colourful plastic beads they made at pre-school, I started wondering if I could make something myself. An online search opened up a brand new world for me! At first, I only created different kinds of beadwork and jewellery for myself and others. After a few years, I discovered how fun it is to share the knowledge of beads with others, so I started developing new designs to teach.
SUSAN SASSOON of So Sassy by Susan Sassoon
Susan expresses her creativity as both a professional architect and as a beadwork designer. Her work has been featured in the major beading magazines and she was a Designer of the Year for Beadwork Magazine in 2019. She is a proud member of the Beadsmith Inspiration Squad. Susan teaches beadwork and sells her patterns on Etsy and on her website www.sosassybysusansassoon.com.
CORA BARTELS-SPARIDAANS of CS Bead Design
My name is Cora Bartels-Sparidaans and I live in the south of the Netherlands. I am a proud mum of 2 sons Thomas & Kevin and married to my loving husband Erwin Bartels. I have started beading in April 2014. Since 2019 I am the owner of my own online store CSBeaddesign. Some designs are made with my mum José Sloesen or are designed by her. I am a proud member of the Beadsmith inspiration squad and love to teach.
Wishing you lots of luck and looking forward to see your entries 🙂
Erika
Leave a Reply