Erika is back from the Great British Bead Show

It was a great pleasure and honour that on the invitation of the Guild I could be the masterclass teacher of the event, bringing with me three brand new beading projects, our Zuzi, and also boxes full of sparkle so we could show beaders visiting what we at beadingschool create for them to enjoy.

Behind the scenes we were getting ready already for a long time! In fact, nearly for a year… And it seems that our friends waiting for us were, too! Right after our arrival that we timed perfectly, with me and Zuzi landing in Birmingham (she flying from Slovakia and me from The Netherlands) with a 5 minutes difference, Rowena from the Guild was waiting for us with two colourful signs that her sister’s kiddos prepared for us! This was the most ceremonious welcome committee that I have ever experienced.

Not long after our arrival into Staverton we met a fellow beader who absolutely made our day: Claire did a research before traveling at prepared a beaded brooch for everyone from the Beadingschool Club who was attending. We all wore Beadingschool Mandalas proudly in fuchsia, turquoise, and yellow on our jackets and blouses. We were also joined by Anzelika and Mehtap. Already that first evening felt like we really belong together, despite the fact that it was the first time when we saw each other face to face. Beads and the love of beadwork were a strong enough glue!

The ladies continued chatting longer into the night, but I went to sleep early. The next day we spent the morning with Zuzi to set up our classroom for the next three days when we were teaching. Besides kits and printed tutorials I also brought a little gift to everyone, and also a taste of Amsterdam, where I live: stroopwaffels that are my favourite sweets! The idea of melting the cookies and the caramel inside on top of a hot drink resonated strong with our beaders, who told me about their tradition of dunking ginger cookies into their tea and the art of keeping it in for just enough time. Similar to melting the stroopwaffels when you need to leave them long enough so they melt, however, they don’t yet collapse into your drink.

I designed three brand new jewels for the show, each of them focusing on a different technical aspect.

During the first day a full class, 15 beaders were learning how to make the Theodora pendant. I have to say that this was my fav project, looking like a historical jewel. We bezeled cabochons and beads with two different techniques, but all of them in one go, without having to add a new thread.

To give it a modern look we created a net of Preciosa sew-on rhinestones (also called rose montees) and Miyuki Slender Bugle beads on top. Most beaders used kits (which I really appreciate because I know for 100% that it will work, and there no unexpected problems will pop up due to slight differences in size or shape), but some of them also created their own color combinations. Liz, trustee of the Beadworkers Guild put together a sunset colored jewel that I absolutely loved! Make sure to check it out in the Guild’s Facebook group!

The second day brought us the Pomona earrings – and a very succesfull class, with all our beaders finishing the whole pair before we’d leave. We rewarded them with a spontaneous dance together with Zuzi, that you can find in the Beadingschool Club. These are my best dancing move, please don’t judge harshly 😀

During the third day we beaded the Ingrid bracelet. Full of rhinestones, and a thread path that shows you not only how you bead the first motif, but also how you build the next ones without having to add a new thread every time. It proved to be a pretty difficult topic, and at one point our beaders all left the room for coffee to recharge their energies. After a while I started wondering where they went as it seemed to be a long coffee brake, and I hoped that they didn’t give up. Later I found them watching the coronation of the new king, Charles III, and I have to admit that it was a good enough reason to leave beading for a little while  😀

It was a special time to spend in the UK for sure!

In between classes it was super nice to see the exhibition of pieces made for the occasion. One of my big favs was this cute elephant! It’s a Threadabead pattern – beaded in purple just like all the other pieces at the exhibition. Two rooms were full of pieces entered into the challenge. There were so many mindblowing creations – a beaded crown, a tapestry, polar bears!

Sunday was dedicated to a Bead Bazaar and we could meet even more beaders! We told them about Beadingschool Academy and showed them our “Dangerous Fuchsia Boxes.” But the biggest treat was to spend time together with beaders with whom we are beading and meeting online regularly, but now finally could see each other face to face. A special treat was to hug Chloe of Pinkhot Jewellery who was beading with us her Puffy Jewels last year during a #NoOneHasToBeadAlone workshop. When two creatives come together than of course they start to cook up new plans as soon as they have a chance, so I can promise that Chloe is coming back to bead with us and we can look forward to another fun workshop for her a little bit later!

Besides beading and bead shopping and talking about beads (that are all separate hobbies as we all know so well) it was also exciting to connect on even more levels. Cake tasting is so much sweeter when you can just put all from the selection to the middle of the table, and dig in with fellow beaders sitting around the table. Some of our beaders also discovered the joys of beading in the bar, and at a moment, when standing in a circle of 4 or 5 we had to admit that there is so much more connecting us than beads: in this case it was sheep, but you’ll need to join us next time to find out more!

I am grateful to every beader who came to my workshops, stopped by at our stand in the Bazaar, and also to the Guild for the invitation. You all recharged me with a big dose of energy not only when we were beading together, but on top of that with all the nice chats and the unbelievable amount of laughter that we had. You are awesome, and I hope that in the future we will have a possibility to meet again!