Some 10 years ago I found beadwork as a hobby. That time the next step after buying your bead mat and needles were to register at wordpress or blogger and start hitting the keyboard. All of us (at least in the Hungarian beading community) were taking pictures, showing finished pieces and writing about our learnign curve. And what was best, we were visiting each other’s blogs to leave a nice word or two in a comment. With the boom of social media platforms most of us quit and migrated to Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to have digital fun. (I abandoned writing about beadweaving and embroidery for five years until I started anew in 2015.)
Becca Scott is a beader and blogger. She’s one of the few who combines the presentation of her beaded pieces (mostly bracelets and bangles) with articles. The Sarcastic Beader’s style is unique and full of personality. She’s not afraid to tell you what she thinks. And even if you don’t agree with her opinion about everything, I promise you will have fun reading!
Please tell us about yourself and your brand a bit!
I am first and foremost, a wife and mother to a beautiful grown daughter, and Gamma to my 6-year-old grandson, Jackson, who is My Little Man, and 2 years old Adalyn, who is my Doodlebug. My family is everything to me. My brand, Becca’s Beaded Bangles, is my other “baby” and is a continued work in progress!
How did your story as a designer begin? Do you remember the first piece you sold?
I started out just stringing beads into bracelets, necklaces, and earrings after my best friend/sister at heart got me into it because she was doing it. She had all these amazing pretties as she was starting out on her adventure with beads, and I just HAD to join in, LOL! Not too long after that, my Dad was diagnosed with cancer and I wanted to make a bookmark for him to use during his chemo sessions and the owner of my LBS taught me basic flat even peyote. It has been nothing but bead weaving with seed beads ever since for me! My Dad has since passed away and I keep that bookmark on my bead table as a constant reminder of how I got started, and also as a way of knowing that my Dad is watching over me. He loved what I did with my jewelry, and never hesitated to brag about me or try and sell my pieces to his friends and Masonic lodge brothers!
Please tell us how does your average day look like! It’s so exciting to get to know more about the lifestyle of a designer!
An average day for me starts out around 3:30 a.m. with some beading of my new designs. It seems that time of day/night is when I get the best ideas for new pieces. Then, I spend a portion of my morning driving my grandchildren to school and volunteering at my grandson’s school. I usually spend my days beading any customer orders that need to go out, researching techniques and color combinations for my own designs, and putting the combinations together. Housework is secondary to my beading! Luckily, I have an extremely supportive husband, who not only supports what I do, but does most of the cooking and cleaning around the house so I can spend my time doing it!
What makes your designs stand out of the crowd of other designers? Which are your favorite colors, shapes, materials, etc.?
I think what makes my designs stand out are the eclectic mixes of modern vs. classical in my style. I like to mix the two. My favorite materials to work with are any and all of the multi-hole beads, and I have spent recent weeks and months attempting to design at least one thing every day or two with a new bead I haven’t tried before. Obviously from my business name, bracelets are my favorite thing to work with, but I am starting to explore more styles with necklaces and earrings too, and hope to introduce some sets of bracelet/necklace/earrings in the coming months.
For what kind of occasions can we wear your pieces? What’s the woman who wears your design like?
I wear my pieces for just about any occasion, and for that matter, there doesn’t even have to be an occasion. I have a few pieces that I have made for myself that I just wear specifically with jeans when I am driving carpool or running to the grocery store! The woman who mainly wears my pieces is one who doesn’t mind getting dirty planting her garden or feeding the animals on her farm, she also can wear an evening gown that would make any runway model jealous. The woman who wears my pieces is any woman and every woman. She is the 16-year-old high school student, the 70-year-old retired school teacher, the retired Air Force Lieutenant, she is the single mom working three jobs. She is every woman.
Where does your inspiration come from? Do you have some rituals to boost your creative energy?
I get my inspiration from a lot of places and people. My grandchildren, other designers, things I see in antique stores, old photographs, catalogues, flea markets. When my bead muse decides to go hide for a bit, I crochet. Usually, while I am crocheting, I am thinking about beading though, and a new idea (or two or twenty!) will come to mind.
Do you have a piece of jewelry you made, that is somehow special to you?
I made my sister’s wedding jewelry and that is probably the most special jewelry I have made. It was a double wrap netted bracelet, my take of the Jill Wiseman “Flower Power” bracelet.
If you could design something for a well-known person or maybe a fictional character from a film or book, who would it be, and why?
I would absolutely LOVE to design something for actress and friend Octavia Spencer. She is a friend since high school, and I would love to design something for her to wear in a film or to an awards ceremony.
What kind of clothes and accessories do you wear? Who are your favorite designers and why?
I am a strictly jeans and t-shirt kind of person. If you see me dressed up, it’s either for a wedding, a funeral, or one of my Zonta meetings! LOL I am not influenced by clothing designers at all. The only designers I pay any attention to are in the beading world. I love Jill Wiseman, Akke Jonkhof, Anna Lindell, YOU, Nichole Starman, Susan Sassoon, there are just so many!
What is your goal in the future? Where would you like to see your brand?
My goals for the future are to see my brand thrive as much as say, Jill Wiseman! That’s a rather lofty goal, but it’s a good one to have! There is nothing wrong with ambition, as long as you don’t let it rule your life, because then it begins to alienate those around you.
Where can we see and buy your designs?
My designs can be seen on most social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Path, and others. My jewelry is showcased on my website for purchase, which is www.beccasbeadedbangles.com. I also have a blog, www.sarcasticbeadsandyarn.com where I post about beading crochet, food, and other random things! My blog is a good place to go for a laugh too!
Thank you for answering my questions, Becca!
Dear beaders, tell Becca Scott in a comment, how do you like her art!
Whould you like to tell us more about your art and be featured in one of the upcoming interviews?
Don’t hesitate and drop me a line here ?
So cool! And my wedding set was GORGEOUS! She failed to mention that she also did the jewelry for the entire wedding party as well. I’d post a pic of it but it won’t let me. Ah well.
Great to see you here, Sister of Becca 🙂 What?For the entire wedding party?! How many people were there?
I’m sorry about the pic, the system enables only comments without pictures. But I would love to see it and if you both agree, I would like to add it to the article. Just send it over to me to [email protected].