Face to Face: Carol Conrad

At Beadingschool, curiosity is right up there with creativity—we love exploring new ideas and are grateful to belong to our community where we share inspiration. experience and beautifully beaded jewels.

In this Face to Face interview, we’re excited to introduce one of our cherished beaders. Her joyful presence is a gift she bings at nearly every community event—from Erika’s regular broadcasts and Academy Lunch breaks to the Beadingschool Club. A long-time member of our beading family, her kindness, dedication, and warmth have made a lasting impact.

So pour yourself a cup of coffe or tea, get cozy in your creative space, and enjoy the story of her beading journey.

Meet the Beadingschool Club member, kind, inspiring beader, and one of our friends,

Carol Conrad!

 

Please tell us about yourself a bit! When and how did you start to create? How did you learn to bead?  

I majored in math in college and taught high school math for four years before moving into the corporate world. I worked for an employee benefits consulting firm for twelve years, and I left that job to work for one of my clients in their Human Resources department. I spent the next eighteen years working in various HR roles for several companies. Even though I consider myself to be analytical, I’ve always had artistic tendencies, too. I started beading in 2019 after buying a beading kit as a gift for a family member and buying one for myself at the same time. 😊 I taught myself to bead by watching YouTube videos, beginning with bead stringing and progressing to bead weaving and some wire working.

 

Is beadwork your hobby or profession? How does your average day look like? When do you have time to create?   

Since I retired two years ago, I’ve fortunately been able to make beading my full-time hobby. I sell some of the things I make, but that’s mainly upon request. I may become more disciplined about it in the future, but for now I’m enjoying not being tied to business goals. On an average day, I spend about 4-6 hours beading and doing the things I need to do to keep my stash built up and organized.

 

 

What did beading bring to your life? 

Beading has opened up a whole new world for me. It provided stress relief while I was still working, and I’ve tapped back into creative parts of my mind that I had ignored for years. The biggest windfall, though, has been the people I’ve met. It’s incredible to think of the connections I have now to people who I would never have known if I hadn’t begun this incredible beady journey! The Beadingschool Club has certainly been a large part of helping me make those meaningful connections, and I’m so grateful I found this wonderful community.

 

Tell us about the piece of jewelry that is special for you or you are the most proud of! 

For the Aurora Borealis theme, I made a jewel that I called the Polar Lights Pendant and Necklace. It’s a bead embroidered statement pendant on a twisted herringbone rope, and it’s the most intricate original design I’ve ever made. It’s also unlike anything else I’ve ever created.

 

 

Where do you like to create? Do you have a designated area in your home where you keep your beads?  

These days I usually work at my kitchen table, believe it or not. It isn’t ideal, but I like not being closed away in a separate room while I’m beading. I have designated storage units and areas where I keep my beads. I use a combination of stackable drawers, screw-top canisters in boxes, and a few other types of compartmentalized organizers to store my beads and findings. I found a system that works for me, and I feel like I can put my hands on things quickly and easily.

 

What is your favorite stitch? Which colors do you like the most? On the other hand, is there any color or color combination you try to avoid? 

I like the versatility of tubular herringbone stitch. You can keep it simple using all seed beads, or you can combine different types of beads like Aniko Hesz did in making her chain for the Gothic Flare Pendant she designed. With a few modifications, you can make a twisted herringbone rope, which I have used in several of my entries for Beadingschool Academy’s mini challenges. My favorite colors to work with are blue and green. I don’t necessarily try to avoid any specific color or color combination, but my stash is limited when it comes to orange beads.

 

 

Do you follow instructions or do you like to develop your own designs? How would you define your style?  

I mostly follow instructions, but I like developing my own designs and I’ve set a goal for myself to work more in that direction this year. I like mandala-like motifs and symmetrical designs, and I would describe my style as leaning towards more simple, classic designs that are wearable every day.

 

Who are your favorite designers? Why? 

I mentioned that I began beading by watching several designers on YouTube like Stephanie with Bronzepony, Gina with Orchid and Opal, and Kelly Dale with Off the Beaded Path. In fact, I learned about Beadingschool Academy watching one of Gina’s unboxing videos. Obviously, I love the Beadingschool unicorns and the friends designers who work with the Beadingschool team, and I spend most of my time these days working with Beadingschool designs and materials. I feel like I’ve learned so much from being a Beadingschool Academy student, and I don’t know that I would have had the courage to start developing my own beadweaving designs without the Academy experience and the skills I’ve learned from the Beadingschool designers. I love how supportive everyone is in the Beadingschool community, and I appreciate the designers’ willingness to step in and help when people have questions or get stuck with a particular motif.

 

Do you have a favorite design by Erika? Tell us about it!   

Wow, that’s a difficult question! I like so many of Erika’s designs that I’m going to cheat and name three. 😊 I love her Alizarin pendant from the Lucia’s Light theme and her Together pendant from the 2023 birthday celebration. I always get raving compliments when I wear those designs. I also love her Bead a Turtle! It’s completely adorable. I bought one of the last kits during the 2022 Advent Calendar, and I recently made a version of this design as a graduation gift for my great niece. She fell in love with it immediately!

 

 

Which is the bead / component in your stash which you treasure the most? Do you already have plans on how to use it?

I love the Beadingschool art cabochons, and I think my favorite may be the Storytelling Bunny cabochon. I’m currently hoarding it, but I do intend to use it some day when I come up with a design that is special enough for it. 😊

 

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? 

Years ago, I fell in love with the Outlander series of books written by Diana Gabaldon. They actually aren’t my usual genre of reading, but for some reason I was completely captivated by the stories and by the main characters, Claire and Jamie. I would enjoy creating something fabulous that Claire could have worn when she and Jamie were spending time in France, socializing with the aristocracy and with royalty in the days prior to the Jacobite Rising in Scotland in 1745.

 

 

What are your plans for the future as a beader? Is there something you would really like to learn? 

I would like to learn how to create tutorials for designs so I could share those with other beaders and possibly even sell some patterns along the way; however, I don’t want to create a situation where beading becomes a chore and is no longer a fun and creative outlet for me. That’s why I’ve avoided trying to turn my beading into a business for now.

 

Where can we see and/or buy your designs? 

I don’t have a website, Etsy shop, or anything like that for now, but I’m happy to share pictures via Facebook posts or through correspondence like private messages or email. You can always contact me through Facebook if you want to talk or know more about my creations!

 

 

 

 

Thank you for answering our questions, Carol!

We’re very happy you’re beading with us, for the smile and kind heart you bring to our meetings.  Thank you for your beautiful jewels you share with us. We wish you all the best on your beading journey, as you’re creating more of your original designs.
May your skills keep growing and your hobby continue to bring joy to everyone around!

 

Dear beading-friends and beadwork admirers, please, use the comment section if you have more questions you would like to ask, or greet our Carol.

Stay tuned for more interviews for Beadingschool.com by Erika Sándor.