Face to Face: Irina Fenesan

Our newest Face to Face interview with our fellow beaders and designers is here!

I can’t imagine our Beadingschool Club without her – her creative ideas, friendliness and kind word for everyone. It has been wonderful to watch her journey and I’m looking forward to more beading adventures with her! She says:

I found some pictures of your work on Pinterest. I searched a little and I found Beadingschool and it was the Art Deco Theme, already the end of March 2022 and I didn’t hesitate to subscribe. My world changed when I got my first Box, and it was like learning the alphabet once again, but in bead-language!

 

Meet the Beadingschool Club member and a creative mind, Irina Fenesan!

 

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

I live in the Northern part of Romania, in the beautiful county of Maramures. I have two lovely children and a loving and very supportive husband, whom I thank for helping me pursue my dream.

My creative journey started really early in my childhood. My grandmother taught me how to knit around the age of 6, and a little while later, to crochet and cross stitch. Nowadays, I share my hobbies with my mother, who is also of great help at choosing the color palettes and a great supporter of my beady journey.

The funny fact is that on a summer holiday at my great grandmother (I was about 10) I bumped over some Hama beads a neighbor got from Switzerland. I made my first beaded rug without anyone showing or teaching me, and that is how, unintentionally, I discovered a peyote stitch – what I learned in the future.

Beads came back to my attention, in the form of Delicas on Pinterest. It was during the lock-down, at the beginning of the pandemic, I found myself at home with two little children, since I was unable to go to my practice. Then I started learning more and more on this topic, and then I saw many of Erika’s designs. I joined Beadingschool at the beginning of the Art Deco Theme and I am grateful ever since for the many things I’ve learned and the many lovely people I’ve met.

 

 

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

I am a dental doctor as a profession and I have a full time job at my own clinic, where I do mostly restorative dentistry and prosthodontics.

Beading is definitely my hobby and a great part of my life. I mostly bead on Friday afternoons and I think I’ve skipped only about three NoOneHasToBeadAlone classes since joining this lovely community. I also like to bead late at night, when my family goes to sleep, and whenever I manage to make a little time for it. I rarely made it to the Lunch Breaks, as Saturday is family time and we rarely stay at home.

I am very happy that my daughter enjoys beading with me.  We bead sometimes together, when we are on our own. Those are very happy moments!

 

Tell us about the piece of jewellery you are the most proud of! 

The Moth brooch that I’ve designed for my first Mini Challenge has a special place in my heart. It was a beaded embroidery brooch, with a filigree wing. When I opened my first Academy Box, the Art Deco, I saw that filigree and I immediately knew that I had to do it. It was my woow moment!

 

 

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

I have a desk in my living room and a cabinet in the corner of it, where I keep my beads at hand on the shelves, in boxes. I also use trays and take my beads to my bedroom when I’m tired of sitting. I also love to bead outside when we go camping.

 

 

What is your favourite stitch? Which colours do you like the most? On the other hand, is there any colour or colour combination you try to avoid? 

I think peyote is imprinted in my head, but I enjoy bead weaving and bead embroidery very, very much.
If we talk about colour, I have loved violet ever since I can remember, but Sibylla’s Dream proved that I’m not talented enough to bead with it. I need more practice and study!
I enjoy beading with metallics, matted metallics and black. I also love beading with peachy pinks and turquoise. La Dolce Vita was a revelation in terms of colour, for me.

I still find it challenging to incorporate yellow in my beading. There are two very dedicated and talented ladies that I admire when we talk about colour in beading. They are Aniko Hesz and Katalin Dudas. I love your work and your talent!

 

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

I mostly follow instructions in my beadwork. For me, they are like road trips. You follow the thread path, see where it leads you and what you discover in terms of design – just like when you are on a hike or a trip, you follow the map and you discover many inspiring places. 

With the Mini Challenges I also realized that I enjoy making my own designs – some of them with bead embroidery, others with bead weaving. I find my way after I choose my main beads. My Candle Light brooch design was awarded during the Lucia’s Light Mini Challenge, and my first ever tutorial, the Pompeii pendant was a gift for my fellow Beadingschool club members.

 

 

Who are your favourite designers? Why? 

The BeadingSchool Unicorns are my all time favourites. I admire the way they can come up with many innovative designs using all kinds of shaped beads.
Ruxandra Puscas must also be mentioned. She has an amazing way of making seed beads speak to the world through her lacy designs.
Last, but not the least, I appreciate the talented Apollinaria Koprivnik for her breathtaking architectural bead embroidery designs and great teaching classes.

 

 

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

 Definitely the Sashiko pendant is the one I love most. I’ve made four of them already, the violet and the bronze are mine, the black one was a gift and, as a request, I also made a teal one. 

 

 

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

I had a lapis lazuli piece which I bought at a fair and I used it as a focal in my Black Sea necklace.

 

 

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? 

It would be a challenge to bead something for Bertha Russel, the character played by Carrie Coon in The Gilded Age series.

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

I wish to continue my beady journey, I am sure there are so many things to learn in terms of beading, many challenges ahead. In the near future, I want to learn more about different types of beaded ropes and bead embroidery.

 

 

Where can we see and buy your designs? 

I post my designs in the BeadingSchool Club. I also have a FaceBook page: Shiny Beads By Irina – Facebook and Instagram account: @shinybeadsbyirina – where I recently started to post and maybe sell my jewels. I hope to post more in the future. You can also contact me by email. 

Thank you for answering my questions, Irina!

We all are happy you are beading with us and inspire us with your jewelry! 

 

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

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