Face to Face – Jenny Eriksson

With the end of the month, we’re publishing the newest Face to Face interview with our fellow beaders and designers!

I love our Beadingschool community – we’re all so different, with a unique story to tell, cultural background what makes possible to learn one from another, to make new friends, connect and share our journey.  This time we interviewed a member from the Beadingschool Club, who joined us after one of my online workshops I taught at the time, and as the Beadingschool Academy started in September 2021. Her lovely smile and simple, beautifully beaded jewels are the first two things when her name appears in the chat under the video, in Club, or email.

Meet the Beadingschool Club member, beader and kind friend,

Jenny Eriksson!

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

I’m Jenny, 49 years old and I live in the north of Sweden with my husband. My hobbies are singing, bike riding, fashion, road trips and of course – beading. I work as a math and natural science teacher and I´m also the director of the course where I teach. I love to spend my time at our summer house by the ocean. It’s even further north than where we live.

How did I start to create? One Christmas my sister gave me a bead kit. It was set of beads you string on a wire. I got totally hooked and started to buy beads to make more and more. At the same time a couple of colleagues also got interested in learning how to bead so we started a study group. We met every week to bead. Fashion changed and I started to use more chains in the jewelry. The chain was often of bad quality at that time, so I got tired of it tarnishing and discoloring, so I turned to silversmithing. I really enjoyed silversmithing but I couldn’t do it at home so I continued to bead.  One time when I was buying beads at a local store the shop owner invited me to join their beading group. They were all doing bead weaving, so I started to learn how to follow patterns and different bead stitches. I got hooked and I consumed all I could find on social media and learned a lot. I haven’t looked back since then and my stash of beads is steadily increasing. 

During covid I joined a digital version of Swedish Beadalong and I did a workshop with Erika. I got an email sometime after that about Beadingschool releasing the Summer Spirit box. I looked at the video and I got so inspired. Even now I can look back at that video and be excited about beading. Then I got the information about the Beadingschool Academy, and I signed up without hesitation. Every other month I long for the new academy box to show up. 

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

Beading is a hobby for me that I usually do at the weekends or when I’m on a school break. For example, when I have a week off in the fall, I always make sure to spend one day with beading. Then I wake up, eat breakfast, bead, have coffee, bead, have lunch, bead, have coffee, bead and then I’m quite satisfied with beading for the day.  I’m often too tired to bead during the weekdays. Sometimes my husband plays games on his computer, and I bead in the same room that I find cozy, to be together but doing different things. 

 

What did beading bring to your life?

Beading for me is mindfulness. It’s a time when I can relax and don’t think about anything else. The result is important but it’s not the goal. I find more important the beading as an activity. I don’t have a special bond to the pieces that I make because beading them is what’s important.  I bead more when I face challenging times – it’s a way to escape, to think about something else. Then I carry my beads with me everywhere and set up my bead tray where there is a free place. 

 

 

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

I have many pieces of jewelry that I like but I don’t think I have a favorite. The first of everything is special to me like the first bead weaving bracelet, the first bead embroidery, the first Beadingschool project etc.

 

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 love to bead at my summer house. In the morning, before my husband has woken up, I sit on my sofa looking out over the ocean. Everything is quiet and it’s just me and my beads. I long for these moments during the winter.  Most of the time I bead in my home office, where I keep all my beads in a bookcase. Every bead has a designated place so I can easily find what I need. Having a neat tidy place where I bead is really important for me. I can’t get inspiration if there are beads everywhere.

 

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 love black together with silver, but I rarely make jewelry in those colors. I turn to pink, purple, peach, brown, beige and silver. 

I have a love-hate relationship with AB coating. My first ever Beadingschool project was the Adelaida necklace. I bought a kit from the Beadingschool, and it contained a 3 mm bicone in amethyst with AB coating and it was love at first sight. Ever since then it’s my all-time favorite bead. An AB bead or cab can elevate a jewelry with its shine but on the other hand it’s sometimes difficult to see the original color. If I use them, I need something to neutralize them, or there will be too much shine. 

 

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

I always follow instructions when I bead because it is the most relaxing. I haven’t tried to design myself, but I sometimes I make changes in existing design and, in a way,  make it my own. I like my jewelry to be small in size. A pair of earrings can be long but not too wide. If I’m making a pendant I often stop before it gets too big. I think I want them to be very wearable. I occasionally do bigger motifs because it’s a bigger challenge, but the finished piece tends to sit in a drawer.

 

Who are your favorite designers? Why? 

I like all the designers from Beadingschool, the designers in the Bead & Jewelry Magazine, and Kronbrudens designs. I like them because they give me something new to discover, different beads, a different way of bezel or a new design idea. 

 

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

I loved the Ginevra design from the Art Deco Academy theme.  I have worn my Ginevra more than any other piece I made. The greens with the white and bronze gives it a very classy look.

 

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

I always save the metal components for something special. I really want them to elevate the jewelry and if it doesn’t feel right, I use something else. Therefore I end up saving them more than using them. In general, I don’t collect beads because I want the pieces that I make to be as beautiful as they can.  For that to happen I must use my most beautiful beads. 

 

 

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? 

Sweden is a monarchy and our Royal Crown Princess, Victoria, is lovely and she likes to wear Swedish designers so I would design something for her. Most likely a pair of earrings.

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

My future as a beader is to continue my current direction. In order not to get flooded with finished pieces, I would like to find places to sell my jewels so people can enjoy them. I always feel so happy when I see someone wear something I made. That always makes my day. 

I would like to be better at making beautiful color combinations, so much time goes to plan out the colors. Often, I start making something and I must rip it up because some beads don’t look right together. Thank God for the Academy where the colors already are chosen!

 

Where can we see or buy your designs? 

I have two Instagram accounts but don’t post regularly.  Coybeading is where I post jewelry, but I occasionally post in my personal account too, coycoy75.

 

Thank you for answering our questions, Jenny!

We hope that beading continues to be your happy place, where you can rest and recharge. We’re thankful for your company and beautifully beaded jewels you create and share with us all.  🙂

 

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

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