Many of you may know that I began my beadweaving career close to 15 years ago when I quit my social work job and started working for Auntie's Beads. Over the course of this time, I have had about two dozen original beadwork projects published; about half of those designs were published between 2016 and the beginning of 2019. During the span of the past few years, I have even had two pieces grace the cover of Beadwork magazine and I was named Designer of the Year by that publication in 2018.
All of the attention to my work meant I was spending quite a bit of time writing instructions, selling kits, teaching classes, etc. - all while juggling the demands of participating in pop-up shops, placing my work in stores, applying for art shows, cranking out inventory, and still trying to maintain a semblance of a personal life. This year, I felt like I needed to let some stuff go so I scaled way back on classes and I stopped submitting my designs for publication. I tell people I'm focusing on the showing and selling aspect of my business, which is true, but there's more to the story than that...
See, I've always wondered why some of the jewelry designers I consider to be "famous" (those who teach internationally and publish books, for example) don't also do fine arts festivals to showcase their wearable works of art. I wanted to do both. I enjoy teaching and sparking creativity in others, but I also really love selling my work and educating the general public about woven jewelry. After all of these years, I've only recently discovered the answer to my question: the reason many jewelry artists don't teach AND sell their work is because there is a complete lack of integrity in the design world. Once you have put your work out there, it is apparently no longer yours to claim as everyone thinks that once they learn a pattern or technique and complete a project, the design is now theirs. Or at least that seems to be how YouTube viewers, Instagram lurkers, and magazine subscribers approach design. I learned it, therefore it's mine, right? Wrong!
"How Long Have You Been Doing This?"
I get asked this question every single time I do an event. Every. Single. Time. At least once. My answer is always "which part?" because the fact of the matter is that there was never a time I wasn't creative. Even as a kid, I was into fashion plates (remember those?) and coloring and drawing - and even calligraphy and cross-stitching. But I know what people mean. They want to know if I just started making and selling stuff yesterday or if I have been weaving beads together since I was in utero. So here's the real answer to that innocuous question.
I started making jewelry as a hobby and creative outlet when I was a social worker and needed some art therapy. That was in 2005. I was not cut out for that job and decided to leave in 2006. I took a job at Auntie's Beads, working in the warehouse for not much more than minimum wage. I was broke - I'm talking behind on my car payment broke - but I was so inspired. I had friends host home parties where I showed off some new skill sets I was learning as I navigated the world of understanding the materials I loved and learning new techniques. It would be years before I really found my signature style, but I knew there was something in me that understood color and dimension well.
In early 2007, I was promoted to the design department at Auntie's Beads, where I worked with materials in our warehouse to create projects that could be posted online. I enjoyed the role of teaching and inspiring others, but I myself wanted to know more. I wanted to explore the intricacies of wire wrapping, get tangled up in the art of beadweaving, and even learn how to use resin to put tiny pieces of art in a pendant and create an instant keepsake necklace. I could do a little bit of everything by the end of my first year as a professional designer, but I hadn't yet discovered what my thing was.
I had about a dozen pieces published between 2007 and 2010, when I left the bead business for a corporate gig (it was a nightmare). Between the years of 2010 and 2012 - when I returned to Auntie's Beads after my soul had been sucked out by the mindless tediousness of said corporate gig - I didn't create a single thing. Not one. In fact, my beads were in storage for a good portion of that time. I was done. Or so I thought.
Fast forward to 2014. I was pregnant. I had what is lovingly (yeah, right) referred to as a geriatric pregnancy; I turned 37 about 5 weeks after my son was born. I got pre-eclampsia and had to be put on bed rest. My blood pressure didn't recover afterwards. More bed rest. I found out I had basal cell carcinoma. On my face. Mohs surgery. Plastic surgery. Sold our old house. Bought a new house. 2014 and 2015 were rough years. Exhausting. BUT... This new house we bought had a room - a bright, sunny room - for me and my beads. After an almost 5-year sabbatical from beading, I began again. I started by going through all of the beads and findings I didn't want and selling them off in lots. I used that money to buy new stuff. This is when I discovered SuperDuos. And just like that *snap* I was beading again. Okay, that's not entirely true. I was rusty and had to look at some of my old patterns to remember how I made certain things. But beading really is like riding a bike.
So I'm cruising along and decide to start submitting my work to Beadwork magazine again. Rejection. It's okay. I can handle it. It's back to basics I go. If you know my work, you know I am the number one fan of the right angle weave. So I got out some RAW graph paper and sketched a pattern and bam! The Heavy Metal bracelet was born. Miraculously, this one was accepted. It was featured in the December 2016/January 2017 issue of Beadwork.
This acceptance was like an announcement: I'm BAAAACCCCKKK! It fueled me. Feeling satisfied with my accomplishment (creating something new using a familiar technique), I decided to try my hand at designing something with these mysterious SuperDuo beads. I tried a bangle. Rejected. I tried a right angle weave embellished piece. I tried earrings. More rejection. And then I saw flowers. Literally. I didn't take the time to smell them because I had beads to stitch together. This is when the Beads In Bloom bracelet was born. Published in the February/March 2017 issue of Beadwork, this piece remains one of my bestsellers at shows and festivals. It's a personal favorite of mine as well.
One of my proudest accomplishments was the Tucson Vista necklace on the cover of the August/September 2017 issue of Beadwork magazine. In 2016, I had been asked to participate in a RAW: Natural Born Artists show in Dallas. I wanted a showstopper, so I made one. The story isn't that simple, but you get the gist. A star was born. (And just to be clear - I don't mean me, I mean the necklace.)
Shortly after that beauty hit the stands, I was asked to "audition" for Designer of the Year. I have an entire blog post about that subject. Feel free to read it. It's called A Year in the Life of a Designer of the Year. It's pretty good.
So... Remember how I said that people always ask me how long I've been doing this? Do you see why that's not an easy question to answer? My short reply is usually to say that I've been making jewelry since 2005. And now you are rolling your eyes and wondering why I couldn't have just said that to you, too. What I want to illustrate is that the creative process and the road to success (whatever that really means) isn't always easy or smooth. There are detours and exits and sometimes a whole lotta traffic.
But wait. That's not all. Because what people also mean when they ask that question is how long I have been showing and selling my work. The answer to that is a little shorter and simpler. (Thank God, right?)
I had my first home show in the summer of 2006, right after I became a professional jewelry designer. I was shocked at how well my work sold. My friend Amanda hosted the party and I don't even know how many pieces of jewelry I gave her to express my gratitude. (I often wonder if she still has any or all of that stuff, which was mostly gemstones and crystals on beading wire. Pretty, but simple.) I did a couple of home shows after that. I tried Etsy. It was meh for me.
It wasn't until 2016 when I was recruited to do that RAW show I talked about earlier that I really started selling my work. I mean, I had strangers clamoring to buy my pieces. I didn't know people who didn't know me personally would actually want to buy something I made. What?!? This was a totally new concept for me. I had been so focused on publishing and teaching, the thought that people would want to buy and wear my woven jewelry was mind-blowing.
So I started doing shows in earnest in the fall of 2016. Some were duds. I actually had one where I was trying to do some kind of gimmicky drawing and only one person entered. One. (She won the drawing. Obviously.) It took me a good year or so to figure out what worked for me. I don't do well at more crafty shows typically held at schools and churches, for example. Put my Earthen Collection next to a hand-painted snowman and Frosty will win every time. Instead, I do better at events in urban areas with other artisans and makers (MLM reps need not apply) and patrons who appreciate the handmade and don't ask things like "Did you make all of this?" whilst staring at me as though I have three arms and something strange growing on my forehead.
As I said in that Voyage Dallas interview, I started selling with one folding table and a bin full of product. It was all I could afford at the time. My collections weren't cohesive, but a cluster of things I liked that kinda matched if you stood on one foot and squinted just right. When I look back at older pictures of my setup, I'm actually legitimately shocked that anyone bought anything from me. It looks like I loaded up the trunk of a Honda Accord with a bunch of stuff and plopped it down on a table with a vintage curtain as a tablecloth and a homemade fabric runner whose edges weren't even sewn. (Which, of course, is exactly what I had going on back then.) I took every dime I made in 2016 and part of my profits from 2017 and really started to invest in myself. My inner Project Runway fan was screaming words like "cohesive" and "collection" and I could literally hear Tim Gunn's voice in my head, telling me to "make it work". So I did. I expanded my inventory vastly in 2018, including adding backstock in my bestselling items. I added a second table. I made my displays - and even my table linens - more consistent. I worked on my website. I carefully calculated my profit margins. And I had a GREAT year. Better than even I could have anticipated.
So... ask me how long I've been doing this. Since 2005, but also since 2016. But that's not the real answer. Or, more appropriately, that's not the right question. Ask me instead how many times I have started and stopped. Ask me how many times I have been discouraged. Ask me how many times I have cried, both tears of joy and tears of frustration. Ask me how many times I have felt like giving up. Ask me how many times I've given myself pep talks and reevaluated what I'm doing and where I'm going. Ask me what I'm doing next. Ask me what I've accomplished that I am most proud of. Ask me what it means to me that I get to live my dream.
I'm not a particularly religious person, but I have always loved the saying "Let go and let God". You know why? Because I never intended for any of this to happen. By that, I don't mean my entire career is accidental or I just got lucky; in reality, I work harder as a solopreneuer than I ever did in that horrible corporate gig or when someone else's name and bottom dollar were riding on my success. I work hard because I enjoy what I do and I take pride in my work. I enjoy making other people happy - whether it be because I have taught them something new or made something that is a wearable work of art for them to enjoy. What I really mean when I say that I've learned to let go is that every single door that has opened for me - and one or two that have been slammed shut in my face - has taught me something new. I've learned when to move forward and when to scale back. I've learned that "no" can mean "not right now" or "you're just not ready". I have learned that everything happens in good time and that I am meant to be where I am and I will get where I need to be. Eventually. Until whatever happens happens and I reach my final destination (whatever that may be), I am just enjoying this bumpy road I'm on. Traffic and all.
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2017 was a year where lots of magical things happened. Having been published over a dozen times (four of which were in 2016 and 2017 after a long hiatus from beading), I finally had my first project on the cover of Beadwork magazine. The issue came out in August/September of that year, which coincided with my 40th birthday celebration. I did countless shows and learned what worked for me and what did not. I introduced beadweaving to the general public in the Dallas/Fort Worth area; some wanted to wear my work and others wanted to learn from me.
In 2018, I was a Designer of the Year for Beadwork magazine. The challenge was to publish a unique never-seen-before project every issue for one year. (I wrote a great article about that experience, if you would like to read more about it. It's called A Year in the Life of a Designer of the Year.) I also launched my new brand and my website, Steele Magnolia Designs. I began offering PDFs and kits online and I started teaching classes again. And I kept on keeping on with my mission to make beadwork cool again, doing more than 30 arts festivals and pop-up markets in the area.
I'm not going to lie: the past couple of years have exceeded even my somewhat ridiculously high expectations and somewhat delusional fantasies about being a bead artist for a living. After I submitted my final Designer of the Year project in the summer of 2018, I started to evaluate what would be next for me. So many jewelry artists publish books, but I a) didn't think I had enough material - or patience - for that and b) didn't want to give up on doing the makers markets I have come to love. I had to find a way to blend my love of educating others with my love of showing and selling my wares.
When I was growing up, my father was a graphic designer. This was in the 1970s and 1980s when nothing was computerized yet, so he was a true artist - and a huge fan of the arts. I remember spending Sundays at museums and attending larger arts festivals in the DFW metroplex. My favorite was always the Main Street Arts Festival in downtown Fort Worth. So I decided to apply. No one was more shocked than me when I received my acceptance email and I am already stressing myself out, trying to plan the perfect displays with the most beautiful pieces of beadwork the world has ever seen. I don't just want to GO to FWMSAF, I want to stand out (and maybe even win an award in my category).
This news was exciting, to be sure. But what about the teaching component? Part of what I loved about being a Designer of the Year is that I had deadlines. I got to see my work in print. I got to challenge myself to play with new bead shapes and stretch my limits on color choices. Go big or go home, right?
One morning in October, I was checking my email and saw that my mother-in-law had forwarded me an application from Starman Beads. They were looking for people to join their 2019 TrendSetters team. Having worked in the bead biz for a number of years, I was very familiar with Starman's product and this incredible design program. So I applied and found out in late December that I had been accepted. YAY!!! I am joining the ranks of people whose works have been published in books, designers who have thousands of subscribers on YouTube channels where they teach the art of beadweaving, and even working with the former editor of Beadwork and a fellow Designer of the Year. It's a little intimidating, to be honest, but I do love a challenge.
So, what exactly does it mean to be a member of the Starman TrendSetters team? It means that I get to see new colors and bead shapes before they even hit the market. It means I get to flex my creative muscles and put together new designs with components no one has ever seen before. My designs may be featured in project form on the Starman website; they may even be featured in international ads and marketing materials. It's a huge opportunity for me, both personally and professionally. Although I can't share any of the designs in progress - or even any of the beads I am using - until the project is "live", rest assured there will be lots of good new stuff coming your way this year.
If you haven't already, please go on over to my Facebook page and give me a like and a follow. I would love to meet everyone at art shows and/or classes - and I always welcome your questions and feedback on my designs!
Here's to another great and challenging year!
]]>When I first started making jewelry over a decade ago, it was a much needed creative outlet. I was working as a caseworker and I was miserable. When I decided to quit my job in 2006 and go work in a warehouse for a bead company I'd never even heard of, the course of my life changed forever. Not only did I get to be a jewelry designer for Auntie's Beads for several years, but I had my first pieces published in Beadwork and Step by Step Beads magazines. I dreamed of one day jumping out from those glossy pages and onto the cover. I had dreams of my work being in stores and my name being well-known in the beading community. After taking a break or two (once even swearing I would never bead again), 2018 is the year that things really started to happen for me.
Around the time my Tucson Vista project was featured on the August/September 2017 cover of Beadwork, I received an email from the editor of the magazine. I was a candidate for Designer of the Year. She asked if I could commit to publishing one project per issue for the entirety of 2018 and if could submit a few new pieces for them to consider. My response? Um... yes, please and done! I turned 40 around that time. What better gift to receive than to find out that a) my work was finally on the cover and b) I was going to be a DESIGNER OF THE YEAR!
Here's a look back at the six pieces I submitted for that prestigious honor - with a few stories about the inspiration (and the struggles) behind each piece.
This is the issue where the Designers of the Year were announced and my piece was on the cover! To be honest, my Moroccan Moonlight necklace was sort of a happy accident. I had a donut pendant sitting on my work table with a rivoli sitting in the center. I had long been contemplating how to make that rivoli stay there. At the same time, I had bought crescent beads because I had seen a cool pattern where someone made a floral bracelet using them and I wanted to put my own spin on it. Somehow, I got the idea to use those beads to create netting around the rivolis and embellish the gemstone pendant. This project was a struggle. I must have worked on this pattern for at least a day to get everything to lay just right. A unique necklace, to be sure, but I wasn't sure how it was going to be received. I'm happy to report various versions of it have sold well for me at craft shows and festivals - and the editors loved it enough to put it on the cover, so there's that.
Oh, the Mirror Image bracelet... I think I can honestly say this is a bracelet I loved more in theory than in practice. When I got the honeycomb beads in these rich jewel tones, I couldn't decide how I wanted the colors to fade and which color I wanted to dominate the center of the bracelet. So I made a simple version and told the editors I planned on making it reversible so the colors created a mirror image of one another on each side of the bracelet. That was more challenging than it seemed. I had to stitch each row horizontally and then stitch those rows together. It took FOREVER. I have the original version of this bracelet in a shadowbox in my office because I know I will never make it the way it was featured in the magazine again. Now, I create a piece that isn't reversible. I stitch it in a netting pattern down the center and up the sides. It's been a fan favorite at shows and festivals in my area and my new process is a lot easier than the original. I plan on adding my version in PDF and kit form to my website soon.
I don't like to play favorites with my jewelry, but the Sedona Sunset bracelet is a piece that really wows me. Originally, I had a bib-style necklace in mind; I wanted to create something that had the Tucson Vista showstopper factor but with a different, more earthy vibe. Try as I might, I couldn't get the "conchos" to lay in the decreased V-shape I saw in my mind's eye. So a bracelet was born instead. Because I had once grown tired of more traditional seed beads and more traditional beadweaving practices, I drew on my love of two-needle circular peyote with a little bit of embellishment and a dash of unconventional materials to create this cuff-like piece. It remains one of my favorites and I actually used it to apply to a prestigious art festival (I got in, but more on that later). I feel like this piece - more than any of my other Designer of the Year projects - really embodies my style and aesthetic. And although it is not quite on the same "showstopper" level as the Tucson Vista piece, it is a conversation starter wherever it goes.
My Desert Mirage bracelet took shape in my mind long before it ever played out on the bead mat. I had been making my Fan Girl Earrings for years. They sell really well for me, so I usually do an assembly line style production process for replenishing stock when I'm running low. I kept seeing them on my bead mat and thinking how cool it would be to create an ebb and flow style bracelet using that fan shape. The problem came when I refused to think differently about how I was constructing the bracelet. I kept making fans and trying to stitch them together. (If you haven't noticed by now, I am one of those crazy beadweavers who likes to stitch everything in smaller components and then stitch all of the components together later. It's often the only way I can see the shape of things and ensure that I'm getting the look I want.) I literally had to walk away from this project for a day or two - and ask for a deadline extension - because I couldn't get the pieces to come together without weird gaps and it just looked, well, wonky. I woke up one morning and realized the flaw hadn't been in the idea of the design, but in the implementation. Once I realized I had to stitch this bracelet in a more continuous method, it was really quick and easy. I actually look forward to making more of these in different color combos and selling them at art shows this year.
The Candied Lace bracelet project was an interesting one for me. It was my first time ever working with Czech glass candy beads and I wanted to do something structured yet with depth and dimension. This project, much like the Moroccan Moonlight necklace, was one where getting the netting technique just right was a little bit of a challenge, but I felt like the project came out the way I envisioned. As I was working on it, I started to see different projects emerging. I think the wider portions of the bracelet would make excellent statement rings and possibly even earrings, for example. This is definitely a pattern I plan to play around with a bit more to see how certain sections of it can be used to create something else entirely.
My final Designer of the Year project is actually one I submitted in 2017 and it was rejected by the editorial staff. Well, let me correct myself: I submitted a very boring version of it. When I asked the editors if I could expound on my original idea and resubmit something more fabulous, they gave me a shot. I am really proud of this project, called the Ombre Tailfeathers bracelet. One of the first things I did when I started playing with SuperDuos was create a bracelet using my favorite stitch, the right angle weave. I made a grid-like base and embellished it with 11/0 seed beads. Boring. Because I love metallics, I then added some round metal beads between the spaces in the grid. That's the version I originally submitted. It was matte gold with gunmetal beads. Again, boring. So I thought, why not play with color in a really fun way? When I first created the Tucson Vista necklace, I actually wanted the colors to be a bit cooler and more reminiscent of a peacock's feathers. Since I went in another direction with that color palette, I decided to give it a go in this project. I literally ordered every Swarovski bicone I could find in shades of blue and green. Then, I busted out some 3x3 right angle weave graph paper and some markers and filled in the color details so they would fade from the darkest blue out to the lightest green. I have to say, this bracelet is one that you have to see in person. The sparkle and shine and attention to color details is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. Much MUCH better than the boring original (which I still have, by the way).
So that's it. That's what my beading adventures brought me in 2018. It was a whirlwind of deadlines and art shows and it went by sooooo fast. I'm really proud of the work that I did for Beadwork magazine and I hope I made them proud as well. This experience opened a lot of doors for me and gave me a lot of confidence to move forward in my career. I have one more project in the February/March 2019 issue of Beadwork and then I am putting magazine work on hold for a bit because I have some really big stuff going on in 2019. What kind of stuff? Well, I'll tell you!
For one, I was selected to be a part of the 2019 TrendSetters team at Starman beads. This means I will be doing design work for one of the leading innovators, manufacturers, and distributors in the Czech glass bead industry. I will get to see prototypes of beads and create original designs with them; my designs may be featured online, in bead stores, and possibly even in international ad campaigns.
I also applied - and was accepted - to Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival to be held in April of 2019. This festival is one of the top 5 juried fine arts events in the Untied States. It is highly competitive (only 220 out of over 1200 artists were accepted this year) and it has long been a dream of mine to bring my beadwork to this particular event, since it is local and I have been an attendee for about 20 years now. I am VERY excited about this opportunity and will be preparing for it like crazy, coming up with new designs and displaying some of my all-time favorites.
In the meantime, I will be teaching classes and working on my website and enjoying this career that often doesn't even feel like work. I have enjoyed a two-week hiatus while my son is out of school, but the beads are calling my name...
Happy New Year to everyone - and cheers to a wonderful 2019!
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The first colors I bought were those that became the palette for my Tucson Vista necklace and bracelet. Much like the day I brought my son home from the hospital, I had a total "they're here, but now what?!?" moment when my new beads arrived. So I took to Pinterest and Instagram to see what others were doing with these magical beads. I loved that people were creating pieces with depth and dimension that really hadn't been conveyed with more traditional seed bead jewelry in the past. I loved the shapes I was seeing: flowers and diamonds and geometrics... Oh my!
If you have followed my career or are familiar with my work at all, you know my two favorite techniques are the two-needle right angle weave (or cross weave) and good old fashioned even count peyote. So I whipped up my Starlight bracelet using those two techniques. At first, I used two colors. One to highlight the the central rows up the center and one to highlight the peyote strips along the outer edges. That's cool and all, but I wanted more. More color. More of a challenge. More beads. I started playing with adding color along the edges and then I wanted more color in the middle. I went from the Royal to the Sunset versions you see below in no time at all.
To date, the Starlight bracelet is still one of my favorite. Every time I get new SuperDuo colors, that bracelet is the first thing I make with them. (It is also a customer favorite, as well, so I try to design color palettes with people in mind.) While I was cranking out these bracelets in every color combo my overly obsessed brain could dream about, I started to wonder if maybe I shouldn't simplify the design. Maybe a more traditional peyote stitch would look great. Don't ask me why, but I hadn't learned my lesson the first time. I started by making the Second Skin bracelet in a single color with complementary seed beads along the outer edges. I then started playing with color more. Eventually, the color palettes of these bracelets mirrored those of the Starlight bracelets. And even though they use the same beads, I love that they have a completely different feel.
So which one is your favorite? Do you like the look of the Second Skin bracelet in the Earthen palette, but prefer the Canyon color palette in the style of the Starlight bracelet? Whichever one you choose, you can now learn how to make them yourself. You can purchase the Starlight Bracelet Project PDF or the Second Skin Bracelet Project PDF and instantly download either one. Want to try out my pre-made color palettes and take the guesswork out of the design process? There are bracelet project kits available for sale as well!
Happy beading, everyone!
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I took a hiatus for a while. I wasn't very active with the beading world from about 2010 until about 2015. I was still making things, I just wasn't publishing. My job had become geared more toward the purchasing and product management end of things, so I wasn't playing in the beads as much as I was buying them and counting them and selling them for others to enjoy.
In 2015, something lit a fire under my butt and I got really excited about beads again. I think it was all the cool new Czech glass beads - SuperDuos, Crescents, Honeycombs... I could go on and on! I started designing again. And my work was once again being featured on the glossy pages of my favorite beading magazine. I had four pieces published in one year.
And then... MY WORK WAS ON THE COVER FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!!!!! I could not be more proud of this necklace and bracelet set, and I have even designed an entire collection around this color palette.
Even after having the honor of being on the cover, never ever EVER in my wildest dreams did I envision that one day in the lazy days of summer, I would be contacted by the editor of Beadwork magazine to be told I was under consideration for Designer of the Year. Could I submit a few samples of some pieces I might like to highlight? Sure, no pressure. When I found out I had received this honor (I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy), I was over the moon excited. It has been the hardest secret I have ever had to keep. But it's here! It's finally here! And not only is it here, but my work was on the cover AGAIN!
What's next? Well, as a Designer of the Year, I will have a piece featured in each of the magazine's six issues over the course of the year. I already have all of them done and I know what's in store. Number three is my favorite and the last one will be as much of a show-stopper as the Tucson Vista necklace was. That's all I can say about that, but I promise to share them as soon as I can. Suffice it to say, this is an incredible honor, but I feel like it is just the beginning. I am already working on new pieces to feature here as well as in the mags. Stay tuned for more!
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For those of you who don't know who I am, let me introduce myself. My name is Shanna Steele. Even though my father was a graphic designer and I grew up around the arts and was always fascinated with shapes, colors, etc., I never had any intention of being a designer. When I went to college, I decided to be practical and get my undergraduate degree in Sociology and History with a minor in Spanish. The intention was to teach for a while and then work on my Masters and eventually my PhD. It turns out being a teacher and social worker in at-risk environments was a bit more taxing than I would have liked. I turned to beading as a creative outlet.
It started out so innocently. A choker with a pendant I loved, but a necklace style I wanted to redesign. A trip to a bead store to buy some beading wire, seed beads, and supplies. A necklace redesign that turned into a hobby that turned into an obsession that turned into a career. I ultimately left the life of heartbreaking home visits and mountains of paperwork and more clients than there is time to pursue a career in the bead biz. I was fortunate enough to be taken on by the good people at Auntie's Beads. They hired me to work filling orders in the warehouse. Sounds boring, right? Not at all. I was so inspired by the rows and rows of beads. Plus, seeing the color combinations customers were ordering had me rushing home with beads every night. After just a few months, I was promoted to a design position within the company and then eventually to the Purchasing/Product manager. I mostly created pieces using materials we had on hand and then wrote about what I did to create the pieces - what techniques I used, what inspired me, etc. I got to go to stores to teach classes and go to market to shop for beads. I had my first piece published in a magazine. I was living the dream.
When I was pregnant with my son (who is 3-and-1/2 as of this writing), I had pre-eclampsia. I had to go on bed rest. My blood pressure didn't recover for quite some time, so the bed rest continued while we found the right medication to keep me from stroking out. When my child was just 4 months old, I found out I had basal cell carcinoma. It was a rather large spot on the left side of my face, so I had to have Mohs surgery and then plastic reconstruction. More recovery. By the time a year had gone by, I felt so different about work - and life - that I didn't want to return to work for someone else. I decided to branch out on my own. I started publishing my pieces in Beadwork magazine again. I got asked to participate in an art show. That one art show turned into more local arts and crafts markets in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. All of that turned into me being named a 2018 Designer of the Year for Beadwork magazine. And now, to being a website guru. (Or just a lady who makes things and sells things online. Whatever.)
So what exactly am I doing now? What is the concept for this site? Well, it is a "make it or take it" kind of a deal. When I do local shows, I get asked if I have a site where people can buy my creations and check out more of my work. Then there are the folks who subscribe to magazines like Beadwork and want to learn from me; some of those people just want inexpensive patterns they can purchase, while others want me to put all of the materials together for them. For that reason, I am selling three things here: jewelry samples, downloadable PDF instructions, and color coordinated jewelry making kits. I will also be blogging, sharing news about upcoming shows, talking about my published work, and much more. I plan to develop a section on the site where you can schedule beading parties and/or classes. Eventually, I would love to organize a beading retreat in the mountains or piney woods. For now, though, I am just going to keep on doing the things that I love the most and sharing it all with you!
If you should ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Be sure to sign up for newsletters and follow me on social media so we can stay connected.
Happy beading!
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