Nearly three decades have passed since my love of beads began. My love of beads has evolved with me through all the different seasons of my life. The first necklace I ever strung was on my Dad’s fishing line in Belleville, Michigan, a small town just outside of Detroit. I used colorful glass seed beads and finished it with a simple knot. I still have it. When I was 19 I moved to San Diego, California and earned a degree in marine biology. While in college I lived in Ocean Beach, an iconic Southern California beach town. The streets, all of which ended at the Pacific Ocean, were filled with surfers and hippies and lined with palm trees. My favorite bead store was The Black Bead. My boyfriend, Jon, who is now my husband of nearly 20 years, would buy me gift certificates to The Black Bead for my birthday. I would go down to that store and pick out individual beads until I had a whole necklace designed in my head. These necklaces are what I would make and give to my mom, my sisters and friends as gifts. Jon and I married 4 months after I graduated from San Diego State University. He was serving in the Navy on submarines and in September 2001, two weeks after 9/11, we moved to Connecticut. He was out to sea a lot during those three years in Connecticut but during that time I beaded, among other things. I also was working at the Mystic Aquarium, volunteering for the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society and was very active in the submarine’s family support group. Eventually and happily we moved back to San Diego in October of 2004. I couldn’t find a job despite the fact that my resume was very good. So, while I waited, I started taking beading classes from the Shepherdess, a bead and yarn store in Old Town, San Diego. It was there that my love of bead weaving began. I was learning bead weaving techniques from some of the best bead artists in the world. I also learned about bead embroidery and metal work. I even learned how to knit. You see the Shepherdess was one of the very first bead stores to offer classes in America in the early 1980’s. They were known for their excellent teachers that were flown in from around the world. I was there so much that the owner offered me a job. I never looked back. I loved working around beads all day and talking about beads all day. Next door to the Shepherdess was another bead store, Lost Cities. It was unusual to have two bead stores right next to each other, but it worked well because they sold completely different types
of beads. Eventually, I worked there as well. I also started selling my jewelry at local craft shows. Five years went by and we decided to move to Narrows, Virginia in August 2009 to take care of my husband’s elderly mother. Less than a year of our moving to Virginia I opened my own bead store in Narrows. It was wonderful. Our daughter was born about 6 months after I opened my shop and during the first year of my daughter’s life I was able to get to know the people of this little town in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains and they were so sweet. My love of beads opened up the door so I could love and get to know my community and the people in it. I met some people through my bead store that are still dear friends today. However, due to the demands of family and motherhood, I closed my shop in February 2012. For a few years my beads were on the back burner as we needed to take care of our family. But, like an old dear friend, they were there waiting for me. No hard feelings. So, in 2018 I decided to get back at it and the Lord has blessed my business. Doors have opened and I have been able to sell my jewelry at many places throughout Southwest Virginia. Expectantly, I am looking forward to 2021 and all the adventures my love of beads will take me on.
