| Original Message: A 63-yr-old's life of beads |
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WHO?
I was researching beads and their history long before the subject became popular, I have an amazing collection of rare, historic and extraordinary examples.
My collection is assembled of purchases from antique markets in UK and generally the examples cost little because the vendors are not interested in beads. This also means the collection includes all sorts of beads, all materials, and from everywhere. All fascinating to me!
My first beautiful beads were kept in a cake tin and came from my grandmother, mostly early C20th Venetians and some chinese.
In the mid 1960s I was an art student doing fine art and jewellery/enamelling, part of the student ferment of the time. For those nostalgics who measure time by the music: The Animals, The Kinks, Pretty Things, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Barron Knights, The Who, Dusty Springfield, Ian Dury, Booker T. and the MGs... Allen Ginsberg, Adrian Mitchell, were part of the scene, and played live at our college gigs, etc. Very early in the '70s, I corresponded and met with Robert Liu, the Picards, Peter Francis, Gloria Dale, Elisabeth Harris, Angela Fisher, and Mary Seyd, to name but a few, and attended and contributed to most of the early Bead Conferences in USA. I have been teaching threading and knotting to a professional standard for well over 30 years. Ran a famous bead shop in Portobello Road for nearly 20 years. Originally self taught, I started sharing threading techniques in 1976. Over the years, the methods of threading that I teach have evolved to include both traditional methods and the newest stringing materials . I have taught many prominent jewellery designers and their teams. I also do Bead Identification, Roadshow-style. BOOKS etc: The first popular book on beads in 1988 was written by me,(and reprinted every year for 10 years!) which brought the Bead Society of Great Britain into being. Subsequently wrote 2 more books on Beads, both about beads themselves and with how-to techniques and projects: "Beads! (make your own unique Jewellery)" 1988, "Bead Jewellery Workstation" 1993, "The Bead Jewellery Book", 1997. There are plans to republish. I often contribute articles to academic and popular journals and magazines and have participated in TV programmes in UK. My collection is featured briefly in the final instalment of the "World on a string" TV film series by Diana Friedberg, which also shows my son Tom Heatherwick's huge unique bead sculpture "Bleigiessen". CLASSES: I am very interested in how people learn skills, and try to teach by verbal instruction, understanding principles, and practical demonstration. Rather than doing a "Project" in a class, I prefer to instruct students in alternative ways of solving threading problems which they can learn, then adapt for the designs they want to do. Generally in my basic one-day class I teach different threading techniques, graduated by order of difficulty, from "Charity Bazaar" standard up to "Bond Street"! This helps even a beginner to get accustomed to using the tools. The "Advanced" class is for much more specialised and professional requirements which may include methods for beads with unusually large or awkward holes, fancy knots, cords and handmade braids. MEMBERSHIPS: Founder, Bead Society of Great Britain,1989 (Nearly !,000 members) Trustee, Bead Study Trust, "The Bead Database", online bead information resource "Beads-L" international email bead discussion group. Society of Jewellery Historians, etc. CONSULTANCY: I am available to do Bead Identification Roadshow-style sessions, and can advise about repairs and reconstruction of treasured bead items. ONGOING: I participate in specialist International conferences on beads among archaeologists, costume historians, conservation experts, etc. and have an extremely extensive collection of rare beads ancient and modern from all over the world, which I am currently preparing for museum exhibition, and trying to find time to write another book! Family: I now live in Camden Town, London. My 38-yr-old son Thomas is a well-known designer of everything from handbags and furniture to public buildings and bridges. He has twins just 2 yrs old, Moss and Vera. My daughter Miriam is 36, "multi-qualified" but at the moment enjoys just being a mum to Sol who is 21 months. My 96-yr-old mum is really very ill, so I'm spending a lot of time with her right now. All of them live nearby. The grandchildren are, of course, all adorable. We'll be together this evening for new year because my balcony has an excellent view of all the firework displays! OK all? Enough? Stefany All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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