at a very young age i inherited a bunch of loose Venetians that my grandmother had hoarded, probably from her honeymoon in Venice around 1900!!
as a child i loved museums and archaeology.
i began to discover antique beads as an art student in the early 1960s when they were very easy to find and inexpensive; then i found i could earn a bit of a living with my own research and skills even being a mum with 2 small children, and after some years doing stalls in markets and fairs, in 1982 opened a bead shop in Portobello Road, London's top antique market area.
one day my collection might be exhibited or donated to a museum- i'm currently trying to catalogue everything before my memory goes threadbare...!