My first love was clothing design and pattern making and I have been involved in various aspects of the rag trade over the years. I have always had an interest in making things and in 2009 I fell in love with bead weaving. I also like to work with polymer clay, silver clay and have tried my hand at mosaic and painting as well.
Beading is undoubtedly at the top of my list and I am always looking for new ideas and enjoy experimenting with beads in unusual ways. Nature is my main source of inspiration and specifically the shape and form of things around me. I like clean, uncluttered, and "less is more " designs with attention to negative space. I also take colour inspiration from natural surroundings.
I like to make unique and individual items and love the process, which can be challenging and therapeutic at the same time.
Sometimes it is the intricacy of something that intrigues me and other times the dramatic effect that can be achieved using simple components.
My design process follows a linear path where I am trying out non obvious versions of shapes and structures. I like to combine, adapt, and modify standard shapes and rearrange things to create unusual components. My favourite materials are Delicas and seed beads with pearls and Swarovski crystals for sparkle.
I started writing tutorials for my own designs in 2013 and enjoy the challenge of making my designs available to other beaders as well. I hope that my work inspires other bead weaving enthusiasts and that they enjoy beading pieces from my patterns as much as I do.
My work has been published in Perlen Poësie, Bead Art, and Volume II of Contemporary Geometric Beadwork by Kate McKinnon.
I share more of my bead work on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BeadDimensions
My work is for sale on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Beadebonair