First Beads

In childhood, I did basic embroidery, latch hook, and cross-stitch under supervision of my nana. As a southpaw in a right-handed world, knitting was challenging but I persevered, and my nana eventually taught me not only the garter stitch but also casting on and casting off. There are many, many boring but tight-knit scarves in my past. As an adult, I practiced felt work, sometimes experimenting in mixed media with felt and acrylic paint on canvas, other times creating bridal bouquets of feltwork and embroidery. I have dabbled in drum making, with the off-centre handle on my first collaborative attempt still haunting my dreams, and when I pull out sandpaper my children know to steer clear with a whisper of “let’s go read, mama’s going to paint something.” Long before beads entered my orbit, I included five-petal flowers, a recognized motif of traditional Métis beadwork, in my craft.

My beadwork practice developed in what many acknowledge to be a very authentic way for me: I decided to bead not a small reasonable sampler, or earrings, or a set of moccasin vamps, but rather a twenty-four-pocket trilingual advent calendar for my children. Why crawl when you can jig?

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The Founder