Bridey's Beads

Bridey's Beads - Exquisite Handcrafted Beadwork

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I've been doing beadwork since 1983 when I lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At that time, I sold most of my work in at a shop on Canyon Road. The owner, Elaine, nurtured and encouraged the talents of many beadworkers, like Chipita Eagle and Vivian Pete. Without her support, I'm sure that I would have never survived those early years.

The name "Brideys Beads" came from my nickname: my maiden name was Breidster.

Eventually, getting married and becoming a mother meant that a steady paycheck and health insurance made a lot of sense. For many years my beads were stored away, only coming out occasionally when I'd have a creative urge. In recent years I've decided that it's time to start beading again for fun, now that my kids are old enough not to "rearrange" my work area for me!

I buy beads wherever I can find them. I've always been drawn to Victorian styles and vintage Czech seed and bugle beads. For me, they have a magic that never loses its fascination. I've been told that my gift as a craftsperson is blending and combining color combinations and bead textures.

Since I first started working with them, seed beads have increased in popularity and availability. I am very fortunate to have collected vintage beads when they were still relatively inexpensive, but I also love the new Japanese delicas and 14/0's. The range of colors and finishes now available is fantastic, and I can't help wondering what I might have been able to design if those beads had been available back in my Santa Fe days.

I didn't have much of a camera in the 1980's when I was producing most of my work, so I didn't take many photos. You can see a few of my pieces in the Galleries, although the colors aren't really true to the originals.

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My workbench around 1984