About our MARCH 2012
VISITING ARTIST

Barb Switzer

Barb Switzer will be visiting Briolette Beads and our sister store Caravan Beads the first weekend of November. Help us welcome her! She will be sharing a fantastic set of wireworking designs with us.

Barb has been teaching wire classes since 1998, when she began as an instructor at Fusion Beads. She has edited two books, contributed to several bead magazines, and was editor of Simply Beads magazine in 2008 and 2009. Barb travels all over the US to teach in stores and at bead shows.

Sarah C. Chapman is a studio metalsmith whose jewelry is inspired by architecture and by nature as architect. She shows her work at juried art fairs, galleries and stores throughout the United States. More of her work can be viewed at: www.chapmanmetals.com

About Kate Crofford

Kate Crofford started beading properly while working at our sister store, Caravan, in 2000. She abandoned the use of unwaxed dental floss and carpet thread as stringing media after learning how to correctly attach clasps to necklaces, no longer having to string until it was long enough to go over someone’s head. Her magpie-like lust for shiny things and her obsession with stones has led to a hard-to-break habit and the need to spread the bead sickness. She has still not developed the focus (read: patience) to become a serious seed-beader, but loves to warp wire to do her bidding. Kate likes teaching because enthusiasm is contagious, she loves the “eureka!” moments most students have when they understand a technique and begin playing with new ideas, and she was always taught to share. She likes wire, copper, stones of all types, comic books, hardware, music, and steampunkery. You can find erratic and eclectic postings of her work at www.dontpanicproductions.etsy.com

About Kate Kane

Kate Kane loves the beads. And the beaders. Where else can you find color, shape, texture, and sparkle? She works in the store on Saturdays and teaches courses like Boot Camp, Resin Pendants, Knotting, and an assortment of needle techniques like Star of India and Tutti Frutti. Kate likes to design jewelry for the store and for the classes. She especially enjoys naming her creations. In her personal collections, she likes to use vintage chain. She loves turning people on to the joys of beading. Her motto is "easier than you think, and so much fun it should be illegal."

About Aimee Leang

Aimee Leang started making jewelry at her first summer job working for Gallery 37's summer arts program. After that Aimee's Mom gave her a set of tools purchased from Caravan beads and her passion was found. Aimee is well versed in the skills of wire-wrapping, metalsmithing and lapidary. A former teacher for the Gallery 37 after school program, she spent several years teaching jewelry making to high school students at Kelvyn Park and Al Raby high schools. More recently she has been teaching beginning to advanced wire work classes for several years at Caravan and Briolette.

About Kat Wisniewski

Kat is a nationally known instructor in the chainmaille jewelry field. Kat has been teaching chainmaille & wirework professionally since 2005 throughout the Chicagoland area, and also at the internationally recognized Bead & Button Show. Kat has invented about 9 weaves, many of which have become the highest quality tutorials sold internationally. Currently, she keeps herself busy displaying her pieces at art shows throughout the year, teaching, inventing new weaves that will eventually become tutorials, and designing fashionable chainmaille & wirework items.

Kat Wisniewski, www.elementalartjewelry.com

About our past VISITING ARTISTS

About our FEBRUARY 2011
VISITING ARTIST

Leslee Frumin

Leslee Frumin, a bead and metal artist from San Juan Capistrano, California teaches off-loom bead weaving as well as metal/jewelry techniques. She has been teaching for a number of years and truly enjoys it. Leslee's passion for all the colors and textures made possible by the marriage between beads, metals and stones keeps her excited. She fabricates clasps and connectors and often sets semi-precious stones to enhance the design. Her art jewelry pieces are one of a kind. Leslee has won awards for some of her combination bead and metal projects.

About our SEPTEMBER 2011
VISITING ARTIST

Amy Katz

Amy Katz starting beading in 1993 to nurture her creative side. As she learned more and more about seed beads, her love for the art grew. Through the years she has taken classes and taught her own projects and methods. It has been her dream to start a "bead boutique."

Now a reality, Amy presents Bead Journey, a company that offers her unique and personal view on beadwork. Taking her love of fine jewelry to a new level, Amy's designs revolve around the "high-end" jewelry store look using quality seed beads, crystals, pearls and more. The goal is to create jewelry pieces that will have everyone taking a second glance - yet can be created affordably.

About our AUGUST 2011 VISITING ARTIST

Hannah Rosner

Hannah was a semifinalist in the lampwork category for Bead Dreams 2009 and won second place for her bead embroidered collarpiece in the Treasures of Toho 2009 Contest. The Treasures of Toho necklace can be seen in the February 2010 issue of Bead & Button. She has been lampworking since 1992 and beadweaving since 1986. She has had the opportunity to meet and learn from some of the best beadmakers and flameworkers in the US.

She began teaching both lampworking and beadweaving in 2000 and has taught at bead stores and bead societies across the US.