I originally opened my Etsy shop in late 2012. I was temporarily unemployed, chomping at the bits to start my own personal business. At that time, I'd just begun to explore the world of beading - I hadn't even heard of bead weaving yet. I tried to sell a few pieces of jewelry I made, but my interest soon fizzled out, as other distractions in life occured.
I began making jewelry on a consistent basis, but I quickly became bored with the basic patterns I knew. I wanted a challenge! One day, when looking for ideas and inspiration, I stumbled across beadweaving. Some of the patterns were so intricate! Certainly it would take years for me to get to that level, but I enjoy making jewelry so much that it seemed like a great goal to set. I became hooked immediately. To me, there's just something intriguing about putting together colorful pieces of glass and coming up with original designs; it kind of reminds me of playing with Legos as a kid.
Fast forward to the present, just a few short months later, and my beading skills have improved in a much shorter time period than I anticipated. I am lucky that I found something that I truly enjoy doing, and now I'd like to start taking steps to turn my passion into my career.