Hi there, for those who don't know much about me, my name is Louise and I am a bead weaver. I was born and raised in Mackay, Qld, Australia and it was here where I first learnt to bead. This year I am a guest Ambassador of the International Bead week for the International bead works Guild and am running one of this year's International art projects. Hopefully, I will also one day make and break several world records and make as much beautiful and unique beadwork as possible.
It took me a few years before I really got into beading though as I wasn't aware of the modern beadwork that was happening around the world. Not until I came across a photo of a beadwork ball that sparked my real interest.
My first attempt at 3d beadwork was what you would expect a first attempt to be, a little wonky and not the best, but it was basically a ball. I was working full-time out at the mine camps at this stage and it took me another few years to really get into my stride. Then in 2020 I decided to get a job casual in town so that I could spend more time working on my beadwork. It has been a bit stressful money-wise and I did have to change job's a few times until I found the right one, but it was also the best decision I've made.
Earlier this year I moved house hopefully for the last time in a long while and I now have a proper studio space which has been amazing. I cannot tell you how much of a difference it makes to have a decent sized space just for work.