Welcome to The Beaded Woman

Thanks for stopping by The Beaded Woman, it's so nice to have you here. Have a look through the catalogue pages. If you would like to order any of the jewelry you see, simply fill in the order form on the orders page. If you have any questions, email me at beadedwoman@xtra.co.nz. I am also on facebook so become a fan on my page and see updates, products of the month and be in to win some gorgeous freebies! You can also have a read of what the beaded woman has been up to on the blog posts on the home page! Thanks, again for coming by to take a peek! ENJOY!

Little Cupcake Brooches

I've just finished reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I'm making the man behind the Beaded Woman Read it too and I will be passing it along to friends. It was such a great read! As I neared the end of the book, the thoughts that ran through my head were, "What if Martin Luther King, Jr. never had a dream? Or what if Rosa Parks never sat down on that bus and refused to move? Or what if people never cared enough to march on Washington to declare that all men and women are equal? Or if the women who came before me hadn't pushed for the woman's right to vote?" I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all the people who have gone before me to make this world a better place. I am not so naive to think that the world is perfect, and you could say there is a whole lot wrong with the world, but in some ways it IS better. And it is better because someone stood up and said, "HEY! Listen, this needs to change, what are we going to do about this."
I also read the author's words on her own experiences with the issues in "The Help" and I could sense her regret that she didn't do something earlier (even though she was very young when this all happened) and I kept returning to the thoughts of my cupcake brooches. The suffering of women and children is an area of passion for me. I know this is an area of passion because when I hear of a little one suffering at the hands of another human being, I weep. Reading this book gave me a renewed sense of needing to ease the suffering of other people. So I have been knitting like a mad woman to increase the amount of stock I have on my cupcake brooches!
The proceeds from these brooches go to help free or prevent women and children from being sold into slavery. If you think slavery is an outdated issue from the 1800's, think again. There are more slaves today than when William Wilberforce worked to abolish slavery in the 1800's and they COST LESS! Think on that a moment, we can put a price on another persons life and it's an appallingly low number!
There are more facts and details on the Little Cupcake Brooches page of my blog. If you would like to join in me creating change for other people, then please purchase a brooch or you can visit Tear Fund and make a direct donation to the micro enterprise scheme that will help prevent families from selling their children into slavery.
And so I will continue to educate one cupcake at a time......

It's All Happening!

It's been awhile since my last blog. Okay over a year but whose counting? I have been quietly working away at The Beaded Woman, doing markets, redesigning the mother's bracelets, designing the little princess, just like mommy and upcycled ranges. It has been a busy year and now that I am sitting here reflecting, The Beaded Woman is 18months old now! Wow, time flies when you're having fun!
I have also taught myself to crochet over the last few months and I must say I'm addicted to it! So as well as jewelry I've been selling finger puppets at the market as well. I'm also in the process of designing a munchy, munchy caterpillar that is oh so cute!
It is with these finger puppets and little princess necklaces that I decided to join a website called Little Kiwi's Nest. Little Kiwi's Nest is an online shop for handmade goods for children. The items on LKN are so gorgeous and I'm so honored to be a part of such a creative group. I will also be selling the new mother's bracelets and just like mommy bracelets on LKN. I hope to be up and running with my web shop for LKN by the first of November. You can check it out at littlekiwisnest.co.nz
I went to the parent and child show a few weeks back and I did a fair bit of networking while at the show. I showed my bracelets off to a lovely lady named Kate who is launching Kidzgrab on the 22nd of October. We are working on a deal for you, so if you haven't already, sign up on kidzgrab.co.nz and watch for The Beaded Woman in November!
So yes, it is all happening at once and it is all very exciting!

Why I Do What I Do...

This is my almost 3 year old. She loves to sit beside me and "bean" while I do my work.

Like mother like daughter.

Hello Gorgeous!

I've just spent the last two weeks in the States for my grandfather's funeral. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate an incredible man and his great life. I am truly blessed to have called him my grandpa and that I was able to travel to be there. That is why I've been a bit quiet on the beaded woman front.

But I'm back and ready to hit the ground running. This week, I've got a lot of things to accomplish before my first craft market- Botany Town Centre May 1-2. If you live in the Botany area, come see me. It's a great opportunity to get Mother's Day Shopping done.
I also have my professional photo's done by Coralee de Freitas! They look amazing so will post them today so you can have a look at my work. Check out the awesome photos Coralee takes at her website. They are amazing, thank you Coralee for an awesome job well done. She also took the photo for my logo, isn't it cool!

Now that I have good quality photos, I'm going to start selling on TradeMe. I will be offically open for business. (I have made my first sale, by the way and the title of my first customer goes to Richelle! Thanks, Riche!:) )

I've also started a Facebook page and will be doing some competitions off that website, so look me up there too! They are no longer doing fans, so you'll just have to LIKE the beaded woman. :)

Photo Fun

Busy, Busy, Busy

I woke up this morning with my mind a buzz. This Saturday is my first craft market down at Botany. There is a lot to finish this week, bags, make some more samples finish the birthstone babies. I won't be doing much sitting still and I find this very exciting.
Last night my husband successfully bid on a pop up gazebo that I need for the markets. Good job, Babe! Now have I told you I need a table or two to go under the gazebo. :)
I am also aware that people would like to see my product on my blog page. The beads from the States arrived last week and the bracelets look so amazing! The only problem is they are more difficult to photograph than I thought. They look much more gorgeous in person! So it is my goal this week to get justifying pictures and get the photos up!
Right I better stop messing around on the computer and write my do to list for the week.