Planting Spring Seeds of Creativity with more May Classes

This is the time of year when garden centres get busy - rich topsoil, lots of gardening tools and, best of all, plenty of seeds that promise full blooms and delicious vegetables. Classes are like that too! Our instructors plant seeds of know-how with a promise of beautiful jewellery. Yes, we need to cultivate and give ourselves some practice in new techniques but, when you have a wonderful finished piece that you're proud of, you know know the effort was worth it!

May classes continue with Liz Reynolds who will show you how to add colour to metal clay without heat. Cindy Goldrick has a new leather class and Anne Marie Desaulniers will take seedbeaders on a new free-form journey. Marilyn Gardiner brings us a new chainmaille design. Pamela Kearns, who might be pushing the Christmas season a bit, is teaching a new ornament project using triangular peyote.

And, of course, we have lots of encore classes with Kelly Garland, Jenn Jevons, Iris Rogers Melamed and Amy Waldman that you will love.

Here are the classes scheduled April 15 - 30:

Wednesday, May 18
Lampwork: Just a Taste!
Instructor: Deb Muss
6:30 - 8:30pm

Thursday, May 19
Introduction to Art Clay Silver
Instructor: Jenn Jevons
12:00 - 7:00pm

Friday, May 20
NEW Faux-namel on Metal Clay
Instructor: Liz Reynolds
12:00 - 5:00pm
(Class continues on Saturday, May 21; 12:00 - 5:00pm)

Open Metal Studio: Metalwork

Facilitator: Cindy Goldrick

5:00 - 8:00pm

Saturday, May 21
Exploring Formfolding
Instructor: Cindy Goldrick
10:00am - 1:00pm

NEW The Leather Look

Instructor: Cindy Goldrick

2:00 - 5:00pm

Thursday, May 26
Jewellery Making 101
Instructor: Pamela Kearns
5:00 - 9:00pm

Friday, May 27
NEW Funky Freeform Peyote Rings
Instructor: Anne Marie Desaulniers
5:00 - 9:00pm

The Art of Jewellery Maintenance

Instructor: Kelly Garland

6:00 - 9:00pm

Saturday, May 28
NEW Celtic Wings Bracelet
Instructor: Marilyn Gardiner
10:00am - 1:00pm

Intro Weekend to Lampworking

Instructor: Amy Waldman

10:00am - 2:30pm

(Class continues Sunday, May 29; 11:30am - 4:00pm)

Hot Connections 1: Intro to Soldering
Instructor: Iris Rogers Melamed
10:30am - 4:30pm

Sweetpea Necklace or Bracelet

Instructor: Marilyn Gardiner

2:00 - 5:00pm

Sunday, May 29
NEW Caldera Christmas Tree
Instructor: Pamela Kearns
10:00am - 5:00pm

Wire Wrapping: Arrowhead Pendant

Instructor: Jen Rosen

12:00 - 3:00pm

Complete information about each class and open session, including course descriptions and fees, is on our website. Click on 'Classes' and follow the links to the May calendar.

Bring your projects and join us at our FREE open beading sessions! 

Wednesday, May 18
Wednesday, May 25
Open Bead Night
Facilitators: Bonnie Cottingham, Pamela Kearns or Malliga Nathan
6:00 - 8:00pm

Thursday, May 19

Thursday, May 26

Afternoon Bead Tea

Facilitator: Pamela Kearns

1:00 - 3:00pm

We are pleased to offer these FREE sessions; however we request that you use our merchandise in our facility. Thank you.

Getting to Know...Rae Huggins

Many of you already know Rae from her interactions with customers in the store. Did you know she is also one of our multi-talented instructors with a passion for wire?

Rae has always been a creative person. In fact, creativity was a staple in her home while growing up. "My eldest brother, my sister and I made Christmas cards and presents for family members yearly. It was something we looked forward to and those on the receiving end were just as enthusiastic.

"My maternal grandmother sewed, decorated cakes and had a wealth of craft knowledge and skills. My mother also sews and crochets. In fact, in the past I used to design my clothing for my mother to sew. It was through my parents’ encouragement that my sister and I learned to sew," explains Rae. "My dad worked in the oil company and initially he repaired miniature instruments. There were times when he was required to make the parts and the tools. Out of this my fascination for tools grew and my desire to design jewellery with the materials that were before me was born.

"I was always fascinated with jewellery and the thought of wearing pieces that others had was not something I liked. I wanted my pieces to reflect my mood, my personality and my desire to be natural. My very first piece was made from a bamboo and wooden beaded placemat that was my aunt’s. It broke and I was elated and out of that a bracelet was made."

Inspiration for Rae's creations from many sources. "Nature provides me with so much inspiration. I am from Trinidad and Tobago and I didn’t have fancy beads at my disposal initially and we only had a few bead stores. I used found and discarded materials – seeds, bamboo, fabric, beach glass and scraps of leather from a friend who made slippers and sandals. When I went to teachers’ college my thesis was based on using found and discarded materials to make jewellery with students at primary level," says Rae. 

When I immigrated to Canada, surfing the internet had become a way of life because I had more time and to this day Google has become one of my best friends. I also take classes – to teach I also have to learn. Colour and the raw materials, books, magazines and even a walk in the malls for “eye candy”. Working at BeadFX also helps especially when I’m restocking, picking orders and interacting with customers."

Rae's class project ideas take form in various ways and she actively works on recording those ideas for future uses. "Sometimes an idea pops into my head – there’s no light bulb above my head like on television. There are times when I just let the raw materials speak to me and I just play. It’s a rhythm, a fusion of what’s in the mind’s eye and the raw materials, the tools that bring those ideas to life," she says. "There are times when I just pray, I ask, believe and thankfully receive.

"I sometimes sketch (ideas). There was a time I slept with a notebook under my pillow and drew in the dark as the ideas came. In the past I always felt the need to have a pen and paper within reach for when the ideas came. In fact, some of my best ideas came while I listened to a lecture or while I was at church. My signature palm tree was conceived while I was going to secondary school over twenty years ago. At other times I just leave it alone to be seen only by my mind’s eye, because I’ll run out of ink and paper (smile)."

When asked about what she likes about teaching, Rae says, "I enjoy sharing knowledge with others – it’s in my blood. From very early I was taught by one of my neighbours in Trinidad, of the importance of “passing on the craft to others” because if we keep it to ourselves there will be no growth. I totally enjoy when my participants acquire the techniques and express their own creativity and this also triggers my inspiration." Rae continues, "Unfortunately, I cannot teach everything. For example, I once designed a pair of earrings and thought about turning it into a class but it would have been too difficult to type the instructions."

Rae's advice to others who create? "Make time to create, spend time creating – if you love it don’t wait till retirement. Do a little as often as you can. I also encourage others to practice their newly acquired skill or skills and to approach it like children - without fear." 

Rae's upcoming classes at BeadFX:

Tuesday, May 6
All in a Wrap - Bracelet
6:00 - 9:00pm

Tuesday, May 13
We're Making Bails
6:00 - 9:00pm 

May Classes are Blooming!

We've made it through Winter and Spring is bright and exhilarating! Those May flowers are starting to sprout and soon there will be bursts of colour everywhere.

We're blooming at BeadFX too! Our instructors are exploding with new ideas and classes are flowering with new projects. Marilyn Gardiner is back with two new chainmaille weaves and Pamela Kearns has a new embellished right-angle weave cuff to share. Rae Huggins will show you how to use wire to create unique and different bails for your pendants. You can also join Tracey Neidhardt for a new project in vertical netting - a Victorian-style Netted Amulet Bag.

BeadFX will be participating in the Toronto Bead Society's Spring Bead and Jewellery Fair. We'll have lots of seed beads, findings and other goodies at the show for you.

Here is what is scheduled May 1 - 15:

Thursday, May 1
Intro to Bead Embroidery
Instructor: Stephanie Dixon
6:00 - 9:00pm

Saturday, May 3
Toronto Bead Society Spring Bead and Jewellery Fair
Toronto Reference Library
10:00am - 5:00pm
(continues on Sunday May 4; 11:00am - 5:00pm)

Beadstringing 101

Instructor: Nadine Foskin

10:00am - 12:00pm

 

Mold Making for Silver Clay

Instructor: Jenn Jevons

11:30am - 4:00pm

Sunday, May 4
Tuesday, May 6
NEW All in a Wrap - Bracelet
Instructor: Rae Huggins
6:00 - 9:00pm

Thursday, May 8
NEW Netted Amulet Bag
Instructor: Tracey Neidhardt
6:00 - 9:00pm

Friday, May 9
NEW Tic Tac Tila Bracelet
Instructor: Pamela Kearns
4:30 - 8:00pm

Saturday, May 10
NEW Cleopatra Reigns
Instructor: Marilyn Gardiner
9:30am - 12:30pm

Intro Weekend to Lampworking with Amy

Instructor: Amy Waldman-Smith

10:00am - 2:30pm

(continues Sunday, May 11; 11:30am - 4:00pm)

Exploring the World of Altered Dominoes
Instructor: Anne Marie Desaulniers
12:00 - 3:00pm

NEW Beaded Flat Mesh Bracelet

Instructor: Marilyn Gardiner

1:30 - 4:30pm

Sunday, May 11 

Beadweaving on a Loom: A Beginner's Guide
Instructor: Kelly Garland
11:30am - 4:30pm

Open Metal Studio: Metal Clay

Facilitator: Jennifer Tough

11:00am - 4:00pm

Tuesday, May 13
NEW We're Making Bails
Instructor: Rae Huggins
6:00 - 9:00pm

Thursday, May 15
Cellini Spiral
Instructor: Stephanie Dixon
6:00 - 9:00pm

For complete information about classes and events, go to our website under 'Classes' and follow the links to the May calendar.

Bring your unfinished projects to our FREE open beading sessions:

Wednesday, May 7
Open Beading Night
Facilitator: Stephanie Dixon
6:00 - 9:00pm

Thursday, May 1

Thursday, May 8

Thursday, May 15

Afternoon Bead Tea

Facilitator: Pamela Kearns

1:00 - 3:00pm

  

We are pleased to have you join us for these free sessions. In return, BeadFX kindly asks that you use our merchandise in our facility. Thank you.