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Bead Crochet Jewelry: An Inspired Journey Through 27 Designs by Bert Rachel Freed and Dana Elizabeth Freed is a colorful and fun way to create jewelry! Blending beading and crochet, the look of your beaded creations are transformed with the fibers you choose to stitch them together and the technique – either chain stitch or circular crochet projects. Bert and Dana share their love of beading as they teach the art of bead crochet in this new book.
Bert and Dana will get you started by recommending materials you’ll need to make these project. Once you have materials in hand, the detailed instructions and photos will guide you on your beading journey. Bert and Dana recommend starting with chain crochet projects before diving into circular crochet projects as their years of experience teaching have shown this helps students master the technique. The beaded ropes on the front cover look as if the would sway sinuously and feel pleasing and smooth, don’t they? The colors and bead shapes create lots of visual drama in this beading medium.
Bert and Dana answered a few questions for me recently. Here’s what they have to say about how they started bead crochet, their process and style, their boundless energy, and what’s next for this beading duo.
Tell me how you each got started bead crocheting and what drew you to this medium?
In 1999, Bert began taking seed bead weaving classes on Tuesday afternoons, just as Dana was beginning her first year of college. Over the following summer, Bert suggested that Dana join her for a workshop, knowing that she would love the craft. That was an understatement. After that summer workshop, Dana scheduled all of her courses at Barnard, (and later NYU where she was getting her Master’s) around the Tuesday beading class. Several years into the class, bead crochet was introduced, and we were both obsessed. The technique combines our common love of fiber, crochet, and beads, yielding unique results for color and texture.
How does your creative process work? Do you create projects individually or do you collaborate to develop your jewelry?
We have different styles, but are always inspiring and pushing each other to new places. In general, Bert’s work is more muted and somber, inspired by the organic. Dana’s work is more fashion-driven, and is usually brighter and “blingier.” We work on our own as well as in collaboration. Often times, one of us will design something new, and the other will use the pattern as a template for creating something of her own. (You can see examples of this in the book). Frequently, one of us will start a new project and then get “stuck;” one of us hands the work-in-progress over to the other to be completed, and the final product is a success.
Your designs are beautiful! Where do you draw inspiration to create the color combinations and textures in your work?
We believe that inspiration is everywhere! We look at everything from trends in fashion to some garbage on the street that catches our eye. At this point, I don’t think we look at anything without the filter of “can we make this art?”
I love your name “Well Done Experience” and what it means. Art truly does enrich our lives and sharing our knowledge through teaching is rewarding for both teacher and student. Do you find that you enjoy teaching or creating more? Or does teaching enrich your own work?
We love both designing and teaching. We thrive on the quiet solitude of creating, and are invigorated by an enthusiastic class who has mastered the technique. For us, there is nothing better than a group of students who (at first) feel like they can never “get” the technique and then leave the classroom feeling successful, excited, and proud of themselves. Our students constantly inspire us; we have a lot to teach them, but they in turn always have something to teach us. We have met the most wonderful people through teaching, and have continued relationships with many of them. Regularly, a student will use color in an interesting combination, or choose beads we would not have thought would “work” together; these ideas are added to our list of endless inspiration.
With teaching, creating, running two businesses, authoring this great new book, and charity work, how do you ladies find time to do it all??
Good question! We get overwhelmed like everyone else. I think what keeps us going is all the positive feedback we receive from students, friends, customers, etc. Anytime we have a moment of exhaustion and feel discouraged because we are just spread too thin, something positive happens to give us that extra burst of energy to keep us going. Also, it doesn’t hurt to love what you do—we are so grateful to be lucky enough to make our passion into a career!
What’s the next challenge you both wish to tackle? A new book? New techniques?
We are always looking to the future. Another book is definitely in store! We are selling our work in more stores. And we are really looking forward to traveling with our book and doing more teaching nationally and internationally.
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I’m sure that whatever project Bert and Dana tackle next will be another well done experience. Now you have a chance to win a copy of Bert and Dana’s fabulous book! To enter, simply leave a comment. The giveaway end August 28. Sorry, this giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only.