After several years spent playing with a whole array of bead colors, materials, and shapes, I was eager to introduce my friends to the same experience. (Having retired from the teaching field, it was natural to want to teach others.) So, sitting around my kitchen table, I helped mothers and daughters, adult daughters and their mature mothers, and everyone in between, make a bracelet of their own design. They ranged in age from 5 to 93. With most of my friends now sporting a bracelet that they had made, it was time to find a wider audience. Now, I teach beading classes at home beading parties, at a local hobby shop and at an after- school program at a local middle school. In the works are classes at an assisted living facility and the rehabilitation unit at a nearby hospital.

Of course, I have continued making jewelry myself. Once it got to the point of having more than I could ever possibly wear, it was time to offer the pieces for sale to others. This is done through individual arrangement, through art and craft fairs, through home shows (often in conjunction with beading parties), and through several local retail outlets.

An unexpected off- shoot has been in offering repair of costume jewelry purchased through other sources.

So, if you admire custom made, but reasonably priced, jewelry, you are at the right web site. If you want to try jewelry making for yourself, but without a lot of start-up costs, try one of the jewelry- making classes that are offered. Either way, you will be amazed with what you have.