I have just retired from my job helping seniors and their families find housing and care, to go back to a passion of mine that's decades old: teaching basic beading to adult women who want to have some fun while unleashing their (often) unrecognized ability to be creative.
"Yes you can!" was my advertising slogan when I opened a bead store, "Crazy for Beadz" in Pagosa Springs in 1995. I sold it in January, 1999, to Kathryn Cole who successfully ran it for over a decade, only closing it in May of 2010 to move to Florida to be near family. Kathryn is a wonderful silversmith and her jewelry is available on-line and at her gallery, Kathryn Cole Jewelry, 645 Central Ave, #14, St. Petersbrug, FL. You can also find her on Facebook here: Kathryn Cole Jewelry.
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| One of Kathryn's designs for Mother's Day. |
My very best friend, Lisa Brown, who still lives in Pagosa Springs and teaches art to kids, managed my store before I sold it. We continue to bead mostly for ourselves but that teacher gene in both of us still wants to be expressed. (I taught music in the 1970s before going into publishing.)
Being a "Rowdy Girl" of the first order and not being willing to wait until 65 to retire fully, I have opted to re-start "Crazy 4 Beadz - Beading Parties" here in Denver as a way to express my creative side once again. Besides, I just LOVE parties! No retail store this time - but a mobile beading party that goes on-site to homes and communities.
My favorite part of running a bead store was watching folks come into the store, many being dragged by the bead lover in the group. The first thing they would say was, "But I'm not creative."
Our response was always "Yes you are . . . let us show you how to unlock your natural creativity." We handed them a bead board and turned them loose with only one rule: "Don't say no to what your hands want to pick up. . . just play with the beads on your tray . . . your own design will emerge."
The furrowed brows soon relaxed, the bead trays filled up and PLAY was present! The designing part is often the most fun and exciting part of any kind of jewelry making. Stringing things together is just mechanical and easily learned.
We often took pictures of beaming customers on their way out the door and posted them on our bulletin board . . . I will also post pictures here on this blog as we get rolling.
I also started to think that encouraging senior women to be creative would be fun and a really good activity at retirement communities. I was a Certified Senior Advisor®, a designation I studied for in my previous job, and one important thing I learned in my studies was that stimulating your brain to make new brain cells is healthy as we age.
As I write this, my blog has gone live, as has my FaceBook page, Crazy-4-Beadz-Beading-Parties on Facebook and even my new Twitter Account, Crazy 4 Beadz on Twitter.
I am happy to answer your questions and talk to you about how a Beading Party could be fun for you and your friends as a social event, a bridal attendant party or bridal shower, an event for your church or other community group, an activity at your retirement community or even a fund raiser event.
Hey! Whatever you're up to, have some FUN today, okay?!
Claudia Faubion
AKA, The Rowdy Girl
