All of my life, I've been involved in creativity and arts. Growing up in Newfoundland, Canada, I drew, sang and wrote, but I always had a fascination for toys comprised of individual or connected elements that you manipulated.

After moving to Ontario in 1991, and the friendship bracelet became popular, I experimented with plastic lace, embroidery floss, and later bead looming. Math had always been a strong suit, so the basic patterns of knotting and stringing techniques came easily, and I almost always made something unique with the, "What if I do it this way" philosophy.

My introduction into jewellery was looking at the old designs of my female relative's accessories. I liked the pattern, sequence, permutations and symmetry in those pieces, plus the play of colours. My current interest in designing jewellery came out of a decision for my husband and I to make at least one hand-made gift each Christmas. What I gave him that year was not beaded, but he gave me a rosary, and in the discussion of the symbolic meanings and the symmetry, I decided to try my skills.

Instead of rosaries, I made necklaces and bracelets. I tested ideas with a few with local friends, then created some for my mother and sisters as Christmas gifts in 2007. It has continued from there.

While I started with stringing beads, I have a preference for using wire or chain in my work,and I am working toward more wire-working experience, especially with sterling silver. At the same time, I like to try new things, so I may experiment with polymer clay and fabric designs as well.

Who knows what you will see here next?

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