Beki Haley
Whisper
There is something timeless about finding a feather. Whether discovered along a woodland path, resting in a quiet garden, or carried gently on the breeze, feathers have long been seen as symbols of hope, guidance, remembrance, and quiet reassurance.
Whisper was designed to capture that feeling—that fleeting moment when the world seems to pause and we become aware of the beauty in life's smallest details. Soft curves, flowing lines, and layers of bead embroidery create a feather that appears almost weightless, inviting the eye to wander through its subtle movement and shimmering colors.
Your completed piece can be displayed as beautiful artwork in the included shadowbox frame, allowing it to become a treasured addition to your home décor. If you'd rather wear your creation, complete instructions are also provided for converting Whisper into an elegant pendant.
The project features bead embroidery using Japanese seed beads, Czech beads, pearls, crystals, and other carefully selected materials to create rich texture, depth, and graceful dimension. Whether displayed or worn, Whisper serves as a gentle reminder that life's most meaningful moments are often its quietest.
Whisper
Some say feathers carry messages,
Drifting from worlds unseen.
A trace of wonder left behind
Between what is
And what has been.
Not every answer arrives as thunder,
Nor every truth demands a sign.
Sometimes wisdom comes as a whisper,
Light as a feather,
Carried upon the wind.
~ Beki Haley
Kits are $75 each and will be available in several colorways.
Beki has been passionate about beads for more than 50 years. Introduced to the enchanting art of seed bead weaving by her grandmother as a child, she quickly fell in love with the remarkable detail and artistry that can be achieved with even the tiniest of beads. That fascination has remained a lifelong passion. By her early teens, Beki was already sharing her knowledge with others, discovering that teaching was every bit as rewarding as creating.
Today, with more than 40 years of teaching experience, Beki has inspired thousands of students through classes held everywhere from intimate one-on-one lessons to large conferences, retreats, cruises, and virtual events. Known for her warm, encouraging teaching style, she strives to make even complex techniques approachable while helping students develop confidence in their own creativity.
Trained as a traditional silversmith at a young age, Beki developed a deep appreciation for fine jewelry design, craftsmanship, and attention to detail. Those skills continue to influence her beadwork, where thoughtful construction and elegant design are every bit as important as beautiful color combinations.
In 1986, Beki opened her bead store, Out On A Whim, which became a beloved destination for beaders for more than three decades. Today, she continues to share her love of the art by designing original beadwork and hosting events including the Bead Cruise, Beaders Dream Retreat, and the Designer Showcase, bringing together talented instructors and enthusiastic beaders from around the world.
For Beki, beading has always been more than a hobby or a profession. It is a source of peace, creativity, and connection. Whether designing a new project or teaching a classroom full of eager students, her greatest joy comes from helping others discover the same sense of accomplishment and wonder that beads have brought to her life for more than half a century.
Melissa Shippee
The Sun Queens Jewels
Create a necklace worthy of royalty in The Sun Queen's Jewels, an advanced beadwork project that combines the elegance of bead embroidery with the structure and refinement of peyote stitch. Designed around a dramatic focal crystal and richly sculpted ornamental elements, this necklace showcases flowing curves, dimensional forms, and intricate surface detail that evoke the treasures of a legendary queen.
Students will learn a variety of techniques, including creating embroidered components, shaping decorative motifs, adding dimensional embellishments, and achieving clean, professional edge finishes. The necklace straps are worked in tubular peyote stitch, providing both flexibility and strength while creating a luxurious, rope-like texture that beautifully complements the embroidered components.
Throughout the project, you'll work with an opulent selection of high-quality materials, including premium seed beads, pearls, SilverSilk and Swarovski crystal. Careful attention to construction and finishing techniques results in a substantial statement piece that is as durable as it is elegant.
Whether you choose a regal, ethereal, or boldly dramatic color palette, The Sun Queen's Jewels offers an opportunity to master advanced beadwork skills while creating a breathtaking heirloom-quality necklace that celebrates artistry, craftsmanship, and the timeless beauty of bead embroidery.
Kits will be $98
Kinga Bledsoe
Possessed & Self-Possessed
For the past few years, I've been drawn back to creating wide, chunky bracelets that wrap the wrist in a luxuriously comfortable, almost hug-like fit. Finished with sumptuous Italian lambskin backing, they are as enjoyable to wear as they are to create.
As I've explored ceramics, I began sculpting my own porcelain focals inspired by antique dolls. The focal for Possessed was cast from a weathered doll dating to around the turn of the century, then glazed in a matte, verdigris-like antique copper finish that looks as though it has been unearthed from the earth itself.
To balance the aged, mysterious focal, the surrounding beadwork is lush, organic, and jewel-like, growing across a velvet background like vines overtaking forgotten garden walls after a summer rain. The result is a bracelet that feels both mysterious and beautiful, as though discovered during a quiet walk through an overgrown garden.
For those who prefer a softer aesthetic, Self Possessed offers a gentler interpretation of the same design. Instead of an antique doll, it features a beautiful ceramic focal by Bridgett McCoy-Nicholson and evokes the feeling of wandering through a peaceful summer garden filled with wildflowers, moss-covered stone walls, birdsong, and cool forest breezes. A third colorway will also be available closer to the event, with all three sharing the same flowing, organic design inspired by nature reclaiming timeworn places.
The bracelet measures just over two inches wide and can be made to fit wrists approximately 6–9 inches. The porcelain or ceramic focal is surrounded by Japanese seed beads, Czech shaped beads, and Chinese crystals, all showcased against a rich velvet foundation and backed with incredibly soft Italian lambskin in a pearlescent green-purple hue that beautifully complements the dusty purple velvet.
I think this keeps the poetic feel of Kinga's writing while reducing it by about a third, making it more suitable for a class description or event website.
Kits will be $125 each
We're looking forward to Zooming with you!
Melissa Grakowsky Shippee is a celebrated bead artist, designer, and instructor known for her sculptural style, innovative techniques, and elegantly complex designs. With a background in both physics and art, Melissa brings a unique blend of structure and creativity to the world of beadwork.
Artistic Style & Background - Melissa’s work is known for its refined architecture and attention to form. She often draws inspiration from natural elements, geometry, and celestial motifs, resulting in jewelry that feels both organic and otherworldly. Her transition from physics to beadwork gave her an analytical foundation that shines through in her precise and technically challenging designs.
Techniques & Innovation - She specializes in advanced beadweaving techniques such as peyote stitch, netting, and cubic right-angle weave, often incorporating crystals, pearls, and layered elements. Melissa is particularly recognized for her wearable sculptural pieces—necklaces, bracelets, and decorative masks that showcase dimensionality and rich texture. Her designs are elegant yet bold, often featuring striking focal elements framed by intricately detailed beaded structures.
Teaching & Community Involvement - Melissa teaches workshops both in-person and online, sharing her techniques with students around the world. Her instruction is known for being clear, thoughtful, and empowering—welcoming both intermediate and advanced beaders. Through her brand, MGS Designs, she offers detailed patterns, beautifully curated kits, and occasional free tutorials that help beaders explore more complex creative territory.
Recognition & Contribution - Her designs have been featured on the covers of leading beading magazines, and she is frequently invited to teach at major retreats and bead events internationally. Melissa has authored books and contributed to collaborative publications, further expanding her influence in the beadwork community. She’s known for encouraging beaders to push past their comfort zones and embrace design as a form of storytelling. In summary: Melissa Grakowsky Shippee is a powerful creative force in contemporary beadwork. Her ability to combine intellectual structure with artistic flow has resulted in a body of work that is both technically impressive and emotionally resonant. Through her designs, books, and teaching, she continues to inspire beaders to create with depth, beauty, and imagination.
You can learn more about Melissa:
MGSdesigns.net
IG: @mgsdesigns_insta
FB: Melissa Grakowsky Shippee
YouTube: @MGSdesignsTube
Kinga Bledsoe was born in 1980, in Hungary. At 19, she packed up her life in a backpack and moved to the US where she has been residing since, albeit not at the same place. She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado with her boyfriend and furbabies Samantha Regina Nichols and Marley. Samantha Regina is not only her muse but her model as well. Many of Kinga's best known pieces were popularized by the canine model.
One way or another Kinga has been always making things, which started turning into a career when she was painting murals at the time she lived in New York. The murals were fun, but she did not feel like painting was her calling. Eventually she picked up a bead and Button magazine in 2007, found a bead embroidery project, and slowly but surely the obsession took over.
After that first project, she started creating her own designs and quickly found her own distinctive voice that allowed her to translate her imaginings into beadwork. Kinga is always brainstorming, and her imagination provides an endless supply of fanciful ideas that she translates into bead embroidery.
Her work first got noticed in the first Battle of the Beadsmith, quickly followed by her being a BeadDreams finalist in 2013 and getting 3rd place in the same competition in the Swarovski category in 2014, and a book feature in Marcia Decoster Presents, 2014. In 2015 she won first place in the crystal category in BeadDreams. She has done a number of instructional bead embroidery videos for Interweave publishing in 2016 and 2017, and has been featured in magazines in the US and Europe.
In 2013 she started teaching and she hopes to continue this as her chosen profession for a long time to come, not only passing on beady knowledge, but perhaps her unique way of looking at the world as a magical place filled with endless possibilities.
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/crimsonfrog
Blog: http://crimsonfrogdesigns.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kinga.bledsoe