 Bindy
is currently serving on the SCFS board as a Hospitality
Chairperson. Bindy and Wendy Leys, her partner, come
up with great ideas for themes for each of our club
meetings. They do a fantastic job! But now is the time
to focus on Bindy and her tremendous skills at bead
making.
A vibrant woman of many talents, Bindy began her beadmaking
career eight years ago after buying lampworked beads
to incorporate into her unique jewelry designs. One
of her other passions, cake decorating, has proved to
be an interesting co-relation into her bead designs
as well as rubber stamping with intricate design work.
 Bindy’s
glass of choice while working on her Minor torch is
104 COE, primarily Effetre along with some Lauscha,
and is now being teased with the new silver colors available
in 104. She will undoubtedly make these colors sing
as she continues on her exploration in glass.
Her favorite designs in making beads are florals. One
of her “signature” beads is the Floral Bouquet.
Made on an ivory base, she incorporates three types
of flowers onto it. This bead style came to be after
practicing different types of flowers on one bead instead
of a separate bead for each flower type. People loved
the complexity and beauty of these beads and they have
since become a favorite of hers to make. As have making
small bracelet sized beads with as much detail as she
can pack into each. And let’s not forget her palm
tree beads inspired from a trip to Hawaii.
 Although
Bindy has mostly taught herself how to make beads through
trial and error, she has managed to get a couple of
classes under her belt with those that most inspire
her…Leah Fairbanks and Patti Walton. She is intent
on perfecting her floral techniques under the guidance
of her friend Leah, and I must add, she does a fantastic
job. Other techniques she wants to master…the style
of beads that are considered organic. Try as she might,
after numerous suggestions, they still end up with flowers
on them. That’s O.K. in my opinion Bindy…flowers
need an organic background to them.
 Our
humble, yet bubbly Bindy is by no means shy when in
comes to media publication. Not wanting to sound like
a braggart when asked, she hesitantly answered, “Yes,
I have been published about 26 times in the last 4 years
in several of the major bead magazines. I have been
on the cover of Bead and Button and the cover of Step
by Step by Lapidary Journal. I am currently in the new
issue of Bead Unique with an article I wrote on how
to do two basic and easy beads that have been around
forever. I did not invent them however.” Good for
you Bindy! Keep up the good work and promoting lampworked
beads.
 And
true to being a humble person, here’s her response
to her first beginning beads…”Yes I do have
them and I have to laugh every time I take them out.
I keep them because I never want to lose site of where
I started. I remember I was pretty proud of those beads
and hopefully they keep me humble. If I can find them
I will show them to you.”
On that closing note, what advice does she have for
other beadmakers? Never give up, never stop learning
and never stop having fun doing it.
 And
where does she hope to go in her own future with her
glass work? Never to stop learning and exploring new
ideas of her own, while she is also thinking of her
future grandsons! Granddaughters…not a problem.
They can have all the beads they want, but the boys
will need marbles! And not just any marbles…marbles
made by Grandma Bindy!
|
