In the beginning
It all started with a pop bead obsession. I loved to play with combinations of colors and shapes. From the pop beads, I discovered my grandmother’s button tin, you know the one, it’s housed in an old Danish cookie tin. Then I discovered floss, and the joy of friendship bracelets; sometimes beads could be added to the floss as well. I even played with beads on safety pins attached to my shoelaces.
In high school I moved on to hemp bracelets and chokers. The first iteration of my business was called “Beads on Strings by Quinn.” I sold my wares at the local coffee shop where I worked part time as I pursued a teaching degree. The next iteration was called “QBeadMixology” and I sold my wares at the local farmer’s market with my friend Janis who makes organic soaps and other luxurious bath and hygiene products. You can still find her on Etsy; look for Hippeecraft and treat yourself to a new shampoo bar. I was teaching part time, mothering adorable twin toddlers, and on the precipice of divorce. I kept that business going until my teaching job turned to full time and I made more money at my weekend waitressing job anyway.
Fast forward to today, and I am again finding time to play with metal and words. My wonderful and supportive new husband has created a space for me in his barn. We utilized cabinets discarded by our school as they renovated the science wing this year. He is a teacher too, of high school art; we teachers take our perks when we can get them (free discarded cabinets, WooHoo!). It’s not the most beautiful space, but I no longer have to dig through boxes to find what I want; I have a place to organize all of my tools and supplies and I am making again. This and the fact that my husband sacrificed part of his barn space, makes my work space beautiful.
I seem to have a lot of words trapped inside that are finding their way onto the copper that I have in stock. The beads haven’t seen as much love quite yet. I’m sure I will find my way to them again, and will post those works on the site when I do. For now, I am very focused on hitting metal, and I plan to play with the enamels my hubby bought me for our second anniversary. He has a masters in ceramics and owns a kiln I can use for enamel work. I am super excited to play with enamels on copper; I see beautiful earrings in our future.
With this change of focus, I decided another “re-branding” was in order. QNBjewelrydesign is far more inclusive than the previous bead focused business names. I’m also trying out this website life for the first time. Thank you for joining me on this new adventure.
