As an active Art Psychotherapist and Bead Weaver, I launched The Bird and the Beads in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic. The brand is based around my love for using traditional bead weaving techniques to make abstract contemporary pieces to wear or adorn the home.

My love for bead weaving started in 1999 when I joined London’s renowned Covent Garden Bead Shop. Beading became a way of life and I quickly started selling my creations at the bustling Spitalfields Market. My designs were subsequently sold in department stores such as Selfridges and featured in magazines including Red.

This early success was combined with studying Fine Art as part of my journey to becoming an Art Psychotherapist. As an artist I developed techniques to use photographic stills for photo etching; transforming these prints into photo-realistic beaded images was a natural progression for me.

 “Even a brick wants to be something. A brick wants to be something. It aspires. Even a common, ordinary brick... wants to be something more than it is. It wants to be something better than it is.”

- Louis Kahn

I find weaving to be a very soothing and cathartic process. The thought of using tiny individual beads to create a larger and more beautiful whole is special to me.

I am aware of the origin of traditional bead weaving in Native American cultures and respectful of its designs and symbolism.

 I try to make my work inclusive by making a wide range of designs with a wide pricing scale. Whilst my work is extremely time-consuming, I feel the pricing reflects this fairly without trying to undercut other independent small businesses.

  “I like the wine and not the label”

- David Rose, Schitt’s Creek

Inclusion is paramount; my designs are unisex and do not discriminate.

In the near future I will be creating kits (with plastic-free packaging) with instructions to encourage others to make their own pieces and enjoy the process themselves.

Enjoy!

Lucy x