Hull MA artist, Priscilla Beadle, 75 years old, has been creating unique bead jewelry since 1995. As she travels the world in search of beads, Beadle has observed fashion trends worldwide. Though she aims not to be trendy in her creations, Beadle is aware of what people are wearing today.
Venice, Italy, is Beadle’s favorite city for inspiration. “It’s the ultimate feast for the eyes—for unadulterated romanticism,” declares Beadle. When Beadle lived in Paris in the 1960’s, she remembers her French roommate had only three dresses, yet the young woman always looked fascinating. The French woman used accessories of scarves, necklaces, belts, hats, gloves, bracelets and other jewelry.
French women, Beadle believes, are not more attractive than American women, only more stylish. Beadle’s accessory to count on is a short necklace with sterling silver and pearls. A “sunshine cloth” is Beadle’s secret helper to keep sterling silver gleaming.
A simple way to look fabulous is to wear jewelry and clothing that make you feel good. Sometimes when considering a necklace, women confide in Beadle, “I’m too short,” or “I’m too chubby,” or “I’m too old” to wear the one they like. Beadle’s advice is to choose pieces that speak to you—it could be a favorite color or stone—and wear them whenever you want. It’s acceptable to wear a favorite necklace with a t-shirt to go shopping, not only with haute couture to a special event.
Beadle sums up her color philosophy in three words: surprising, unexpected, yet related. In general she recommends being freer with color and avoiding ‘matchy-matchy”. Her heroine for how vibrant she wishes to be at age 90 is Iris Apfel, the irreverent American fashion icon and businesswoman who is known for wearing ethnic pieces from around the world.
Beadle’s guilty fashion pleasure is to buy one fabulous necklace during any trip, especially to Europe. When she first began to make necklaces, Beadle only wore her own creations. But after 22 years of jewelry-making, Beadle takes pleasure wearing any necklace that speaks to her. “Yesterday I wore a fun necklace I found in Milan,” Beadle confides, “I’ve received several compliments!”
Creating bead jewelry art since 1993, Priscilla Beadle first found inspiration for her bold, eclectic designs in the bazaars of Tibet and Nepal, in dusty shops in Beijing, on remote Indonesian islands reached by catamaran, in beautiful Bali, and in verdant Indochina—Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Each Beadleful design starts with a centerpiece—add whimsy, color excitement, texture, chunky beads, a fabulous clasp—a collectable necklace is born.
Priscilla Beadle returned to her hometown, Hull MA, in 2011. For 34 years she had lived in California, eleven in the historic mission town of San Luis Obispo. She brought her business, Beadleful, with her and crafted a comfortable studio for her work on the ground floor of her home. The spark of Beadleful ignited when, after 23 years in the corporate world, Priscilla retired in 1993 to accompany her husband on his job assignment in Hong Kong. Southeast Asia became her handicraft fantasy world as she hunted for beads: –odd, large, ethnic, contrarian beads; antique or contemporary glass beads; rare and unusual colors; textures that lead to touching. Whether traveling the world or stalking New England galleries, successful bead hunting inspires the bold eclectic designs that characterize Priscilla’s unique necklaces and bracelets.
For more information follow her weekly blog at https://priscillabeadle.com/
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