Seed Bead Bliss /Leslie O’Neill Designs

I've been working on and off in the jewelry industry for the last twenty years-- in Athens, Greece, Boston and New York. First I trained as a bench jeweler, then worked as a designer for both fine and costume jewelry manufacturers. Subsequently I went back to school to study decorative arts history. I concentrated on silver and jewelry, wrote my masters thesis on a jewelry topic, and spent a year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My last employer was a renowned antique silver and jewelry dealer in Manhattan. I started working with seed beads in the late 1990s, experimenting and learning stitches. My projects were wildly ambitious, and I would make about one evening bag a year with off-loom stitches. I decided to turn my attention to jewelry in 2009, and I've found it very exciting! Inspiration comes from historic pattern design and from both modern and antique jewelry. I experiment quite a bit with techniques and stitches; I love challenging myself and my abilities! I tend to start my designs with Delica beads; these are a particular kind of cylindrical Japanese seed bead. They come in hundreds of colors and finishes, and they fit beautifully together. I also use other types of seed beads (sizes 8 to 15), square beads, shell, glass, pearls and semi-precious stones. You can never have enough beads! I also adore buckles and buttons and use them whenever possible. I hope you enjoy looking at my work as much as I enjoy making it--and making jewelry with tiny beads is one of my greatest pleasures. If this isn't Seed Bead Bliss, I don't know what is!