This is the first of what will probably be a series of blogs about National Beading Week 2015. This is the first event of its kind and has been organised by the Beadworker’s Guild in the UK. The event will take place from 25th July to 2nd August. The idea behind National Beading Week is to share the wonder of beading. We are hoping that those who already bead will use the event as a chance to get together with fellow beaders and make new friends. We also hope that people will introduce their friends and neighbours to beading, so that even more people get the opportunity to try this wonderful craft.
I was approached by the Beadworker’s Guild at the end of 2014 to ask if I would act as an ambassador for National Beading Week. I was very honoured and of course delighted to do so. The guild told me that they would be putting together a special website to promote the event and asked if I would write a few words to go on there. It turns out that my contribution was added to the Bead Bombing page! As ambassador, of course I am telling as many people as I can about the week, I felt I should be doing a little more and perhaps organising some kind of event.
The website is full of great ideas for getting involved in National Beading Week. Hopefully as
many beading shops and traders as possible will be getting involved, so there is a page offering some ideas for shops to use and, with any luck, as shops arrange events, news of them will appear on this page. We all need to support our shops – they not only provide the materials that we all use, but are also a social hub for beaders and an invaluable source of advice and inspiration. I know from experience that, although buying beads online is fantastically convenient, it is really hard to choose colours or get a perspective on size, so there is really no substitute for a visit to a bead shop or bead fair.
It’s not just the shops and traders that will be getting involved, but hopefully all of you as well. There is a page of free resources on the website so you can download patterns to use for events like the bead bombing. There is also a page dedicated to beaders and beading groups, again with ideas for groups to try and links to groups so if you do not already belong to a group, you can find one in your area. Once again, as events are organised, more information will appear on the website, so do keep checking back to see the updates.
I am still working on a little plan for an event…all I’m saying for now is it involves cakes! I have in the meantime created a free pattern for a beaded bead to use for the bead bombing. You can find the pattern here. I hope you will enjoy it and I am looking forward to hearing about other events being organised for National Beading Week. I know I will be teaching a class at Gerrards Cross Summerschool that week, so I will certainly be spreading the word in this way! For now, I’m off to get ready for the bead fair at Kempton Park on Sunday, so I hope to see some of you there.
National Beading Week Note
If you’re reading this during National Beading Week 2015 and looking for more news, then I have a fun-packed week of celebrations, including product discounts, surprise sales, a prize draw and some bead bombing. It’s all detailed here!
