Home | About Me

Hi everyone…thought maybe you’d want to know alittle bit about me. I have been lampworking since around 1996. Before that I was a jewelry designer, selling at art and craft fairs. I love beads and jewelry! It all started when I was very young. My grandmother had a huge collection of the now antique gemstone brooches, rings, clip on earrings and necklaces, as well as beads galore. I fell in love with the sparkles and jangles and would go through her endless boxes of pretties, trying them on and asking to keep everyone of them. She was so gracious she allowed me to take some apart and redesign them into my own creations. It was a time with her that I will always cherish and never forget. She encouraged me to pursue my dreams and that dreams do come true when you apply yourself and follow your heart. Here I am now following my heart….the dream lives on everyday as I wake up with my family and start my day making beads.

Life is about knowing who you are and who you want to be, always striving to achieve higher goals. My family is very dear to me. I have Bob, my bead making husband, 3 awesome teenagers, Brock, Erica and Braden and our best friend, Sadie, who is our beloved Great Dane. We just added 4 kitties to the family that we got from the Humane Society. Louie is all white, Scoops is all black, Eebs is all gray and Shunzie is a long haired orange tiger. We also have 2 stray cats that hang around outside. When they say don't feed strays...they are right they never leave, but that is okay we take care of them now and they come and go as they please. I work around my family trying to be the best wife and mom I can be. I put my heart into everything I do and that is why it is so important to me that you love every bead you receive from me. You are holding a piece of my heart and soul in your hands. We are connecting …my style is your style, we have a common interest, we share a love for handmade beautiful beads, we work as a team. As a previous jewelry designer, I tend to make beads in sets and think of the jewelry possibilities as I make your beads. I like various styles but specialize in pixie dust, reduction frits and powders, fine silver wire, along with the various metals. My favorite shapes are round larger light weight hollows with matching sets, sculpted flowers in various styles, leaves and latticino discs. Being self taught, I am always discovering new techniques and making new beads, so there is always something new here.

I want to thank everyone for supporting mine and Bob’s beads and supporting our family. We make beads fulltime which allows us to be home with our teenagers at all times….oh yes…they just love it…nothing to get away with in our house! They will want to leave the nest as soon as they can I am sure! Ha, ha!  If you are looking to learn lampwork I do teach and I have opened time in my schedule to travel. Please see my “instruction” page and email me for openings. Please see my very own tool line, as well as my book "Creating Lampwork Beads for Jewelry". I am currently working on my second book that will be out in 2010.

Love your family, enjoy all your beads, let them bring a smile to your face and know that everyday is new and you are special! Thank you so much for your support!

Karen Leonardo