Priscilla Beadle

“Would you like to move to Hong Kong?”  Don’t the most fun things begin with a question?  My husband was offered a job assignment in Hong Kong in 1993, so I resigned from my Human Resources job and went along for the adventure.

Hong Kong is a shopper’s paradise and I soon discovered I was attracted to beads.  When I filled up my drawers and started putting boxes of them under the bed, my husband asked me why I had so many beads.  

My future became destined when I blurted out, “I’m going to make necklaces!”  So I set out to do so.  I thought my designs looked pretty fine, and, wisely, took a class to learn the fundamentals.  

As a final judgment on the direction of my new career should take, I submitted them to the 1994 annual exhibit of the Royal Crafts Guild of Hong Kong, and was accepted.  

In 1995, I decided I was retired from corporate life and bead jewelry became my business.  I wanted the risk of succeeding or failing.  It could never just be a hobby for me.  I took that brave step at the Silicon Valley Open Studios and loved every minute of it.  

I still love the challenge of offering my work for sale:  it’s an instant thumb up or down and gives me feedback.  A thumb down means that necklace gets taken apart at the end of the year and gets another chance at greatness.

Here we are in 2015.  I have made nearly 2700 necklaces; I never tire of the search for fabulous beads; and I still try to spend at least two hours several days a week in my studio.  I have changed marketplaces three times:  from Silicon Valley to San Luis Obispo to the South Shore of Boston.  I love change!

California website from 1995 to 2010:  www.beadleful.com

Current website: www.priscillabeadle.com

Phone: 781-925-0484