click to enlarge

My name is Csilla Papp, I was born in Szeged in Hungary and moved to England about 3 years ago with my family. We have two beautiful daughters, Hanna is 7 and Emma is just 7 months old.

I have always had beads since I was a child; in my early age I've made lot of animal figures and Christmas decorations using them. Once, being in the high school I got a big box of beads from my friend, whose mother has made wedding dresses. I still keep this box, but my bead stash doesn't fit it anymore as I have many thousands of beads!

click to see gallery

I have never thought that one day these little treasures would fill my life. I always loved creative stuff such as arts, literature and painting. Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists, and I adore the work of Ettore Aldo Del Vigo. I like these surrealistic creations as well as such jewelry.

One of my favorite jewelry artists is Dori Csengeri, whose works remind me surreal lines and colors. Her items are absolutely amazing. The same is about my preferences in fashion - I'm much more attracted to unique haute couture creations rather than ordinary mass-produced costumes.

click to see gallery

Back to the beginning, like many others, I was browsing over the Internet and I found a lot of great beadwoven jewelry. I remember it was the summer of 2010 when I was sitting at home and suddenly something struck me. I thought, "I want to create jewelry!" - but then it was just a thought. In January 2011 I made my first beaded creations using peyote stitch - two key rings.

Now looking at the offers from bead shops I remember as until then my knowledge of the beads were very limited. I had no idea that so many different colors, shapes of beads and crystals were available. Then I slowly learnt everything. I started writing a blog admiring the beautiful beadworks. My favorites to this day are Betty Stephan, Sherry Serafini, Zoya Gutina and Alla Maslennikova.

click to see gallery

I tried beadweaving and bead embroidery, and although I loved them both, something was missing. Then I came across the works of Dori Csengeri and immediately felt that I must try this technique. I bought my first soutache braids and I started to learn. Of course, first time I felt and thought that even four hands would not be enough, but I didn't give up.

Slowly, trying to figure out the steps and practicing I have progressed to more difficult projects. I've learned almost everything by myself because I couldn't find much information about this technique in the Internet. As I learned more, I realized what was missing in beadweaving and bead embroidery: as the braids are composed to the beads, they create a unit which is perfect for me.

click to see gallery

I love the unique components, the youthful and vibrant colors. I am often inspired by them or different shapes and I can find plenty of inspiration in the fashion designers' collections as well. I often start my work with a sketch and then I usually stick to my original thoughts. Sometimes I start designing aimlessly, especially if it's a free-form item; such beadworks might go through many well described steps and also this technique is a kind of art where the fantasy can go freely.

Of course, I constantly develop my skills and I always try to expand my knowledge, even though I have little time for my passion, because my 7-month-old daughter still requires a lot of my attention. So usually I make my jewelry early in the mornings or late in the evenings. I'm also writing tutorials because many people ask me about soutache techniques.

However, I think I'm just in the beginning of my bead journey!

My beadwoven jewelry on MyLovelyBeads.com
 
My soutache jewelry on MyLovelyBeads.com

About author: