The Bead Society went to the "Beads of Courage" studio for the SoCal Flame Surfers. It was exciting! The SoCal Flame Surfers support Beads of Courage in making special glass beads that can be given to hospitalized children.  Bead Society member, David Keith was our host. 

Beads of Courage (BoC) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and teens coping with serious illness, their families, and the clinicians who care for them through their Arts-in-Medicine Programs. BoC has established collaborative partnerships in caring with hundreds of hospitals nationally and internationally and worked with several community organizations to make healing happen through the use of beads as a historical art form.

After our safety orientation, we were guided in making simple beads by Steve and David. We could add more glass to an initial bead, add dots, or do something else equally creative. We were willing to donate our beads to Beads of Courage, the non profit that David's group works with. After working with making beads, we had a pleasant potluck lunch with David's quiche and interesting conrads.

Here are some pictures from the two days we went to the Studio. 

Here are some videos of making glass beads. ​
​

Some pics on So Cal Flame Surfers Facebook page show us hard at work!  The pictures of beads donated even include our little contributions (on the far left). No, the ice cream cones are beyond our skill set! 
​
We all felt that we learned a lot about making glass beads. David does this twice a month, so let us know if you are interested. ​

Kristen Greer is our March 5th speaker for our online program. She is an avid collector of antique-vintage beads and treasures.  She will be speaking about antique beads and beaded purses. Here's a list of what she will be covering: 

🌼A brief history of the cut steel & metal micro beads.
🌼A brief history of Georgian cut steel jewelry.
🌼A brief history of the micro metal beaded misers purses & later handbags.
🌼She will show examples of the Georgian cut steel jewelry, cut steel & metal micro beads, and the many different styles of purses that the women of the day carried from the Georgian era through the early twentieth century.
​
March Bead Society Program Meeting!
Wednesday March 5th, 7;00  PM Pacific Time
Meeting ID: 899 883 2615
Passcode: Beads

​Join us! 

The Bead Society went to the "Beads of Courage" studio for the SoCal Flame Surfers in February. It was exciting! The SoCal Flame Surfers support Beads of Courage in making special glass beads that can be given to hospitalized children. Bead Society member, David Keith was our host. 

Beads of Courage (BoC) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and teens coping with serious illness, their families, and the clinicians who care for them through their Arts-in-Medicine Programs. BoC has established collaborative partnerships in caring with hundreds of hospitals nationally and internationally and worked with several community organizations to make healing happen through the use of beads as a historical art form.

After our safety orientation, we were guided in making simple beads by Steve and David. We could add more glass to an initial bead, add dots, or do something else equally creative. We were willing to donate our beads to Beads of Courage, the non profit that David's group works with. Afterwards we had a pleasant potluck lunch with David's famous quiche. 

Here are some pictures from the two days we went to the Studio. 
​

​Several members of The Bead Society went on a field trip to the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana in late January. The highlight of the trip was the exhibit, The Eternal Garden: Titanium Art by Aka Chen. 

"Aka Chen (Taiwanese, 1965-) is one of the premiere artists around the world today working in titanium. His debut solo exhibition in the United States, The Eternal Garden: Titanium Art, showcases an exquisite assembly of 20 sculptures that ingeniously combine the intricacies of contemporary jewelry with fluid compositions of brush paintings." We all were impressed, inspired and excited to see this exhibit! 

There is a video on The Bowers website that shows parts of the exhibition. It clearly does not compare to seeing the objects up close. The exhibit is on until April 13th, so be sure to check it out! 

​In addition, we were able to view Gemstone Carvings: The Masterworks of Harold Van Pelt.
This exhibit showcases the natural quality and colors of agate and gives quartz the transparency of glass. It was amazing! Here is a link to a docent led tour of this exhibit. 

The Bowers Museum which also hosts the Bead Society of Orange County is located at 2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706. 

Here are some pictures from our trip.

The Bead Society Holiday Pop Up was held on October 26th at the Veterans Memorial Complex in Culver City. Unfortunately, the competition for other events on that day was fierce. There were sports games including the Dodgers, election events, concerts, Halloween parties and more. But in the end, the attendees and vendors expressed their pleasure. In addition, the Bead Society Table made a modest return. 
​
Here are some pictures of the event: 
​ 

The Bead Society appreciates the vendors and attendees who participated in the event. The next events are scheduled for March and May. Stay tuned! 

For our Kick off for the FY2025 meeting, we will have our members present and talk about what they did this summer, What Did you Do Last Summer?  
​
Wednesday September 4th, 7 pm Pacific Time
Zoom Meeting ID: 899 883 2615, Passcode: Beads 

Here is some of the information about our presenters:

Angie Carrington has been working on her website, making major updates to the menu and adding additional content. While it's not ready yet, she will share her experiences and challenges with everyone. Maybe it can help someone avoid some headaches.  

Mary Yaeger had an exciting trip to the Czech Republic. She will share some of her adventures with us! 

Lisa Shatts has been working on ideas for celebrating our 50th anniversary. She will highlight the website that we created for Membership Shopping! She will also talk about our trip to the Bead Society of Orange County to hear Robert Liu's talk! 

The Bead Society members helped out at the Fiesta of Gems in late June! This summer Kay Deeney along with some busy members have been helping mark and price some of the Bead Shack. Sylvia H. gratiously offered her home for us to have a garage Bead Sale! We had one in April and again in August. They were very successful! Kay will fill in more details at the meeting! 

Join us! Everyone is welcome! 

Bead Society business meeting is at 6:30 pm PT at the same Zoom address! 

The Bead Society participated in the Culver City Rock & Mineral Club's Fiesta of Gems on June 29th and 30th, 2024. We have had a table other years, but this time we brought beads to sell! It was exciting!

The beads and jewelry come from donations from the families of Bead Society members and others. We have used the beads in classes, donated them to various groups and have sold some at our Pop Ups and other shows. 

Members of the Bead Society celebrated the end of the fiscal year, and the changing of the guard on Saturday, June 24 at the Mexican restaurant, Kalaveras in Marina del Rey. Outgoing officers are Kay Deeney, President; Lillian Todaro, Vice Presiident, and Carmen Landau, Membership Chair. The new and ongoing officers for the 2023-2024 fiscal year are Lisa Shatts, President; Violeta Guerrero, Treasurer (continuing); Sylvia Humphrey, Secretary and Eve Rappoport, Membership Chair. 

Lisa Shatts organized the event. The three outgoing officers received plastic buckets and celebratory cards. The buckets are for gathering one's bucket list of ideas. Lisa warned the three that in a year, she expects a report on whether we have accomplished items on our bucket list. The buckets also included a scoop which is very useful for moving beads around! The outgoing officers wish the incoming officers a successful and fruitful year! 

The restaurant is known for their exotic drinks, and the angel backdrop where several of the pictures were taken. Members and guests enjoyed good food, drinks and companionship. 

The Bead Society Mother's Day Pop Up held on Saturday, May 6th was great! Lots of people attended the brightly lit Parish Hall of St. Bede's Episcopal Church in Mar Vista. One attendee remarked that it was apropos that the church's name matches the Bead Society! 

Vendors sold finished jewely, paintings, art, photographs, tote bags, clothing, and art objects. Some beads and findings were also available.  
​