I could not find anyone in Manila who offered lessons so, as with all other crafts I have taught myself, I looked to the World Wide Web for help. I was surprised at the wealth of information and instructional material on so many websites. Pretty soon I was looping loops, dangling dangles and beading beads like crazy.
My work progressed from the very basic stringing and looping projects
To the more advanced coiled wire and beads
And later, to more avante garde, representational designs
A few months after I started making jewelry, I discovered that I had made enough of these glittering accessories to make Marie Antoinette envious. I also discovered that I was running out of space to keep them and that wearing four or five bracelets to an arm made me feel like I was lifting weights. With a deep breath and lot of courage I gathered up a few pieces to show to my friends. I did not intend to sell them and was caught flatfooted when they asked how much they were for. I thought they had been so used to my giving them away that they would never think of buying them from me! But they did - and they told me I should consider making pieces to sell.
The following week, I sent a few pieces to my husband's office. He came home that night with an empty bag and a list of custom orders. When those were done, I received another custom order, this time from my husband's boss' partner who is a well-known television host, who wanted several bracelets to give away for Christmas.
Halfway through finishing that custom order, I began to think that maybe there WAS something to this hobby gone wild.
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