What’s it all about?
International Beading Week started as a little acorn of an idea, in a Guild Journal meeting some years ago, and has grown and grown into a worldwide event that celebrates our passion for stitching with beads. The original ethos of our idea was (and still is) to educate and encourage the wider public to participate in beading, to support bead traders so we could continue to have an excellent source of supplies and to have some fun sharing our passion with others in our local area.
We’re often asked why we chose a week in the summer holidays to celebrate International Beading Week (IBW), but there was definitely method in our madness. Obviously we needed to choose a time in the Guild calendar when we could dedicate our time to organising activities for the event. This is also a quiet time on the bead shows calendar, which means that
traders are quieter, so would have time to dedicate to local events, and hopefully it would boost their business in a quiet period. The summer months are a time when there are lots of local fairs and events that we
could all participate in without the necessity of having to organise our own dedicated events. Finally, if our craft is to thrive in the future, there is a real need for us to pass on our skills to younger generations, and what better time to do this than when they are on holiday?
Don’t miss out!
We are so proud of how this event has grown over the years and that beaders from around the world want to participate too, but there is still lots we can do to make this event bigger and better than ever. If you’ve never participated in NBW/IBW before, please do take a look at this website, there are lots of ideas on how you can get involved and so many freebies, it would be a shame to miss out.
Future Planning
We’ve lots of ideas for the future, some will happen this year and some may take a little longer to organise, but if you have any ideas or would like to get involved and help out, please do get in contact.
Going international - this year National Beading Week is being transformed into International Beading Week, therefore the website and email address will change to Internationalbeadingweek.com and IBW@beadworkersguild.org.uk. We will also be introducing a dedicated Facebook page www.facebook.com/Internationalbeadingweek.
Beginners page - This year we will be introducing a new page on the website dedicated to those just getting started with beading. Hopefully this will encourage more to take up beading, but will also provide resources for those participating in IBW who want to teach beginners at their events.
Whatever you have planned for NBW/IBW we hope it will be fun and remember to keep an eye on the website for all the latest news, events, special offers and freebies.
Lets spread the beading bug!
IBW Ambassador: Melanie de Miguel (London, UK)
I am so excited to have been asked to be an ambassador for IBW. This means I get to talk even more about my favourite subject - BEADING!!! I took my first beading class in 1999; I was in a room filled with like-minded souls, having fun, sharing ideas and inspirations - it felt like an extended family. Wherever I am, at whatever bead show, I still feel as if I'm surrounded by sisters, grans and aunties - we are a wonderful community! For as long as I can, I will continue to bead, design and teach, and most importantly, spread the word about this amazing craft. We must keep it alive and continue to explore its beautiful, infinite potential, and with IBW we have the perfect opportunity to make some real beady noise!
IBW Ambassador: Kerrie Slade (Nottinghamshire, UK)
I was first dazzled by beads in 2002 and quickly succumbed to their mesmerizing magic, so much so, that I’m now a full time freelance beadwork designer and my days are spent on beading activities and my nights are filled with beady dreams. I’m passionate about both beading and connecting with the international beading community via social media and so I am delighted to be an ambassador for International Beading Week. Ideas are still percolating, but I plan to bring you all sorts of fun bead related activities during IBW, so keep an eye on my website, blog and Facebook page!
IBW Ambassador: Sandra Sholte (Netherlands)
I'm honored to become an ambassador of IBW. This is a great place to share our passion of beadweaving and to learn and teach about beading with this large community of enthusiastic beaders of all levels.
Beadweaving has been a big part of my life for over 25 years, learning and practicing new stitches along the way. A few years ago my hobby became my work with the beading patterns I sell, and it makes me happy to be able to share them with everyone who wants to learn about this beautiful craft.
I hope being part of IBW will be an opportunity to interact even more with beaders all over the world.
Website: www.trinketsbeading.com
Fcbk: www.facebook.com/stscholte