A touch of whimsy always makes my day.
This lampwork glass bird is one of many whimsical beads Stephanie Sersich, Topsham, Maine, creates. Sersich today is 43 years old and introduced herself to the bead world at age 25 with a public lecture and an article in the legendary “Lapidary Journal.” Two big influences contributing to her success are her creative Mom and a major in metalsmithing and painting. As she says, “I learned engineering and color which led me to making my own glass beads.”
She then developed her own “Spiny Knotting” method to allow her to bind many of her colorful beads into a single bracelet or necklace. Check them out on her website sssbeads.com.
I have often wondered why I preferred the hunt for fabulous beads like Stephanie’s instead of making them. It has a lot to do with the fact that my youthful focus was on getting an English degree, living in Paris and Lisbon, and being a corporate HR professional. I didn’t buy my first bead until I was 50 and living in Hong Kong, entertaining myself while my husband organized his company’s South Asian footprint. But I loved the hunt! From the Hong Kong Jade Market to Beijing’s outdoor flea markets, Shanghai’s treasure-filled antique shops, from small entrepreneurial silver shops in Bali, to the giant pieces of turquoise I found in Tibet, and the amazing beads on small Indonesian islands of Sumba, Komodo, and Flores. For two years, I never thought of making my own beads. Just acquiring them.
And I can safely say that is true today, 25 years later. I was determined, however, to put my own creative stamp on each necklace. To balance color and texture, to be bold, chunky and fearless, but above all to never stop searching for the odd, eccentric, remarkable bead. And to do that, I expanded my search to fulfill the true definition of a bead: something with a hole in it which can be strung.
Stephanie’s bird and fiber dangle is 3.5″ and the pink Czech glass bead necklace is 24″. Featured in the necklace are molded glass pre-war German semi-circle beads plus glass flowers at the end of the necklace and in the earrings. $139.
Auntie Sandra sent me this gift from Napa Valley: a matching collar and leash from Mumm’s Champagne House. Auntie and Mom love to drink French Champagne when they are together!
I expect to have more fun like this now that I am growing up. I love to steal things Mom leaves within my reach and run around the house with them in my mouth, taunting Mom. Ball point pens and those mechanical pencils Mom has are my favorites! I have set a goal of one a week and I am very successful! This deliciousness was from destroying ablue gel pen…
I got her electric toothbrush recently. 
I like to watch the world go by from high places here in the backyard and in the car where I perch on the console. There are so many interesting critters on the ground, airplanes in the sky, and lots of water everywhere with those white birds.
By the end of the day, I am really tired. So I snooze while Mom watches TV and eats dinner. She always shares her bully stick with me. Yummy. I’m also happy when I go to my crate to sleep beside Mom’s bed. I get a good sleep so I can start the next day’s activities fresh!
He’s a gem, but I predict he’ll be a puppy for another year. I’m just grateful I survived the first year!
