A Passion for Beading! It's not your mother's macrame' !! Check out my knotted jewelry.
Mary Arntson can look at a bead and see a finished necklace. "I like working with beautiful beads,"" she says. "I see a possibility in every one."
Mary's passion has followed her around the world, to designers and glass blowers in Italy and Ireland.
"When we travel I go online and seek out bead stores. I get many of my beads from private designers," she says. "When we were in Venice, Italy; we went to the island of Murano, the glass blowing capital of the world. I was in seventh heaven!! I bought tons of beads and shipped them home. It is important to me that the beads are good quality. So, most of my pendants come from artisans who design and make their own beads."
See the links section of this page.
You could pick any bead from Mary's extensive collection and chances are she could tell you where or from whom she got it. Her art is personal, so everything she designs is original. "It's all unique," she says. "I would be bored making 10 of the very same thing."
"I like the excitement of finding new mediums to use and new colors," she says. The Mary Ellen line has everything from stone to crystal, all with vivid colors and a touch of sass. I used to teach Macrame' many many years ago (don't ask!). I use many Macrame' knots in my work. I decided I was going to make jewelry that was not your 'mother's macrame'. I do however, make pieces with just beads."
"I love using the silk cord, satin cord, nylon cord and the Greek leather to take macrame' to a new level. Macrame' means using a combination of square knots, and chinese knots. I use these knots when making necklaces and bracelets. I also like sparkle, so the Swarovski crystals give each piece that pizzaz that I like. (See the earring and bracelet shopping categories). However, I try to keep all the personality styles in mind when I design a piece. So, I go out of my box and design some things that are more simple, or bigger bulkier beads." She usually starts with the main bead and then designs the piece from there.
A little jewelry can make any outfit look polished, Mary says. "No matter what your job is, when you're going out representing the company, you've got to look nice. Even if you wear jeans and a sweatshirt, you can put on a cute choker. A little makeup, a little jewelry, it just makes you feel better."
Mary donates $20 from each cross necklace to Gems of Hope, a nonprofit in cedar Rapids who support cancer patients who are undergoing cancer treatment.
She also donates $20 from each necklace made with the paper beads from Uganda, back to Bead For Life, a nonprofit that supports a village in Uganda from the sale of the handmade paper beads.
The site is frequently updated with new custom designed, hand made jewelry and we encourage you to shop our online store for unique, one of a kind jewelry.
