Understanding the Universe through our Beadwork Kate will be speaking about the geometry that drives the universe and illustrating it all in beads! Kate McKinnon, who has been beading since she was a child, has written seven books on metalsmithing, metal clay, and beadwork. Her latest series is CONTEMPORARY GEOMETRIC BEADWORK, focused on the geometry […]

Shown above: Historic New England Mourning Bracelets from Historic New England’s collection. Laura Johnson, Curator of Historic New England (historicnewengland.org), will be speaking. Join Curator Laura E. Johnson for a peek inside New England's jewelry box. This illustrated talk introduces a wide range of Historic New England’s jewels, from eighteenth-century mourning gems to contemporary wampum. […]

This workshop takes the place of the April meeting. NOTE: 2 SPACES LEFT AS OF 4/13/2018. Sign up now! In this workshop you will design and make earrings and/or a pendant using bits of china, glass, pottery, beads, etc. in a mosaic pattern. Come and try your hand at designing your own mosaic jewelry! In […]

Hub of the Jewelry World: Providence, Rhode Island and Attleboro, Massachusetts and the History of American Costume Jewelry Note that this event is at Belmont Art Gallery, NOT LCC. Laura Johnson is a Curator at Historic New England www.historicnewengland.org. She is a specialist in American material life, particularly fashion and adornment. Laura is the author […]

Featured Artist: Ann Conlin Monthly Meeting Ann will be discussing her continuing journey through various areas of glassmaking, focusing primarily on the process of glass beadmaking along with various techniques to achieve different effects. She will also discuss what to look for when purchasing handmade glass beads. Ann Conlin is a Massachusetts based glass artist, […]

NOTE THAT THIS IS ON A MONDAY, NOT A WEDNESDAY Speaker: Ann Benson Ann has worked with beads since age eight and has been a professional beading designer for more than forty years. Her creations in bead crochet and bead embroidery set standards for excellence of design, quality of materials, and originality. Ann’s bead crochet […]

Maria Vitagliano Mount Ida College Professor Emeritus Director of the School of Design at Mount Ida 2001-2012 MFA - Pratt Institute, New York, NY BA - Newton College of the Sacred Heart, Boston College, Newton, MA Maria Vitagliano received her Master of Fine Arts Degree from Pratt Institute in New York where she majored in […]

Free to members, $5 for guests (join now!). Ariana Bishop, Curatorial Research Associate for Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, presents a lecture on Elsa Peretti, jewelry designer. In 2015, Harper’s Bazaar honored the tall Italian aristocrat known for her minimalist designs of jewelry and accessories when they claimed, “Mention the name Elsa […]

Come listen to Brian Robertshaw, the owner of Beadniks in Vermont Contemporary views often categorize beads as an accessory to the fashion industry…this is true in many ways, however over the last 10,000 years, beads have played important roles throughout the world as ceremonial objects, vehicles for trade, and even currency. It is believed that […]

Members Meeting & Lecture Note that this meeting will be held on Friday, November 22, 2019 Contemporary Geometric Beadwork is an open source architectural beadwork project led by Kate McKinnon and a worldwide team of innovators. Kat Oliva is an integral part of the talented team. The lecture will cover the history and evolution of […]

Members Meeting & Lecture Having trouble photographing your products and making them look presentable? Then this is the seminar for you. Hunt’s Photo and Video Education Coordinator and Lecturer, Otha Sonnie will present tips and techniques for photographing your creations in the best possible manner. After working diligently and painstakingly to create a one-of-a-kind product, […]

Members Meeting & Lecture We are excited to present a lecture on polymer clay. Come back for a description of this evening's lecture at our regular monthly meeting. There may also be an associated workshop, check back soon.   Free to members, $5 for guests, can be applied to membership if signed up within the month […]

Members Meeting & Demonstration Presented by Sarah Beardslee via Zoom Sarah Beardslee has been designing jewelry and beaded gifts for 13 years. The creative process feeds her soul. By sharing her designs with the world, she aims to nourish those that encounter her as well. She is inspired by history, nature, and concepts from personal […]

On June 17 our BDI Members Dinner will be held via Zoom 6:30 - 9:00. We also have a presentation from the BeadFX bead store from Toronto, Canada Hi, Here's the latest update on the lemons to lemonade theme. BDI's annual members meeting and dinner, is scheduled for next Wednesday, 6/17/20, at 6:30pm. Every year […]

Wednesday September 9 presentation after the monthly Members meeting will be a shared screening of a PBS Nevada video clip about PowWow beader and dancer Teresa Melendez, followed by discussion and Q&A. Our new BDI programming year starts off with a video and presentation on Native American beading. Teresa Melendez is an enrolled citizen of […]

Business meeting, 6:30 – 7:00pm Program, 7:00pm TOM RICH will take us on an illustrated, guided tour featuring 30+ slides of how gems are mined. His educational background includes not only Geology, but also Aeronautical Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Business. Tom spent 52 years in research and development, the last 25 of which were […]

This is a monthly Members Meeting that includes a business meeting followed by a presentation. Members get together, via Zoom at present; hopefully, in person in the future. Members Meeting is free for Members Nonmembers Free for first visit; membership, $25.00, required thereafter Registration for this Members Meeting can only be done by using the […]

Business meeting, 6:30pm Program, 7:00pm Faking It – Plastic Imitations of Organic Materials by Rosanna Falabella This is a monthly Members Meeting that includes a business meeting followed by a presentation. Members get together, via Zoom at present; hopefully, in person in the future. Presentation Overview Rare and precious natural materials used for jewelry and […]

This is a monthly Members Meeting that includes a business meeting followed by a presentation. Members get together, via Zoom at present; hopefully, in person in the future. Business meeting, 6:30pm Business portion of the meeting: Two especially important matters on this year’s Annual Meeting agenda are to approve the Bylaws (recently updated thanks to […]

This is a monthly Members Meeting that includes a business meeting followed by a presentation. Members get together, via Zoom at present; hopefully, in person in the future.Business meeting, 6:30pm EDTChaired by Sarah Beardslee, meet your new BDI Board and get all the updates regarding Bead Affaire 2021 and upcoming programming.Program, 7:00pmKim Leahy/Esther Beadwork Lecture & Trunk […]

This is a monthly Members Meeting that includes a business meeting followed by a presentation. Members get together, via Zoom at present; hopefully, in person in the future. Business meeting, 6:30pm EDT Chaired by Sarah Beardslee, find out about upcoming programming. Program, 7:00pm More Fabulous Fakes with David Vance Horste This presentation won't teach you […]