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Hi, I'm Sooz.

I started making Jewellery in 1990 when I was expecting my first child, I sold these designs via House Parties with a friend, but beads were not as easy to come by then, in Carlisle there was only one shop with a very small assortment, and no internet access.

As a lot of hobbies, it got pushed to one side while I concentrated on family life, but in 2004 during a trip to the USA I found a huge craft shop with two aisles full of beads!  The interest was re-awakened, how we got back to the UK without paying excess charges is a mystery.

After a year of playing with beads again I decided to try and take it a step further and make my own, so I did some research into Lampworking, and during another trip to the USA in 2005 I purchase a hot-head torch and all the bits to start work.

My first beads were hardly anything to shout about, but I stuck at it.  I have since attended workshops with Kate Drew-Wilkinson, Dora Schubert, Ray Skene and Laura Sparling.

My first Bead

Soon after I upgraded my torch to a dual fuel torch, and set up a workshop in the shed in the garden, around the same time I opened my online Bead Shop and named it The Bead Shed, but before long I had outgrown the shed and moved into a retail unit.  In August 2008 my Husband, Andrew, joined me as a partner and together we moved into a larger unit and added an exciting Glass Workshop.

So, now we teach Beading, Lampworking, Fusing and other beady stuff.  You can see some of my designs in the UK beading magazines 'Bead' and 'Beads & Beyond'.

Sooz

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