Heather Powers

Heather Powers has been organizing the Bead Cruise for over 12 years! Heather loves inspiring others on their creative journey. She's so thrilled to share this adventure year after year. 

Heather is the busy beadmaker and jewelry designer behind Humblebeads. Creating and selling for over 23 years, Heather also teaches across the country and hosts retreats.  She sells her beads around the world and at Bead & Button and BeadFest. Heather is the author of Jewelry Designers from Nature, Beautiful Elements and the Beadmaking Lab.  

See more of Heather's work at www.humblebeads.com. 

Beki Haley

Beki Haley has been in love with beads for over 40 years now.  She was introduced to the amazing art form of seed bead weaving her Grandmother when she was a child.  That early start in exploring the intricacies and fine detail that can be attained with seed beads has stayed with Beki throughout her life.  Even as a young teen, Beki loved teaching others all the beautiful things that can be created with beads.  She has over 30 years of teaching experience in several different venues from large auditorium settings tointimate one-on-one classes.

Training as a classic silversmith at a young age gave Beki an appreciation and understanding of the art and beauty of jewelry design.  Beki uses those formal skills to teach the technical aspects of jewelry design.  In her classes, the students learn the importance of attention to detail and craftsmanship while exploring their natural creativity.  Her love and beads led Beki to opener own bead store, Out on A Whim, in 1986. With her husband, four children, several animals, and days filled with beads, Beki's life is complete. Visit Beki's site for more information: www.whimbeads.com. 
 

Mary Hettsmansperger

Mary Hettmansperger is a fiber and jewelry artist who has been exhibiting and teaching across the U.S. and abroad for 30 years. SOFA, Bead&Button Show, national and regional fiber conferences, basketry and beading conferences, art and craft schools, private guilds, galleries, and art shows are some of the venues to which she lends her instruction and art work.

Mary has authored and illustrated four books: “Fabulous Woven Jewelry,” “Wrap, Stitch, Fold and Rivet,” “Mixed Metal Jewelry Workshop” and “Heat, Color, Set and Fire.” Mary has also done several instructional DVDs (published by Interweave). Her art work and designs have been published in numerous books including “500 Baskets,” “Fiber Arts Design Book 7,” “The Gourd Book,” “Fabulous Found Object Jewelry,” “Teapots - Makers and Collectors,” “Beading with Crystals,” “Creative Beading Volume 2.” She does segments for the PBS programs “Beads, Baubles and Jewels” and “Quilting Arts,” and has had her work published in numerous magazines and publications.

To view more of Mary's work visit her website: www.maryhetts.com

Sherry Serafini

Sherry was voted one of the top 10 instructors in the United States by Bead & Button magazine. She lectures and teaches throughout the world and has won numerous award for excellence in design, including Saul Bell Outstanding Jewelry Design Award; Bead International 2006; People’s Choice Bead Dreams; and Best in Show runner-up Bead Dreams.

Sherry has been published and written articles for several well-known magazines. Her work has been featured on the covers of trade magazines and catalogs and is the author of the newly released Inspired Bead Embroidery, Sensational Bead Embroidery and co-author of the “Art of Bead Embroidery” with artist and her dear friend Heidi Kummli.

Sherry’s beaded art is known internationally and is owned and worn by Grammy winner Melissa Etheridge, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, and Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas.

Visit Sherry's website: www.serafinibeadedjewelry.com

Kim Stathis

Throughout Kim's life she has needed a creative outlet. She has played with many different types of mediums and loved them all. What really captured her heart and inspired her creative soul were seedbeads! There is just something alluring and special about those little bits of colored glass that she cannot resist. Kim loves the challenge of designing with seedbeads using off-loom techniques. So many colors, textures and shapes! So many ways to express yourself with beads.

Kim has been teaching her designs nationally for the past thirteen years. It is her hope that students will be inspired by what they have learned in class and continue to do beadwork and enjoy it as much as she does.

Her designs have been featured for the Bead and Button show, published in the Bead and Button magazine and in Larks Showcase 500 Jewelry Book.

Marcia Balonis

Marcia has a lifelong passion for jewelry. As a young girl she remembers playing in her mothers jewelry box and fondling each treasure. That passion for wonderful trinkets led to beading as the outlet for her creative energies. She started making her own jewelry as a teenager during the ‘hippie’ years. She jokingly says that was more than 5 years ago. Later, on many trips with her mother, Marcia saw the possibility of a ‘bead’ in the environment.

Many of her fun designs using unusual found materials have been published in magazines and books. During her financial career, she traveled around the country for her job and often took art classes to relax. Marcia then began teaching at various venues including conventions, stores, and adult education centers. She found teaching beading much more rewarding than teaching accounting! In retirement, she has happily gone from being a “Bean Counter” in the financial world to counting beads.

She has been published numerous times in magazines in the United States including in Bead and Button and Europe including Perlen Poesie and Bead and Jewellery magazine. She has designed for Starman as one of the Trendsetters and for The Beadsmith as part of the Inspiration Squad. Here first book, Lush & Layered bead weaving, stitch jewelry with texture & dimension is published from Kalmbach.  

Now in Florida, she enjoys teaching beading at local bead stores, an occasional bead retreat somewhere in the United States, other regional or national conventions and of course the annual Bead and Button convention in Milwaukee, WI.

See more of her work at Baubles by Balonis.