Top 5 Lessons Learned on Set from Kinga Nichols, Bead Embroidery Artist

It’s always a pleasure working with the talent here at Interweave, and Kinga Nichols, bead embroidery artist extraordinaire, was no exception. We had her in the studio filming five new eCourses for all you beady peeps (for those already released – see below). I wish you were here with us — it was a bead party like no other.

First of all Kinga’s bead embroidery jewelry samples were breathtaking and second of all she’s such a giving soul — happy to share all her tips, tricks and beady secrets with us! I wanted to share some of the things I learned from 4 days of filming with her, so grab a cup of java, pull up your most comfy chair and here ya go!

1. Always have lots of eye candy – more than you can possibly use (or wear).

I was gob smacked helping Kinga unload her samples for filming. As you can see, it was a treasure trove of Kinga-goodness and blinded us with beauty and color. She was able to show many examples for each lesson due to her abundance of jewelry. More is better is our jewelry world!

2. Don’t take yourself so seriously.

Even with sleepless nights due to a cold, Kinga had fun on set. With the proper dosage of DayQuill, coffee and chocolate, she was a real trooper laughing all the way. Many adults, unlike children, are challenged with having fun doing something new, like taking a class or learning a new stitch. I’ve even taught a class where one of my students felt such pressure to do the technique perfectly, little beads of sweat dripped onto her little beads in the project! Lighten up folks — this is supposed to be fun!

3. Don’t forget your Bitsies.

Kinga had quite a few “bitsies” which are defined as anything small and cute! She had a sweet little spoon with a baby chick on top for scooping up beads. Here is her fave hand sculpted knot goblin (knot picker) by Kristy Zgoda.” She used this great tool throughout the courses, pointing to this and that. It was highly useful and amusing at the same time.

4. Explore your artistic horizons.

It’s important to step away from your drug of choice — I mean craft of choice from time to time and dabble with another art form. This expands your esthetic and artistic muscles that will overflow into other areas of expression. Kinga not only beads and creates spectacular bead embroidery jewelry, she also paints! Of course her fave subjects are her 2 puppies (more on that later), and finds exploring other mediums help inspire new color pallets in her bead work.

5. Don’t forget the kids.

Beading and crafting should be a family affair and include your kids (even if they have 4 legs). Respectfully, I think Kinga’s necklace looks better on Sammy that her (Shhhhhhhh, don’t tell) although he doesn’t attend nearly as many formal events as Kinga, she has many more opportunities to wear it. Our pets inspire us in every way and shouldn’t feel left out so whip up a collar (maybe peyote stitched) or charm for their collar!

I hope you enjoyed our experience and felt like you were on set with us! Be sure to check out Kinga’s new bead embroidery eCourses and tell us what 5 things YOU learned from her!

Creatively,
Kristal

For more fun with Kinga on set and some tips, be sure to read these other posts:
Bead Embroidery: Behind the Scenes with Kinga Nichols
How to Finish Bead Embroidery Designs Professionally
Bead Embroidery Comes to Life with Kinga Nichols
Bead Embroidery with Kinga Nichols, Sherry Serafini, and Nancy Eha

Get all of these resources by Kinga in our shop!