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My name is Theresa Landow, and I am the owner and head designer for The Beaded Branch.
I started making beaded jewelry in 1999, and fell in love with it. What started as a hobby, soon became something of an obsession with me. I took a couple of basic classes from a local bead store, and soon was known as "that lady who is always working with beads" at my regular job at the local community college. Friends of the family noticed, and were soon giving me all sort of broken necklaces they didn't want any more, and bags of beads that were just lying around their homes. The next thing I knew, I had more jewelry than I could wear in a lifetime.
A friend of my mom's suggested that I sell some of my jewelry at a local craft show, and my business was born!
People often ask "Why did you name your business The Beaded Branch?"
The answer is actually quite simple.
When I would tell people that I really like to make jewelry, I would then have to explain that it was the beaded branch of jewelry, as opposed to the metalsmithing, glass working, fiber art, or any other branch of jewelry making. Hence, the name "The Beaded Branch" was born.
Plus, I really like trees and wanted to incorporate the idea of a tree into my business name somehow.
While I still love creating jewelry, I felt it was time to expand, learn new things, and create new lines. After taking one class in painting silk, I found a new passion. I love the fact that each piece of silk I paint is a true original, unique, and beautiful in its own way. I can color outside the lines, or with no lines at all, and create a beautiful work of wearable art. I’m looking forward to many years of not only creating works of art myself, but also starting to teach this fabulous art form.
Almost all the profits raised by The Beaded Branch will eventually be going to help start a new business that will bring craft classes, studio space, and gallery space to my local community. These classes will be open to students of all ages, and will reach out to a variety of groups, offer employment to art teachers who might be losing their jobs due to the loss of art programs in schools, and help artisans from all over the world create new markets for their unique, one of a kind pieces.
The Beaded Branch is actually not just me, Theresa Landow, but it is also a family business.
Talented family members are always contributing new pieces for me to sell and continually expand out our lines. Please read further to “meet” our talented family!
Rose Meese, talented seamstress and card making artist. Rose has been sewing for over 50 years, and I reaped the benefits of this growing up, since she’s also my mother. She has recently discovered card making, and makes our lovely blank note cards, applying what she has learned about color and style from her long experience in quilting and clothes making.
We have a fabulous chainmaille artist, and jack of all trades in the business, Tim Landow. He is meticulous, and very analytically minded, so chainmaille is a perfect medium for him, which calls for exact measurements, and a very linear way of thinking.
We now even have a third generation of artists helping out! Our darling identical twin boys are also falling in love with simple jewelry making, and painting, too! Some of the scarves available on our website are painted by these two “Lil’ Twigs”, which is a tiny little splinter division of The Beaded Branch. A portion of the money earned by their artistic endeavors goes into their school fund, to help cover books, school supplies and field trips.