About the artist
Hi, I’m Karina, a bead artist creating contemporary beadwork for the confident, unconventional wearer. The shapes and colours of the natural world are at the heart of my work. Among my pieces you’ll find beaded flowers and butterfly wings, high-quality natural stone and crystal, and the flowing organic lines of leaves, wind-blown clouds, and ocean currents.
I’m also a fantasy author, a lifelong reader, and a maker who collects hobbies. My current obsessions include mosaic art, soap making, fountain pens, and home canning. I live in a century home in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, with my husband and our miniature poodle.
Empowerment through Adornment
I believe in empowerment through adornment. Jewellery is about more than decoration; it’s a way the wearer can:
Express their thoughts, feelings, and personality
Transform their physical appearance to attract, shape, or redirect attention
Strengthen or armor themselves against internal and external challenges.
Adornment is deeply personal—and beadwork is, to me, a perfect medium to create such personal work.
Every beaded piece I create is meticulously sewn by hand, bead by bead, with no easy shortcuts or ways to speed up production.
Every beaded piece is unique, shaped by the natural variations in the materials and my thoughts and mood as I create.
Every beaded piece is its own work of art, looking for the right wearer to help bring it to life.
Why use jewellery as a means of self-expression?
I came to understand jewellery’s power during a time when I went without adornment. After moving from Toronto to a rural cottage by Lake Huron, I stopped dressing up. Comfortable clothing, easy hairstyles, no jewellery; why bother with more when there’s no one to impress?
But I soon realized I didn’t feel quite like myself. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t being seen: my jewellery was for me, and without it I felt unmoored. With this understanding, I reached for earrings—six hoops, three for each ear—and immediately felt better.
Since then, I’ve embraced jewellery as the core of my personal style. Through jewellery choices, I can express my moods and personality, bolster my confidence, or provide important symbolic reminders. Some days, my choices are more minimal. Other days, I embrace a “more is more” mentality, stacking rings and bracelets and enjoying the sparkle of my brightest, most eye-catching earrings. Beaded jewellery—bright, beautiful, expressive—is almost always part of the mix.
In making bead embroidered jewellery, I want to gift others with their own moments of self-discovery, empowerment, and self-expression. I aim to craft pieces that connect emotionally with their intended wearer; pieces that make a person feel stronger, more seen, more themselves.
Perhaps I’ve crafted something just for you.