Hi. Now a little bit about me, Cathi Milligan, the creator of Beadbrains. It seems like I've always made jewelry. From the phone wire jewelry at age 5, to macrame in the 70's and rhinestones in the 80's, I have always been fascinated with adornment. Beads have been the mainstay of those interests. And selling jewelry began at a fairly early age too. In the 70's I was making turquoise, coral and heishi and liquid silver necklaces and selling them regularly. I was a pretty industrious pre-teen. I was even able to get a turquoise necklace to Michael Jackson's younger brother, Randy who wore it in the intro to their variety show "The Jackson's". There is definitely an advantage to living in Los Angeles with the entertainment industry everywhere.
Now back to beads. When I got the opportunity to learn glass beadmaking I jumped at the chance. It's so rewarding to work the hot glass into these great little pieces of art. I was learning how to make beads that were much more varied than anything out there I could buy. Now the jewelry I make is unique and special. Color combinations are my choice, not just what's available in the stores or catalogs. And as of recently I 've started playing with Precious Metal Clay and creating my own molds for fabricating fine silver findings and goodies for my jewelry.
Besides jewelry and beadmaking I am also a graphic artist which I have done almost as long as jewelry making and love just as much. I split my time between the two interests and try to enhance my beadmaking with my graphics knowledge as often as possible. Sometimes the two cross over as when I did the conference materials for the Society of Glass Beadmakers Corning Conference way back when or by creating this web site...
...So I get this message from the owner of one of the stores that sells my jewelry back in 1998. It seems some of my jewelry was on the cover of In Style magazine. The stylist had used my stuff on Bette Midler and her Jack Russell terrier, Puddles. Inside the magazine there were more pictures of Bette and Puddles adorned. I couldn't have been more thrilled. Actually I screamed a bunch. Through that the jewelry for pets started. People started custom ordering pieces for their cats and dogs. Soon after, I started making actual leather dog collars with beaded charms as decoration. During the Christmas season my collars were seen on "Hard Copy" as items that celebrities were buying as holiday gifts. Who would have thought. Now not only can people be stylishly adorned but their pets can too. I've even made matching items for both pet and owner. I've also added doggie & kittie charms to my current line of pet products. They are sooo cute! They attach to your pets collar right where their tags go. If you are interested in dog products please Go to order info. At this time I don't have information on the site for them.
Back in 1999 I was featured on a show on TLC (The Learning Channel), called "Slice of Life". It was a great show that profiled professional women of all sorts and now lives occassionally in cable TV's ever changing lineup. I was recommended for the show by a store that I sell jewelry to in the LA area, called Uncle Jer's (great store!!!). They spent a day and a half with me documenting the things that I do. I was shown making beads, buying glass, and appointments with a new client and an established client. Both of those appointments introduce new products for me. I meet with a photographer and have some jewelry shots taken, and also hang out with my dog Frank, shown right below in one of his fancy collars. The show aired four times on TLC and now lives in cable TVland. Because of my TV experience I was able to speak in front of The Los Angeles Bead Society and share more about the contemporary lampwork bead movement. I have since been asked by them to design a commemorative for their 25th Anniversary.
As I mentioned on the home page, I was recognized by Bead & Button magazine for my tiny dichroic beads which are currently available. They will be used in a future project that will be in Bead & Button magazine. As soon as I know more I'll post the info. Also, Crafts Report magazine, (great publication) has posted an online interview with me. And another acknowledgement was written in Glass magazine which includes a picture of me at my table during the Urban Glass Bead Expo which I participated in. I will also show some clips of pictures of my jewelry as shown in a couple of Japanese fashion magazines. Let's keep the press coming!!!
Through the TLC appearance I was able to do a small project on a show called Operation Style on the LifeTime Network. I demonstrated how to make a charm bracelet with wire wrapping. That has lead to what has turned out to be 6 different episodes of the Do It Yourself Network's show DIY Jewelry Making. I've shown how to make glass beads 4 times, etched and fused dichroic glass and macrame'd a necklace that has since appeared in DIY's new book on beadwork, Dazzling Beaded Jewelry (DIY): 50 Great Projects (DIY Network) with Jackie Guerra. Whoo hoo!
My appearances on DIY Jewelry Making helped me to get two more TV tapings for DIY's new show CraftLab. Those episodes will be shown in 2007 and I'll update as soon as I know more. I've expanded my horizons by demonstrating precious metal clay and glass fusing.
This is my dog Frank wearing one of his collars.
