SPOTLIGHT ON ... DESIGNER
September 2006

Our featured designer for this month is Nancy Sathre-Vogel.

Every bead tells a story. And if those beads happen to be from Nancy Sathre-Vogel's bead box, they scream, shout, yell and holler, with each bead clamoring to be heard above the din. Each bead has a story and in this case, the stories are equally as wonderful and fascinating as the beads themselves.

That bead over there in the corner tells of Nancy rummaging through dusty piles of junk in the markets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, seeking out treasures for her beadwork. And that bead? That one cries out tales of wild taxi rides careening through busy bazaars in search of that perfect treasure straight out of King Tut's tomb in Egypt. And that big bead right there - right next to the amber one? Well that one tells of adventures bead seeking in Mali...or is it Bali? Or maybe Taiwan?

Each bead tells a story, and woven together into intricate pieces of art they chronicle bits and pieces of Nancy's life. They tell stories of being stranded by a blizzard for weeks at 16,000 feet in the Anapurnas, or pedaling a bicycle hour after hour through the stark and barren landscapes of Yemen. They bellow out tales of wandering the desert sands of Timbuktu, or dancing with traditional Navajo dancers during Pow-Wows. They reflect the fear and uncertainty she experienced in the aftermath of the tsunami. And, if you listen carefully, they might even tell stories of living in a mud and straw hut by the shores of the Honduran Mosquitia.

So what do you get when you combine these stories, the beads that tell them, and exquisite handiwork? What comes out of Nancy's hands are unique, one-of-a-kind works of art that tell stories. One cannot look upon Nancy's collection and not wonder of the stories they hold and the adventures they chronicle. Her pieces are truly imaginative, inspired by events and experiences very few people ever encounter. Nancy's stories have captured the imaginations of people in the furthest corners of the globe.

Nancy and her family have recently embarked upon a year-long adventure bicycling around the USA, and it is inevitable that even more beads and more stories will be added to her bead box. There in one thing that is sure: Nancy's life is anything but "typical" and so is her beadwork!

So what does all this have to do with Soft Flex® Company and their products? A lot of my beads are heavy - too heavy to trust to regular beading thread. I prefer Soft Flex® 49 strand beading wire because it provides the strength that I need, and the flexibility that I like in my pieces.