Meet Ruxandra Puscas – Love at First Sight!
Ruxandra began her beading adventure only nine years ago, when a friend, who knew of Ruxandra’s love of earrings, shared an Etsy listing. It was love at first sight! She was mesmerized by the beaded earrings. And, although Ruxandra had shown no artistry as a child, because she was also searching for a way to be a stay-at-home mom, she went into serious research mode – gathering info on beads, threads, techniques – and without yet knowing how to bead, she placed a sizeable order from an online bead store in her home country of Romania.
Fast forward through Youtube beading lessons, sales success, and then…the urge to create her own designs! Aren’t we fortunate that Ruxandra was inspired to “work like a maniac, obsessed by beads and beading”? Having now slowed down to savour beading, her designs are elegant and timeless.
Imagine the pride and joy when Ruxandra saw her earrings worn by Romanian actress Ofelia Popii as she accepted the GOPO Award, 2023, for Best Actress in a Supporting Role!
The actress and earrings – you can grab a tutorial in her Etsy shop – are pictured at left.
Accolades of Ruxandra’s work include:
- Featured, Bead and Butto Magazine
- Cover, Bead & Jewellery Magazine (UK)
- Semi-finalist, Battle of the Beadsmith 2017
- Finalist, BeadDreams 2018
- 1st Place, Concours Perles Puca 2017
- Winner, Reader’s choice Award, 2019 Facet Design Challenge
On Ruxandra’s Etsy shop, you will find 54 tutorials, of various complexities and pieces, as well as some finished products, ready for purchase. All are tasteful and 
classic, sure to stand the test of time and fashion changes. Her most popular tutorial? The Aurora Pendant, pictured to the right. It’s lacy and airy, but also sturdy due to its construction, with layers at different angles – check it out! (BTW, Ruxandra takes all her own photos – a woman of many talents!)
Ruxandra loves seed beads (ah, a beader after my own heart!), and the smaller, the better, Her Caprice Necklace (Battle of the Beadsmith) is made exclusively of 15/0 beads. Along with seeds, her designs incorporate crystals and stones, but not semi-precious stones as their imprecise sizes “mess with my beady mathematics,” as she put it.
In love with all colours – except maybe the neons! – Ruxandra loves making earrings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, hair pins – and uses Fireline, mainly Crystal 4LB, in all her work.
When Ruxandra began beading, the kitchen table was her workspace (how many of us can relate to this?), and although she has her own beading table now, she must still keep it neat, organized, and contained, because of Freddie. You see, furry, four-legged feline, Freddie, loves to keep her company, and also loves to steal bead bags! Ah, those sweet, naughty kittens.
As Ruxandra works on new creations, a process that sometimes requires trying, undoing, restarting, in a process that does not compromise her vision just to save time, she listens to audio books and documentaries, which she credits as “food for both mind and soul.” 
Her newest listing, her first for 2024, is the Marrakesh Bracelet, pictured right. With that sweet dangling heart, I think it would be perfection on Valentine’s Day.
“My customers,” shared Ruxandra, “are folks from all over the world and I am so honoured and thankful to be appreciated and to receive such lovely feedback from very many people.” And we appreciate Ruxandra’s lovely designs – elegant, sometimes sweet, sometimes elaborate, but always tastefully designed.
Find Ruxandra online at
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Margiques
https://www.facebook.com/Ruxandra.Puscas/
Bead sweetly in 2024 my friends,
Cathy
I love your beading! I cannot begin to imagine how your mind works when it comes to designing your pieces. I love how the layering of your pieces gives them so much stability. I am currently working on Joy Flower Pendant. Just completed the first piece and doing a second changing up the stone colors. Thank you for your lovely designs.
Such a wonderful article , glad to get to know more about you and how you started. Have beaded some of your patterns and really love the sparkle ! Love the kitty 🐈⬛