Meet Sian Nolan
Siân Nolan –pronounced Sharn, Welsh for the name Jane – lives on England’s south coast, near Portsmouth with husband, Tony. Their two sons are grown and off on their own, but they have a recent addition, a tiny Yorkshire Terrier, Poppy. (Isn’t she the cutest!?)
Beady Beginnings
Siân began beading over 25 years ago to fill the time whilst her husband worked away with the Royal Navy.
Crafting came naturally as in her childhood home, Mum and Dad were both creative. Her Mum taught her to knit quite early, after which Siân added cross-stitch and bobbin lace making. When her Mum gifted her a beaded needle case kit one Christmas, Siân was hooked on tiny glass seed beads in a sort of “eureka” moment of bliss!
Making use of books, magazines, and purchased kits, she learned many techniques. After a while friends encouraged Siân to design and to teach workshops, and here she is now, with 53 patterns on Etsy!
In Print
Since those early days, Siân’s work has been published in several magazines:
· Bead & Jewellery (UK),
· Perlen Poesie (German),
· The Journal (UK Beadworkers Guild).
Siân’s whimsical pieces have also been selected for few books:
· Marcia DeCoster Presents, and
· Perlen & Freundschaft by Petra Tismer
“In 2015 I was absolutely thrilled to have my own book published. ‘Siân’s Needle Cases’ (available from Creanon) contains a collection of whimsical beaded needle cases and scissor charms. It was so much fun to come up with all the different ideas and then bring them to life.”
Siân’s Beady Journey
Siân shared how beading has impacted and become such a big part of her life – something she could never have imagined when she first started on her beady path.
Beading led to travel opportunities to inspiring beading events in the UK, Germany, Italy & USA. At these events, taking classes from beading idols such as Marcia DeCoster, Diane Fitzgerald, and Laura McCabe, to name a few, Siân found a like-minded community and made lasting, worldwide friendships.
Siân has one big beady dream she hopes to fulfill, and that is to visit Japan. Fascinated with all things Japanese, Siân loves the “kawaii” style. [From Wikepedia: The kawaii aesthetic is characterized by soft or pastel colors, rounded shapes, and features which evoke vulnerability, such as big eyes and small mouths, and has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, influencing entertainment (including toys and idols), fashion, advertising, and product design.]
She has stocked her library with Japanese beading books and magazines, and along with exploring the kawaii style, she’d love to visit the Miyuki factory “to see where our treasured teeny tiny beads are born! One day maybe….”
Style and Design
Bright colours are a feature of Siân’s work. A quick perusal of the 84 listings on her Etsy Shop, Sian Nolan, makes one of her favourite colour combos clear: shocking pink, zingy orange, and a dash of zesty lime.
“I absolutely LOVE colour and find opaques work best for me. I’m not a huge fan of different shaped beads and prefer to work with Miyuki and Toho seed beads and the more traditional shapes.”
As well as jewellery, Siân loves to design – and is rather known for – quirky ornaments made in either peyote or brick stitch, to which she enjoys adding fun embellishments, which she says are “usually a bit silly, but they make me smile.”
(And sshhhh…but she confesses to still love the sparkle of Swarovski.)
Tools
Siân works with a good sturdy size 10 needle and her preference is to use beading thread, where possible, such as K.O or One-G.
Along with beading, Siân recently gifted herself a fancy sewing machine. She’s busy amassing a stash of brightly coloured fabrics. “Cutting fabric,” she says, “is scary so mostly I like to just look at it!” (This is how so much of my life evolves, too; lots of prep and thinking about it, until finally I get up the courage to jump in. It took me six months to use a bread machine for the first time LOL!) I’m sure that Siân’s sewing will inspire new beaded creations, or maybe vice versa?
New addition, Poppy, a sweet, if needy Yorkshire Terrier, led Siân back to knitting. As most of us crafters know, it’s possible to do some crafts with a small cat or dog in our laps!
I leave you with one of Siân’s quirky, delightful bead designs, endearingly named “The Frog formerly known as Prince.” Until next time, Hoppy Beading! Cathy
P.S. If you like this hoppy fellow, you might like Larry the Lama, Hens in Heels, Petunia the Skating Pig, See you Later Alligator…. you’ll find tutorials in Siân’s Etsy shop!
P.P.S. Find Siân on Instagram: @beadworkbysian and on Facebook