⌘ Carol H Designs
Understated elegance handcrafted with Swarovski crystal and Sterling silver
Understated elegance handcrafted with Swarovski crystal and Sterling silver
About Carol
I am, by training, an Applied Linguist and, by profession, a teacher of English as a Second Language to adults. I am currently teaching in an intensive university program to international students whose English is not yet advanced enough to enter a university and pursue a degree. I work with a wide diversity of students, from the Middle East as well as Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Here is one of my fondest mental images from my years of teaching: a bearded Libyan student in his thirties or so is walking down the hall with his arm around the shoulder of an older gentleman, also a student, from mainland China. The two of them are deep in conversation - one looking down at the floor in concentration, the other turned towards his friend, explaining.
Although this particular memory is from a quite a few years ago, I often wonder what their conversation was about. My sense is that they could have been discussing world politics, but it could have been about their families or their fields of study. In any case, I like to think that at least a small part of my job has been to foster the seeds of cross-cultural exchange and understanding. This includes breaking down stereotypes of what "Americans" are, too. World peace one person at a time.
So, how did I get involved in making jewelry?
Having been taught to knit as a child, I have always liked creating something that looks very different from the raw material(s) that I begin with. My mom always fixed my knitting disasters, so I was never afraid of tackling a complicated knitting task. Decades later I became a weaver, graduating from working with yarn to 'rags'; I loved working with fabric remnants and/or recycled clothing. My absolute favorite was weaving with plaid or striped materials because the outcome was an unpredictable but gorgeous splash of color. The same was true of combining strips of similar colors with different designs. I am now using that fabric stash to make facemasks.
Weaving with cotton strips made me happy for a long time even though it was a time-consuming endeavor. And then I discovered beads! Actually, they discovered me, and I was instantly smitten.
I had had a great number of private students at the time, which was about twenty years ago. One of them, a Japanese woman, became a great friend, and she invited me to go to a beading workshop with her at a neighborhood bead shop.
"No, no," I told her. "I can't possibly learn another craft. I'm so busy with what I'm doing now."
"You have to, Carol. I can't go by myself. You simply have to come with me."
She practically begged, and I gave in. Little did I know the impact that this three-hour outing would have.
Although this particular memory is from a quite a few years ago, I often wonder what their conversation was about. My sense is that they could have been discussing world politics, but it could have been about their families or their fields of study. In any case, I like to think that at least a small part of my job has been to foster the seeds of cross-cultural exchange and understanding. This includes breaking down stereotypes of what "Americans" are, too. World peace one person at a time.
So, how did I get involved in making jewelry?
Having been taught to knit as a child, I have always liked creating something that looks very different from the raw material(s) that I begin with. My mom always fixed my knitting disasters, so I was never afraid of tackling a complicated knitting task. Decades later I became a weaver, graduating from working with yarn to 'rags'; I loved working with fabric remnants and/or recycled clothing. My absolute favorite was weaving with plaid or striped materials because the outcome was an unpredictable but gorgeous splash of color. The same was true of combining strips of similar colors with different designs. I am now using that fabric stash to make facemasks.
Weaving with cotton strips made me happy for a long time even though it was a time-consuming endeavor. And then I discovered beads! Actually, they discovered me, and I was instantly smitten.
I had had a great number of private students at the time, which was about twenty years ago. One of them, a Japanese woman, became a great friend, and she invited me to go to a beading workshop with her at a neighborhood bead shop.
"No, no," I told her. "I can't possibly learn another craft. I'm so busy with what I'm doing now."
"You have to, Carol. I can't go by myself. You simply have to come with me."
She practically begged, and I gave in. Little did I know the impact that this three-hour outing would have.
Carol H Designs: Timeless jewelry that you will enjoy wearing for years to come