beginning. He has one end of the studio and I have the other end.” The beadwork Margaret produces is an exquisite addition to her lampshades. She uses thousands of beads each year. They range from pearls and crystals to semiprecious stones. A single shade may have more than 1,200 strands of individual beads and crystals all strung by hand. They shift and catch the light making never ending patterns in the slightest air current. Although Margaret loves to create individual lamps and shades for sale, most of her work at present comes in the form of restoration. Her reputation has grown through word of mouth and social media. She notes the excitement of seeing her work on Pinterest and receiving inquiries from companies as far away as Denmark about selling her work. A customer sends her the frame and often the base for a treasured lamp. The customer is involved in every step of the project as she works to replicate the original. After fabrics and trims are chosen, mockups of bead combinations are provided. Depending on the complexities of the project, completion times can vary greatly, how-
ever, anyone who commissions work will have the exact lampshade to compliment a treasured lamp. Finding such a shade is almost impossible in any other way. “The best thing about doing lampshade restoration is when someone brings me a lampshade that was a wedding present to their parents. That is a feeling of real accomplishment. It proves I’m not the only sentimental sap out there,” Margaret says. When it’s finished and my client has tears in their eyes… I got it right.”
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Judy Kuusisto
Judy Kuusisto is an artist, illustrator and writer in the Brainerd lakes area.
SUMMER 2013 | her voice
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