Barbara’s addiction to glass beads began in the early 1990s but she was never content just to buy - she had to make them too.
About 1994 she discovered she could make glass beads at home but it was in 1996 when she was fortunate enough to attend the bead bazaar at the Seattle Gathering of the Society of Glass Bead-makers, and it was then that she decided that this was what she wanted to do more than anything else.
She took her first class with Kate Drew-Wilkinson in 1997 and since then has not looked back!
Her degree in the physical sciences has given her an in-depth understanding of the behaviour of hot glass and this, combined with her love of art and her practical experience as a laboratory science teacher, has moulded her into one of the countries foremost glass bead-making tutors that she is today.

Barbara, I just want to say that I had a great weekend with you, learning the craft of bead-making, and I am amazed at the results achieved in such a short time! You were a very patient teacher, and the array of supplies was second to none. I now have the inspiration and confidence to go ahead and buy the equipment to make my own beads, and I shall do this as soon as possible and I am looking forward to creating some wonderful beads of my own. Once again, many thanks for a lovely weekend

Dear Barbara, it has taken me a few days to recover from the fantastic weekend I have just spent with you exploring the do’s & don’ts of lampworking. I am amazed at the amount of work you covered, your relaxed method of teaching by demonstrations and clear guidelines were very easy to follow.
I cannot believe how soon I was working away on the torch, and with lots of free time for personal practice to explore at my own pace I completed quite a stash of lovely beads made from your wonderful large selection of glass. I will enjoy adding my beads to various pieces of jewellery in the near future. You were very generous with your time and ready to answer all sorts of questions regarding beading contacts, books, equipment and suppliers. I will certainly recommend you to like-minded friends and keep in touch and hope to visit you again in future.

Dear Barbara, Just a quick note to thank-you for a wonderful weekend. Your instruction and patience was second to none and we learnt an awful lot and had plenty of free time to practice what we learnt. We have come away with some beads we are proud of and which we feel are good enough to integrate into pieces of jewellery, and having been kindly annealed by yourself they will survives the years. We were very impressed with the choice of glass available to us and all the facilities that you have, lunch was far more than we expected. Thank-you for all your advice on equipment purchase and set-up. We had a really good time. Best Wishes.