I was born and raised in Japan where I finished my college with a major in Spanish.   I went to Peru to perfect my Spanish then back to Japan where I was hired by a company and was transferred to Atlanta GA in September '93, planning to stay here only a year or so.   I didn't speak much English then, (actually I could not even buy a coke at the airport!!), but somehow I met my husband who speaks little Japanese and now we have 3 boys, (aged 8, 6 years old and almost 19 months old)!!!

I don't remember how and when I started thinking about glass beads.   One incident that I clearly recall was that there was a lady on a flight coming back from Italy to Atlanta where I was working as a flight attendant.   She wore the most beautiful and interesting necklace with glass beads, and she said that her daughter made it, (I wish I had her name).   That instant I thought that one day I wanted to make such a beautiful thing with my hands.

When I found a basic glass beads making class, I also found myself pregnant.   I waited until my baby was born healthy, and then bought a kit at a local Hobby Lobby and made my first bead on Labor day weekend '03.   It was a total disaster!!   But it did not discourage me at all.   Instead, I was obsessed by glass since then and have been making beads almost every day.

We have a saying in Japan, " Perseverance brings success, (Ishi no uenimo san nen)", which means if you keep doing the same thing for 3 years, even though it seems too hard to accomplish, you will succeed.   I have been making beads for only 19 months, so I still have a little time before my 3 years are up to perfect my technique.

I want to thank all my fellow bead makers for their suggestions and assistance in making beads.   I also want to give Bob and Bettina a special thanks for the invitation to be a featured artist.

(Sachiko)