Hi
I don’t really have a job title as such but, “Pearl Restringer” seems to fit well enough.
I am self-employed and have been doing what I do for a living for many years now. Before then playing with beads was just a hobby – now I get paid for doing what I love! I also work in a jewellers so I am surrounded by beautiful things all day – I am one very lucky girl!
I learnt the art of restringing professionally at the Holts Academy in London but the practice of restringing I am still learning today. Every job is a lesson and the day I stop overcoming problems is the day I will put my silk down and quit.
I work from home and sit at my work table probably 3 nights a week and can easily lose 2-3 hours in one sitting either with commission jobs, my own designs or just playing at something new. I mainly work for the trade – supplying a repair service for their customer’s jewellery but I also take on jobs directly from customers. See my services and price list here.
I love what I do and one day would like to do this full time or perhaps teach others the trade. Until then, I will sit happily at my work table whenever I can and knot away the hours…
Update: 30th August 2016:
Wow! how quickly things change! I just thought that I would add a paragraph at the end of this page to make it more current! While the above is still true, since I wrote this short welcome page, I have got married, moved house and am now expecting our first baby! I have also discovered crochet and fast becoming addicted! I am still restringing pearls though and hope to continue when baby arrives! Lots of changes but all good and keep checking back to find out more!
Update: 2nd February 2017
To add to the above, I am delighted to share the news that we had a beautiful baby boy just before Christmas. I took a few months off from my restringing but I am now back up and running. I am lucky to be able to work from home with my baby with me and have an amazingly supportive husband and family who are happy to entertain the little one when I need to work.
Update: 11th February 2023
I thought it was about time I updated this page – we now have two wild but beautiful boys. Life is a cycle of monster trucks, lightsabres, cuddles and mud! The boys are settled at school and pre-school allowing me time to continue to offer my restringing service to local jewellers and direct to customers.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me for more information.