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The Last Word

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Bead without limits,

Barb Switzer
Editor, Simply Beads newsletter

Barb Switzer grew up in a house filled with crafts. Everyone in her family sews and weaves, and her mother is an educator for the Viking sewing machine company. Although Barb tried her hand at sewing, it just wasn’t her craft. Graphics school introduced her to computer typesetting, which became her great passion.

Barb worked for nearly six years as a production manager at a Seattle arts publication while plays and symphony performances kept her evenings full.

For her 30th birthday, she received a set of pliers and a pile of wire from her best friend, who passed away only weeks later. Barb began to work with the tools to help her get through the grieving process, but wirework opened her mind to a world of possibilities. Within months, her entire living room was scattered with wire nibs and beads. Six living rooms and 12 years later, the same is still true!

In her rural northern California home, she and her partner, Burt, always have at least three projects in progress. The house features a koi pond, a small redwood grove and three cats and two dogs, making it an oasis in the woods and a lot of work to maintain. Barb’s time is spent beading, writing, teaching at national bead shows and traveling to warm, sunny places to look for a good snorkel spot.

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