Hello! And welcome to my journal. I call myself the Beading Gem because of my given name Pearl (really!) and because I love beading and jewelry. So much so in early 2005, I started my own small business offering a Design Your Own Jewelry service to local budding enthusiasts (see Workshops and Home Beading Parties) initially in Halifax and surrounds, Nova Scotia, Canada. As we have way too much fun designing jewelry at BG home parties and workshops, I found I had little time to tell the fascinating stories behind the beads and gemstones we use and about jewelry too.So it was time for another "facet" of the Beading Gem. The Beading Gems Journal is the place for all those stories I never get to tell, melding all my passions - writing, reading,crafts, history and science (I was then a scientist by day) into this blog.Check back often for "nuggets" of information. Better still, subscribe and dont miss a post! Its free.Here too will be a showcase of original beader designs. I am often awed by how good some of the jewelry which comes together in a single afternoon are and by beginners who have never ever beaded before! The work of artisan jewelers from around the world are also featured, providing all of us with inspirational designs.I have also written about the many free tutorials shared by other artisans and contributed some of my own. They mark the many things I have learned along my journey as a jewelry artisan.I hope you will join me.Update : I retired from my scientific job late in 2012 and moved to the Waterloo-Kitchener-Cambridge area Ontario. Meet me at the Grand River Bead Society meetings where I am now a member! Stay tuned for more from the Beading Gem!Do drop me a line or comment. I love to hear from readers.