Anna Mancini

Many people who know me assume that since I come from Italy, it is no surprise that I love glass and crystal, and beading with it. But the reality is that I came to beading late, when I was in my early thirties, and had already been in the States for 7 years. While in Italy, I never even thought about beading!

The reason I first paid attention to these little treasures is that I am allergic to base metals, and got tired of having to buy silver or gold all the time… I strung the first few necklaces for myself, and when people starting noticing my (then simple) jewelry, I started making it for them as well.

Soon I was bored with simple stringing and went looking for challenges. I was lucky, because just about then, beads were enjoying a huge comeback, sort of a resurgence…there was a lot of material for anyone who wanted to learn, and over the years the material has become even more abundant.

I am totally self-taught, one of those individuals who can read about a technique in a book and immediately understand it, and soon found that the process of designing and creating with these tiny little objects, tedious for many people, centered and relaxed me; and it spurred me to try new and different things with every new creation.

Twenty eight years and many challenges later, I still look to beading as my stress-reducer, my passion, my fun time, the job that I love to do full time. I totally lose track of time when I am at my beading table, and many chores go undone, I am ashamed to admit… but I have a wonderfully understanding husband who indulges my obsession and a marvelous daughter who admires my skill and motivates the business part of me (not well-developed)…so who cares about the chores?

Most of my pieces are one-of-a-kind. I rarely, if ever, repeat a design, and when it happens, it’s almost never exactly the same piece. The pieces I repeat are usually rings and earrings, upon request from customers.

The materials I use are of the best quality I can find: sterling silver, silver-filled brass and gold-filled brass are used for any metal parts and accents. I use Czech glass, Swarovski and Austrian crystals, Japanese and Czech seed beads, fresh-water pearls, semi-precious stones and cabochons, vintage buttons and special findings, domestic Soutache braid and Japanese Shibori silk ribbon; Ultrasuede (a man-made, waterproof suede-like material) for backing of many stitched and embroidered pieces. Sometimes a less expensive metal finding is used, if I have found it to perform well; I always pass the savings along to the customer.

The choice (which at times takes hours) of the right materials and the right colors, along with the techniques I use (perfected over 28 years of practice) make most of my pieces true heirlooms. While I do offer a variety of jewelry (from the simple ring to the more complex pieces), the quality of the workmanship and materials is the same for every piece. At my discretion, I accept special requests and try to fulfill them to the best of my abilities.