“For me, it’s all about making Crystal Bead Bazaar a haven of creativity and community for amateur and professional artisans.”
Trish
CBB Artisan Employees
Trish Kroboth
Owner & Bead Artisan
With nearly 20 years of jewelry making experience, Trish is the primary owner of CBB. She loves beading of all types ranging from bead embroidery, crochet and kumihimo to bead weaving, leather and wirework. Over the years, she expanded her repertoire of beading techniques primarily by reading from her now-extensive collection of books and magazines on jewelry-making. She has also learned a great deal from teachers at Crystal Bead Bazaar. Trish seeks to make Crystal Bead Bazaar a haven for those who share her love of all things beads and jewelry making.
Dana Coury
Manager & Bead Artisan
Dana Coury spent much of her youth in New Orleans. She attended Louisiana State University and Kent State University, where she earned her B.A. and Master’s degrees (respectively) in Anthropology. Her love of broken bits of pottery, shards of flint, obsidian, cave paintings, and prehistory drew her to beads and beading, an art that has existed for over 100,000 years. Her New Orleans aesthetics and participation in yearly Mardi Gras activities attracts her to all things that glitter, even if they are not gold. Bead embroidery is her specialty, though she enjoys every form of beadwork. Dana works mixed-media strategies, mythology, and folklore into her bead embroidery designs, creating a story with texture, rich colors, and light-catching illusion to capture the eye. Being the Manager at CBB is a dream job, surrounded by sparkly crystals, gleaming charms, and the wonderful people of the crafting community. Dana’s passion for the process of the creation of art makes her an enthusiastic instructor at the Crystal Bead Bazaar, where she also sells her jewelry.
Bhairavi Chandersekhar
Computer Whiz & Artisan in Training!
Bhairavi is a student at Carnegie Mellon University studying physics! Having grown up in a family that has a love of all crafts, she feels right at home at Crystal Bead Bazaar. She is enjoying getting to know and learn from the community of bead artists who frequent the store. She has shown herself to be quick study on learning new beading technique. She has tackled bead knotting, stringing, and is working on mastering bead weaving techniques, starting with peyote!
Judi Juselius
Bead Artisan
Ever since I was a little girl I knew I had a strong need to create. I had worked with various mediums and when I walked into Crystal Bead Bazaar 14 years ago, I found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life! I am a bead embroiderer and I spend endless hours with joy in my heart. My work is filled with a few other passions . . . mostly vintage buttons and old flea market pieces that touch my heart. I never know when I start where the piece will lead me. I glue down a focal and then a story begins. When I took my first embroidery class the instructor said the beads will talk to you! Really??? In fact they do. Everyone has passions and embroidery is a fabulous way to find who you are. CBB is a very special place . . . I have made so many friendships there over the years. I thoroughly enjoy helping customers pick colors to create their treasures. I cherish my creations, which are a legacy to my family .... thanks for reading my message and I hope to see you soon! Judi
Lillian (Lil) Wright
Bead Artisan
“I have been beading for approximately 15 years and have purely enjoyed the creativity, the challenge of intricate pieces and the opportunity to use beading as my stress relief and a solace to mental health restoration. It is my belief that the opportunity to work with beads displays a vast cultural exchange that embraces artistic expressions from around the world. Most of all the opportunity to gather together to exchange advice on techniques, opinions of color, with a blend of laughter and family updates, reflect the bond of a beading community of women and men.
When asked about my style of bead work, “I would describe it as eclectic and never boring”. I have experienced work in an array of media, semi-precious stones, crystals, wood, sea materials, metals, and cloth. Recently, I have been working seed bead portraits, to the likes of Michelle Obama, Frida Kahlo, African Queens, and various dog breeds. I also make commissioned bridal party pieces, statement pieces and sorority pieces.”
Lil is a recently retired educator, administrator and adjunct professor at Chatham University and University of Pittsburgh. She has an extensive background in education with degrees in Elementary and Special Education from Slippery Rock, an MEd from the University of Pittsburgh and a EdD from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Curriculum and Instruction. And now she teaches beading, too!