My name is Samantha Kilgore, aka Samx (x is silent). I have been making jewelry for over 19 years and have tried a large variety of methods and techniques in the jewelry world. My favorites are bead weaving and stringing. I have taught myself a large number of bead weaving techniques using books and magazines, but I must also give credit to a number of wonderful teachers I have met over the years. Without them, I would have had a difficult time learning some of the stitches.

When I decided to start my business one of the big questions I was asked was “How will you market yourself?” I have a really hard time answering that question because I have such a diverse sense of style in my work. So instead I thought about my views about jewelry and style.

To me jewelry is like make up. It is supposed to enhance the wearer’s natural beauty and compliment the clothing. I also believe that jewelry should reflect the wearer’s personality. That is a little harder to capture, but can be done with some specific questions and pictures.

My jewelry tends to be small and dainty in complimentary colors. My views about jewelry stem from my body type. I’m not very tall so I like small things. Though I have to admit that I am too chubby for my height, I still get told I am tiny. Because of this I typically design my pieces so that they are not the focal point of an outfit.  Instead they accentuate, making everything better than the sum total of its parts.

I also love to work with a variety of materials, though I often throw in seed beads whenever I can. You will see that I like to combine glass beads, pearls, sterling silver, and seed beads in one piece. That can make it difficult to categorize the types of material I like to work with.

Not to be a tease, but I am going to end my profile there. I’m not always good at talking about myself and I do have a blog to fill. As I add to my blog, I will try to add any facts from there to this profile. As usual if you have questions, please email me at samx@freerangebeads.com, and I can either email you back or respond on my blog. In your email please let me know how you want me to respond.

Thank you again for visiting Free Range Beads!

Samx

Other Information:

Location: Stafford, VA USA

Year of experience: 17+

Style: Classic

Awards:

Bead Star Honorable Mention 2008
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Finalist Seed Bead Category 2011