Baltic Wheel Beaded Labyrinth Prototype

A little over a year ago, I went to a Sundance just outside of Vermillion, South Dakota. There were a group of us women working on sewing projects that were just about clued up when one of the ladies mentioned that she wanted to go to the W. H. Over Museum in town to buy seed beads. Being an avid collector of shiny things and crafting skills, I jumped at the opportunity to tag along and start learning beading.

It wasn’t that difficult for me to decide on a first project: I wanted to make a beaded finger labyrinth. Because I was in the middle of nowhere without access to reference material or tools, and because I anticipated having to take it all apart anyway, I drew the pattern on the cloth free-hand. I decided on the Baltic wheel pattern I use in my branding and set to work.

To my surprise, when I got home, I realised that it was still salvageable, so I decided to complete it. The turns on the right side are a little wonky, but overall, I hadn’t strayed far from the appropriate dimensions.

I already referenced some of how this learning process has looked in my post Work in Progress. I’ve definitely learned a lot of what not to do with this one! But it’s a beautiful finished product, flaws and all, so I decided to photograph it and share it on the website. Just keep in mind that this is just a prototype, and I’ve already made several changes to how I’m making current and future ones.

At the end of the day, the beaded labyrinths are my own act of mindfulness. I find that my best ideas for business and writing have been coming out of my time spent beading. This means that I will be continuing to make them.

However, making them is not commercially viable at this time, as it is VERY time-consuming so I can’t really block off enough time to make them in very large quantities or on predictable timelines. I also doubt that many people would be willing to pay what I’d have to charge to fairly compensate myself for the time invested in them. After a year, I’m currently working on my third of these finger labyrinths.

That said, from time to time, as I complete them, I will list them on my website. If you would like to be notified when one becomes available, you can sign up to my mailing list and select “Beaded labyrinths”. I don’t anticipate this being a frequent occurrence, but it would be nice to know that they are being used when I do get around to completing one, and eventually I’ll run out of loved ones to gift them to!