Heidi Schlagk: a gem of an artist

an artisan from Berlin Heidi Schlagk, an artisan from Berlin, Germany, designs and songre creates beautifully unique jewelry out of beads and semiprecious stones. She believes that it is her natural intuition for use of colours and textures that makes her beaded jewelry so attractive. She can often be found displaying and selling her jewelled artworks at the Brockville Farmer's Market at Market Street on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. She will also be exhibiting her pieces at the Brockville Art Centre for the whole month of December.

Schlagk became enraptured with the art of beading four years ago, after a creative friend of hers was making some jewelry at her home.

"She demonstrated to me how to string the beads and then she showed me the importance of correctly installing the fastener in the back of a necklace," Schlagk recalls. "These were the tricks that sparked my interest. I took it from there by going home and making more of my own and I have been doing it ever since."

During her many travels around the world, she has hand picked the special beads and stones that make up her designs and repertoire of necklaces, bracelets and earrings.