Kathy King didn't use her degree in industrial engineering until she started weaving beads into jewelry.
While an engineering background isn't the usual path to jewelry making, "it definitely influences my work," said King, who lives in Cary. "I build things with beads."
In 2008, King's necklace was splashed across the cover of the world's largest beading magazine, Bead & Button. This year, her work is on the cover of a book - her own. Called "Bead Quilled Jewelry," King's how-to book displays and describes her special stitching techniques. (King will sign copies at Ornamentea in Raleigh on Friday.)
King, 40, started beading just out of college. The Long Island, N.Y., native graduated from Lehigh University on an ROTC scholarship and headed straight to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. "They don't really use industrial engineers in the service, so I couldn't work in my field."
To pass the time, she tried her hand at beading.
"I like going to craft stores and walking around, and saw some books on beading and thought I'd try it," she said. "Growing up, I did tons of paper crafts."
Her first necklaces were simple strands having little in common with the elaborate necklaces, bracelets, earrings and pins she creates today.
After her four-year duty, she headed to Raleigh to marry her college sweetheart, Brett. They now have two children.
"When I moved here, I went to a bead store and found out about the Triangle Bead Society," she recalled. "That was the first time I'd met with a group of other beaders. Of course I discovered this whole other world of beading."
King became serious about bead weaving - stitching beads together to make a design - a decade ago after taking a class on the technique with noted Asheville bead artist Carol Wilcox Wells.
"I thought it was really cool, and I wanted to learn to do it," she said. "During the class, it just clicked, and that was it. After that I became very passionate about it."
Seeing in 3-D
King credits her engineering background for her success. "I think it's the way my mind works. I'm very good at visualizing everything in 3-D."
A few years later, she started selling jewelry at a few local art festivals.
Her trademark became making "beaded beads," the labor-intensive process of forming large beads by weaving together smaller ones.
"They're usually fat, and I wanted a thinner, flatter version," she said.
That's when inspiration struck.
"I realized that when I made the thinner pieces, I was looking down at the holes in the beads instead of at the sides, which is usually what people see," she explained. "You also see the threads. In fact, they become part of the design. It opened up a whole new design."
King's new beading technique reminded her of the ancient art of paper quilling - rolling, folding or twisting narrow strips of paper and arranging them to create designs.
"Because of that, I decided to use the term 'bead quilling,'" said King, who has been perfecting her new style since 2007.
"The quilling is very mathematical," she said. "I love math, which helps. Of course with the book, people can just follow the directions. I tell them exactly what to do to make the pieces."
The year she started quilling, King submitted a lacy-looking necklace called "Red Empress" to Bead Dreams, an international competition sponsored by Bead & Button. After she made it to finalist status, she submitted the design to the magazine. Bead Dreams not only included the necklace in the June 2008 issue but put it on the cover.
"I didn't know it was on the cover until it came in the mail," she said. "I was at the bottom of my driveway, getting my mail, and when I opened it. I started running around to my neighbors. I was ecstatic."
Not only was she a celebrity in her beading group, King received e-mail from beaders around the world.
"I didn't expect that," she said.
She also heard from Creative Publishing International, based in Minneapolis, inviting her to write a how-to book on bead quilling.
"I have to say that's something I never would have thought of on my own," she said. "It was a new and scary proposition."
Cranking up pace
After negotiating the details, King had two months to write the book and make about 20 pieces of jewelry that would be detailed with step-by-step directions and photographed.
"I learned that I could really crank out jewelry if I had to," she said, laughing. "First I had two shows, Piedmont Craftsman and Carolina Designer Craftsman. Then it was Christmas, and my kids were out of school. It was pretty crazy."
This year, King plans to sell her jewelry in more stores and seek out high-end galleries and craft festivals. She teaches courses through the Triangle Bead Society and will offer three classes at Bead & Button's annual bead show in Milwaukee, the largest consumer bead show in the country.
"I'm really starting to take off with it," she said. "I'm not very good at marketing myself, but I'm learning to put myself out there."
She particularly enjoys selling at shows.
"It's very gratifying," she said. "Many people haven't seen the kind of work I do. Sometimes at first they don't realize they're looking at thousands of beads woven together. They'll say things like, 'Wow, that is the coolest thing I've seen.' My husband calls my shows ego-fests." King has many more beadwork ideas beyond the 25 projects she put in the book.
"As soon as the book was finished, I kept coming up with more designs I wished I could have included."
