All items by Mongoose Designs UK

I make unique bead earrings and I'm happy to take custom requests.

I'm a multi-crafter with disabilities; I sew, knit, weave, make netting, do both kumihimo and lucet cording, and so on. I got some money for my birthday, so on a whim I bought myself a couple of bead earring kits, and I turned out to be very good at making bead earrings. So then I designed my first pair (the fractal style), and next thing I knew it was being featured on the front cover of my main supplier's online magazine. Then I found a local outlet for them by sheer providence (you can believe in chance if you like - I don't!), so I started selling them through that. However, that in itself is nice but not enough to make a living, so I knew I also had to sell online.

This is perfect for me because it is a job I can do from home, and I can work my hours around the other things I do in the church and community and around my energy levels, which tend to fluctuate. Because each pair is unique I never get bored making them, and it's always fun to get out the beads, pick the colours, and then see the earrings taking shape. The final piece is almost invariably more than the sum of its parts.

The place where I live at the moment is sadly not suitable for cats, but I did have four when I lived in Sheffield and they were all very different purr-sonalities. I do try to say hallo to them in the street, but that tends to give them a bit of an existential crisis; they are torn between "ooh, friendly human" and "but it is riding a vacuum cleaner!". Actually it's a mobility scooter, but cats appear to put it in the same class, which is rather sad.

Apart from that, I'm a huge fan of baroque and early music, and can tell you all about why John Dowland was the first ever Goth. I'm also a qualified bra fitter, among other things, but I haven't done that for a long time now.