About Bead and Clay

From Healing Hands to Hand-Stitched Talismans

What began as a way to stitch through the hardest parts of my life slowly transformed into something sacred. Bead and Clay was born out of need, shaped by healing, and now lives as an offering—of presence, of beauty, of story.

THE MAKER

By day, I’m Valentina—a physician easing pain and holding space in sterile hospital rooms. By night, I become a weaver of meaning, slow-stitching stories in thread and light after my children have fallen asleep.

This rhythm of duality is in every piece I make. Just as I approach medicine with steadiness and care, I bring the same devotion to each bead I string. My hands move from holding life in hospital corridors to creating heirlooms from stillness.

THE PROCESS

Each piece you see is made by hand—my hands—between shifts, between bedtime stories, between moments of mothering and mending.

No molds. No machines. Just hours of meditative stitching with Miyuki beads, precious metals, and presence. You might notice a knot here, a slight shift in pattern there. These aren’t flaws—they’re fingerprints of handmade truth. Quiet proof that this piece is yours and only yours.

MORE THAN JEWELRY

This isn’t just jewelry. These are talismans. Tiny altars. Adornments for those walking through transformation. For those who know beauty isn’t just seen—it’s felt.

Each piece is designed to serve as both armor and invitation. A reminder that you are sacred. You are becoming. And you are never alone.

MY PROMISE TO YOU

I pour myself into every stitch. And when your piece is ready to meet you, it arrives wrapped in meaning—packaged with a polishing cloth, an oracle card, and a little bit of my heart.

THE HEART BEHIND THE HANDS

When I’m not beading or tending to patients, you’ll find me in my garden or surrounded by my little village—my two children, our three dogs (Simone, Calie, and Jay), and my parents, who hold me up as I navigate single motherhood.

Everything I make carries that love with it. Every stitch, every shimmer, every thread of intention.

INTENTION IN EVERY STITCH

My hope is that when you wear Bead and Clay, you feel it. The care. The ritual. The presence.

These aren’t just accessories. They are stories woven in thread. Prayers stitched in color. Reminders that you, too, are art in motion.

This is more than jewelry.

This is your story, ready to be worn.

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