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"We Bead the
Twisted Sisters"
Sisters, Renee Suschil and Rachelle Janicki, were
born in Manistee, Michigan, a cozy little town right on the Lake
Michigan coast. Renee, a glass artist, and Rachelle, a jewelry
designer, now share a love of glass art and jewelry designs, and
utilize their individual talents for their business, “We Bead the
Twisted Sisters.”
Things did not start out that way, however. Renee
never truly discovered she was an artist until she was in college
when she took her first painting class. Both Renee and Rachelle
always dabbled in crafts, ceramics, and painting on clothing for
gifts. Renee painted commissions on canvas of homes, landscapes and
finally murals. She also worked as a Dental Hygienist till early
2000, when she had her daughter, Jasmine. Renee said “I had
to find something that would allow me to use my artistic talent,
stay at home, be my own boss and make a good income.” In February
of 2003, it happened when she took her first and only lampworking
class. She says, “I was so hooked. I couldn’t even sleep!”
Not surprisingly, Rachelle, who works for a GYN &
infertility office part-time, and raises her 2 boys,
Garin and Jamison, said, “[Renee] would
show me what she made, and the excitement started to brew. That was
it!” Since then, she has added the jewelry designing to her
already busy schedule.
We asked each sister what sparked their interest in
their art form. Renee tells us, “I guess it wasn’t so much an
interest in beads… it was the glass that got me hooked which
introduced me to the whole “bead world” out there. I was blown away
that there were [so many] bead & glass obsessed
people; and that there were conventions, shows, etc., just to
do with beads. I loved it!” She continues, “[my sister and
I] attended our first bead show in Lansing, MI, with my zip lock bag
full of my little treasures. Then we
went to the Bead & Button Show in Wisconsin. The rest is history,
and we haven’t looked back since.” Rachelle comments, “After that
day [in Lansing], things were never the same. We got bit by the
bead bug, and boy, were we hooked! All
those little sparkly crystals, seed beads, strands of sterling
silver, table after table of pure heaven. We loved the atmosphere,
and the excitement that something so little could cause so much
joy. That is where we discovered the wild wonderful world of
beads. The people were so much fun to be around - it was just
electric and very addictive. It was all over after that.”
For Rachelle, "jewelry designing was a lot of trial
and error,” she says, adding, “I started wearing some of my designs
and people began to notice they were different. They wanted some
cool jewelry with Renee’s lampwork
beads, so I started making bracelets & earrings, wearing them and
selling them.” She uses a variety of beads in her jewelry
designs, but says, “Of course, I use Renee’s lampwork beads in
almost everything I create.”
For Renee, techniques, in the true sense of the word,
are not a part of her vocabulary when it comes to working with
glass. In fact, she found our question, “which technique she
prefers,” very hard to answer. Her reply was, “I really don’t use
any ‘techniques’ that are normally taught at a class, and I really
haven’t mastered any of them. But that’s okay because there are
thousands of lampworkers out there that
make perfect text book beads (and Yes I’m envious) but I stick with
what I do best and that is creating new ways of doing things on a
daily basis. I don’t even sign my name the same way every time. I
really don’t make identical beads sets at all. I might be able to
squeak out about 4-5 for a bracelet a
matching focal and an earring set and that’s it. The bead ‘groups’
I make are complimentary, but all different. That’s the joy with
glass - - I can make something completely different every time.”
"My
sculpture beads are usually planned unless they start to look like
something else, then I just go with that. But what I love
is the fused glass I create from my sculpture
lampwork beads! I take chipped, fractured, broken, or just
defunked beads then surround them with
funky twisty stringers, chunks of dicroic
glass, powdered enamels, or what ever, and place them in the kiln;
melt them flat and Tada - Fun Funky Fused Cabs. Talk
about X-Mas morning!"
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Rachelle subscribes to quite a few beading
magazines. She says, “I rarely copy a design exactly from the
pages, I just get a lot inspiration.
[Many] of my designs are born from needing 'something' to match
my new top or outfit (shopping is my other passion). Renee
makes lampwork to match, and I just
go from there. Once I tricked her into making her own Christmas
present. I told her I needed pink & purple
tye-dye looking beads for a custom order. Boy was
she surprised [when she realized that] she was the customer.
The bracelet & earrings matched the top exactly.”
Renee tells us, “We both create jewelry,” but
admits, “I concentrate on making the beads and filling custom
bead orders. We both have evolved into our own styles of
design. In the beginning I had a vision of how the beads should
be used in the bracelet or necklace, but Rachelle would do it
differently. I learned the hard way to just keep my mouth shut,
because some of our first sales at shows were ‘her’ designs.
Yes, she made me eat my words a few times.”
The sisters love to shop together, Rachelle tells
us, “We do have different tastes, but I can’t tell you the times
we’re in a bead store or at a show, and we rush to each other to
show what we found… and it’s the exact same thing.”
When asked what Renee likes the best about making
glass beads, she says “I love the almost instantaneous
satisfaction of the completion of a miniature piece of art! In
painting it can take days, weeks, or even months for a wall
mural. Making beads is like Christmas everyday.” When I first
started I was like a sponge. I read anything I could get my
hands on so I became very familiar with the ‘superstars’ of
lampworking.” She continues, “I guess Sharon Peters is the
closest to my personality and wackiness, and made me realize
nothing was off limits (her boob goddess).
I
loved the colorful simplicity of Heather
Trimmlet’s [work]. I would say that I’ve developed my
style to more like Lauren Stump, with his sculpture and
miniature details, but with a bit more
bling.”
Rachelle’s favorite style of jewelry to make
consists of a lampwork focal, made by Renee, simply strung on
leather or chain. She says, “I also love using very different
beads together in one bracelet. They don’t always have to be
the same color pallet, size, or shape.” She further states,
“I love the satisfaction of the customer loving that special
piece of jewelry, and they can’t wait to wear it. But what’s
even better is seeing that person on the street or at an art
show and they are wearing the necklace, bracelet or ring, and
they are back for more!”
Most of the sisters' beads and jewelry designs
are found at local art shows throughout Michigan, at numerous
galleries and shops in the Harbor Springs area and, they are
moving down the State towards Grand Rapids, which is where Renee
now resides. Renee and Rachelle are in the process of building
a website under the name, “www.TwistedSistersBeads.com where
you’ll be able to purchase their incredible art work. They also
sell on auction sites under twistedsistersbeads.
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Please join us in the forum to
congratulate Renee & Rachel, ask questions, or just say
hello! Click here to go directly to the thread.
You can see more
of the Sisters' work at:
www.twistedsistersbeads.com
Renee and
Rachelle are also our Featured Sellers on the Auction
Boutique.
Click here to go
directly to their auctions.
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