Brenda Schweder has good-naturedly embraced many labels in her lifetime, from A Little Bit Steampunk to a Little Bit Tree Hugger to The Little Red-Haired Girl (back when “A Charlie Brown Christmas” still captured the attention of all good little boys and girls). Her latest monikers are Bend-it Like Brenda and Iron woMan (thanks to her friends Jill and Jill, for helping her realize her left arm is now growing larger than her right), due to her most unfeminine passion for creating jewelry with steel wire (grrrrr!). In addition to Steel Wire Jewelry (Lark Books), Schweder is the author of Junk to Jewelry: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Found Objects in Jewelry You Can Actually Wear and Vintage Redux: Remake Classic and Collectible Jewelry (Kalmbach Publishing Company). Schweder’s designs and fashion jewelry forecasts have been published over 100 times in books and magazines, including: 30 Minute Earrings, 30 Minute Necklaces, 30 Minute Rings, Art Jewelry magazine, Bead Style magazine, Bead&Button magazine, BUST magazine, Vintage Style Jewelry magazine, Make it Mine magazine, Wirework 2010 magazine, Wirework, Step by Step Wire, Steampunk Style Jewelry, Crystal Chic, and many other compilations, pamphlets, and books. Schweder has been featured in both an online workshop and a podcast with Alison Lee of Craftcast.com, and will make her television debut in Spring 2011 on Beads, Baubles & Jewels (PBS). A nationally-recognized teacher and jewelry designer, Schweder is an instructor at Mount Mary College and offers workshops at beading venues such as The Bead&Button Show (Milwaukee),the Racine Art Museum, Hacienda Mosaico, THE CREATIVE CONNECTION, The Ranch Center for Arts and Crafts (Seattle), and to bead societies nationwide. Schweder has designed for Swarovski and is a CREATE YOUR STYLE with SWAROVSKI Elements Ambassador. An advocate for the DIY jewelry segment, Schweder currently serves as past president of the Loose Bead Society of Greater Milwaukee and was instrumental in starting the Global Bead Society, bringing beading and jewelry making enthusiasts together worldwide.
