Welcome to my shop! I have been a maker for as long as I can remember and have been beading and making jewelry for over 30 years. I have solely designed, created and crafted all of the beadwork in my shop, as well as the photography. Please see my bio below.

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Originally from Canada, Yaira grew up in Toronto, where she created her first handmade jewelry and crafts over three decades ago. Always inspired to learn new artistic forms and techniques, she attended courses in various mediums at George Brown College and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Upon joining the weekly Beading Circle at the Native Canadian Centre in the early 1990's, she fell in love with bead weaving and woven beadwork became a life long intrigue.

After moving to Northern California and settling in Oakland, Yaira attended U.C. Berkeley and completed her B.A. in Near Eastern Studies, with a focus in Ancient Art and Archaeology and Biblical Hebrew Texts. Both contemporary and classical, her work and designs are influenced by the world of nature, and deeply inspired by the art and cultures of Indigenous America, the Middle East, Africa and the African Diaspora.

Woven Beadwork is a commitment to slow art. It requires focus, precision, patience, and a lot of time. The beads are individually selected and stitched together to create a tightly woven beaded fabric. Hours and hours of intention and dedicated work are poured into the production of each piece.

The highest quality glass beads are used to handcraft each item, some of the beads are plated in copper, palladium and 24k gold. The hoops are 14k gold filled or plated, sterling silver, sliver plated or brass. All the ear hooks and findings are 14k gold filled or sterling silver.

Thank you for reading and for visiting Studio Y!