Iryna Shlapakova Meet the Designer-Artist

My name is Iryna Shlapakova, and I am the owner of Exclusive Craft. Exclusive Craft offers wearable art jewelry with intricate designs that bring out feelings of pleasure, excitement and joy with an attention to detail. I like to incorporate different materials in my designs including crystals, wire, stones, beads, thread, and sequins.

In 2013 I found and taught myself the passion of my life: designing and making bead embroidered jewelry. Creating jewelry gives me a sense of calmness, joy, and the ability to transfer my emotions and love to every piece I make. I like to see the excitement on my customers’ faces when they hold my beaded jewelry in their hands.

All of my handmade accessories are embroidered using high-quality beads, crystals, sequins and natural stones. Most of the jewelry is one of a kind. I rarely repeat myself, because the stones are unique and it is difficult to find two identical ones. My inspiration mostly comes from Mother Nature. Working with different stones is fun and most of the time, the design is complementary to the colors, shapes, and texture of the stones. Usually, the entire designing and beading process takes anywhere from 5 to 100 hours, depending on the size of the piece, the level of intricate design, and complexity of the components.

Making people happy with elegant and exclusive jewelry is my goal!

Where do you live?

I am originally from Belarus. Now I live in New Jersey.

What inspires you as a designer-artist?

Some of the inspirations are nature, semi-precious stones, art.

What medium do you work with mostly?

Mostly I do bead embroidery. I use seed beads, crystals, sequins, and semi-precious stones.

Why did you become enchanted with this style of jewelry-making?

I started beading 8 years ago when I saw a beaded bracelet on the Internet. Beading helps me to relax after busy hours in the operating room. I am a full time operating room nurse. I like that I can use different kind of beads and other materials in creating bead embroidered jewelry.

Where and how do you sell your jewelry?

I started to sell on Etsy 7 years ago, but also I created my own website 3 years ago.

What is the name of the piece you submitted with your success story?

Rose Romance

What inspired this design?

The inspiration for this necklace was a rose cross stitch pattern. I wanted to try and use it as a bead embroidery technique.

How did it come together?

I usually start with a center stone and pull out different beads and materials. As I work, I eliminate some materials. Mostly the center piece stone leads my design.