Why we started beading together in Swansea

Sakura Beads began as a small shop in Kyiv, full of jars of beads and people who stayed longer than they meant to. The shop is gone, but the thing that mattered about it — the table where strangers taught each other — came with us to Wales.

The first session

We brought three trays of beads and twelve needles to a community room in Swansea. Six people came. Two had never held a needle; one had beaded for forty years and corrected our tension. By the end everyone had a bracelet and we had a waiting list.

What a session looks like

• Small groups — never more than eight.
• Everything provided: beads, thread, needles, adaptive tools, magnifiers.
• A finished piece to take home every time, however small.
• Tea. Always tea.

Why beads?

Beadwork is slow, quiet and endlessly forgiving: you can undo any row. It is also deeply social — people talk while their hands are busy in a way they do not when sitting face to face. That is the part we care about most.

Why this website?

Many people in our sessions wanted to keep designing at home, with each other. Printed charts and photos of charts got messy fast. So we built a shared designer: open a chart, invite a friend, and you both draw on the same beads at the same time, wherever you are. It is free and always will be.

Want to join a session or volunteer? Visit the workshops page