The Story
Kristine Lewis, the creator of the Embraceling bracelet, has spent
much of her life involved in creative pursuits. From drawing and
painting as a child, to college at SUNY Geneseo where she was
introduced to photography, painting, and jewelry making, she's
found the creative process to be both a conduit of self expression,
and a release of stress and energy.
After college, and not knowing what direction to take her life in,
she worked in a large arts and crafts store for several years.
Having not given jewelry making a thought since her many hours
spent in the studio in college, she bought a few beads and took
them home to make earrings for a family member.
Kristine's designs have also been worn by WIVB TV's
newscaster Melissa Holmes during the occasional broadcast
In the fleeting moments when she's not making jewelry, thinking
about making jewelry, or looking at jewelry, Kristine also enjoys
making wines to share with her friends and family, working in her
vegetable garden, and dabbling in stained glass.
Looking forward she hopes to be making jewelry for many
years, and instilling in her daughter an appreciation for all
things creative and beautiful.
That's all it took to rekindle the desire and passion for creating
wearable arts again. The inability to manipulate the metals with
heat left her only beads and wire to work with, but she soon
discovered that within those materials, amazing things could
happen.
The Embraceling came along a year later.... On a whim, she
came up with a rudimentary design and wore it to dinner with
family. Someone noticed the bracelet and enthused about how
different and clever it was, and she decided to give it some
more attention. She reworked the design for the next few
months.
The following spring at her first craft show, she brought along
about 20 bracelets, and remarkably, they all sold the first day!
The next show she doubled the inventory, and THEY all sold
too! Amazing! She knew then that she had something awesome.
Today Kristine, along with the help of her husband and family,
makes hundreds of designs each year. Indeed there are now
thousands of Embracelings throughout the US, as well as the few
that have made it to South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Kristine and her husband Kevin
First Festival 2007
The Studio...yes this IS clean!