A Visit With Margot Potter...

My talented friend, Margot Potter and her husband, invited me out to stay at their beautiful former-schoolhouse home in Amish country after BeadFest Wire. I've been trying to make it out there for years, but something always came up. I'm happy that this time things finally came together and the visit manifested into reality. You might know Margot from QVC as an on-air personality or from one of her many craft books, like The Impatient Beader, The Impatient Beader Gets Inspired!: A Crafty Chick's Guide to Instant Inspiration, or Sparkletastic: 50 Dazzling Jewelry and Fashion Projects for the Discriminating Diva. She also worked on a book with Katie Hacker and Fernando DaSilva called, Bead And Wire Jewelry Exposed: 50 Designer Projects Featuring Beadalon And Swarovski. Margot also just came out with a book called, Beyond The Bead: Making Jewelry With Unexpected Finds. Her forthcoming title, which will be released in August (and I'm in!) is called, Bead Chic: 36 Stylish Jewelry Projects & Inspired Variations. It's available for pre-order now!

I adore Margot! She's so vivacious and full of life! She has brilliant stories and always has the gears turning – thinking up new and different ways of doing things. She's incredibly generous with her time, energy and effort and is truly a delightful person.

When I came in, they treated me to a lovely fresh salad and a tasty pasta dish. I picked up a cheesecake and a bottle of sparkling grape-juice (I forgot you couldn't buy wine in Pennsylvania unless you're at a restaurant). Drew and Margot were absolutely fantastic and I had a great time talking with them and getting to know them both better.

Above (from left to right) is a shot of Margot in her tricked out studio, her converted Amish schoolhouse home, and one of her pet pigs and chickens.

They have such a beautiful home in a picturesque landscape. I felt as though I had stepped into an Andrew Wyeth painting with a splash of sparkle, color, vintage ephemera and fair trade sculptures and furniture! It was such an awesome time and I am deeply grateful for their generosity and for hosting me!

If you too are interested in spending a little time with Margot Potter and picking her crafty brain, there is ample opportunity! She'll be hitting the City in June, in Busy As A Bead. In New York, Margot will share her top secret shopping sources and participants will get to enjoy site-seeing as well as a Broadway show. Then she'll be heading out with Style Network celebrity, Brini Maxwell in September on a cruise called Crafty Cabaret Caribbean. Both of them sound like amazing trips!