Linda O'Brien

Linda O'Brien is a dedicated member of the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild and currently serves as the Guild's Facebook Administrator and Librarian. She has been a member of the Guild since 2008. Linda's favorite part about being a member is the fellowship with fellow beaders. Linda finds the members of the Guild to be fun and always ready to help with new beading skills or to help her get unstuck in a problematic area. She has also found the teachers brought in for classes to be particularly enjoyable.

Linda has been beading for about 58 years since her grandmother introduced her to the craft in junior high school. She started with making shell jewelry and beaded ropes for necklaces using plastic pearls and hardware cord. She has also learned other crafts and hobbies, including knitting, polymer clay work, sewing, and even took up trying to learn how to play bagpipes! If there is ever a GLBG band, she'll be ready to record and tour!

Being part of the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild has impacted Linda's life in a positive way, particularly when she was recovering from cancer. It provided a supportive and fun community of fellow beaders and helped her through a difficult time. Linda encourages current and future members to remember that everyone in the Guild is a volunteer and the Guild needs everyone's help to keep it running and to do extras like classes and Bead Bonanza.