By Deva Moore
Art goes back to the beginning of time. Early man created artistic drawings on cave walls, used primitive designs to provide entertainment, repurposed shells, rocks, bones and more to create jewelry and enhance one’s person and clothing increasing the attraction feature. Beads were first recorded approximately 70,000 years ago and were used in decorative purposes as well as a currency for a time. The appreciation for art and creating art was born. Art was magic. Today, art is still magic. We find art in nature, in our homes, in the world and in every day. We adorn ourselves with art intended to attract others enhance our beauty or at the very least please others and ourselves. Artists find their art niche very early in life and spend every moment chasing their artistic dream. Some artists start young and produce beautiful artworks bringing more beauty to the world.
One of those artists is Miley Converse.
Miley is a young budding artist. She finds art in nature and the world around her and she easily turns that beauty into real art with her jewelry and her eye for decorating those around her. Miley began as a very young child in a usual artistic manner…she found coloring and drawing as an outlet for her designing. Miley enjoyed color palettes matching unique colors and designs in her wardrobe, her drawings, and her arts. She sought out unique and dazzling designs creating jewelry for her family and friends. She got some directional support from her older sisters and her parents forging a future in sharing her creations quickly, and soon Miley was shining as an artist. 
Miley has many interests that keep her occupied. Besides her jewelry business and being a straight A student, Miley races BMX and has claimed many first place trophies establishing her name in the BMX world. She travels all over the United States and competes in races against the very best and claiming her place in this very competitive sport. Miley still finds lots of time for her jewelry business which is her first and foremost interest.
As a child Miley knew she wanted to own and operate her own boutique celebrating her talent and giving other artists an outlet for their passion. Her goal is to secure a location and open such a business in the next few years. Miley ‘s artistic talent of creating jewelry began as an interest to fill a vacancy in quality youth jewelry. She sought out TikTok trends, researched techniques and began designing on her own almost immediately. She began by researching materials to create jewelry that was both beautiful and sturdy and could withstand the aggressive wear from a young person to appealing to a more mature person in their daily journey. Miley knew that the younger client needed jewelry that they liked, looked beautiful and could tolerate the playground or a tea party. As her jewelry gained popularity, her audience became more mature and her designs attracted the older generation for its beauty, style, and trendy designs. Miley realized that she could create jewelry that appealed to a wide audience successfully.
Miley works with all types of material. Her favorite materials are beads. She feels that she can design with beads expansively and her variety appeals to most everyone. Miley has even made jewelry for the male customer with great success. Most of her work is commission work but she has a few readymade pieces available for sale. Miley works with all types of beads. She recommends plastic beads for the younger person as they are sturdy, colorful and offer a wide range of design opportunities. She uses stretchy cord for durability with the younger age group and the color schemes are more varied. Plastic beads come in a wide variety of colors, size and style. Miley is always at the top of her field in the latest trends thus her jewelry is cutting edge. She has found an audience as far away as California requesting her creations.
Beads are available in many different materials, shapes, colors and sizes. Miley finds beads a most rewarding part of her art because of the varieties and challenges that beads create. Miley assured me “that different lots and different orders of beads create different challenges as no two sets are alike or fall into the design the same”. Miley and her creative expertise make the jewelry a beautiful piece of art to wear. No two pieces or two sets present alike making Miley’s art unique.
Miley seeks only the finest beads and quality supplies when stocking for her projects. She enjoys working with glass beads as well and she shared that some of her favorite projects exceeded her original plans due to the beauty and quality she found. She finds her craft “therapeutic and enjoys the tranquility and peace” that she experiences when she is creating an order. If one is lucky enough to secure one of her available pieces of art they will enjoy a design and craftsmanship like no other.
Miley has many choices available in her collections. She works with pendants, earrings anklets and bracelets. Miley finds unique and quality charms in her search for her expressive jewelry pieces. Her southwest designs are popular with those who enjoy accent fashion. Miley can make the most simplistic outfit sparkle with her jewelry designs. One can find the right accent to an outfit for that special event or night out with just a consultation with Miley and a little time for her to work her magic. Miley told me that” most jewelry pieces take a couple of hours to create but some more intricate creations may take longer”. She can estimate the turnaround time for her creations at the consultation. One factor to the time is the availability of material and speed of stocking.
Miley has many tools and materials in her toolbox and one of her favorite beads for designs are clay. Clay beads can also be called polymer beads or Fimo and offer a broad variety of choices. Clay beads are created from a soft clay and in its original form is pliable and workable until it is cured and hardens into the final bead. Different colors and shapes can be combined in the process lending the resulting bead a unique quality that does not compare to a plastic bead. Miley enjoys the flexibility that clay beads bring to her art. Clay beads offer a different option for her designs and she can create vastly different choices for jewelry including style, color and designs within the bead itself. Miley directs her clients to the desired option during the consultation.
Miley customizes each individual jewelry design and assured me that her collections are easily interchangeable and adaptable. With Miley and her jewelry choices, the glamour of glitter and dazzle for every finger, neck, foot wrist and toe is possible. 
Everything that Miley creates is handmade and of quality construction. Her eye for design and her commitment to fashion qualify her to be among the top jewelry craftsmen in the Kendall county area for costume jewelry. Miley has a plan to expand her talent to include precious gemstones one day soon and is actively seeking quality resources and the proper training to meet that goal. She stays on top of new and exciting trends and consistently remains focused on heightening her education every chance she gets to take a new class or learn a new technique. Much of her education is limited to online resources at this time.
Miley is not currently exhibiting in any gallery to date but her beautiful jewelry is showcased on her facebook page… Beads by Miley. She can also be reached on Intagram or TikTok at beadsby._.Miley or simply give her a call at 830-446-1423 and leave her a message. All consultations or meetings are by appointment only. Make that call or connection today for some beautiful jewelry by a young artist committed to her craft. If it can sparkle or shine or make you sparkle and shine Miley will make you smile.
