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	<title>Valerie Hector Designs</title>
	<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com</link>
	<description>Handmade Jewelry Designs</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:44:16 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Panjiayuan the Mighty</title>
		<description><![CDATA[From my point of view, one of the greatest developments in China during the last decade or two is the emergence of free marketplaces such as Panjiayuan in Beijing.   Or should I say re-emergence.   For the Chinese people have long been some of the most astute buyers and sellers on the face of the earth.  These impulses [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/panjiayuan-mighty/</link>
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		<title>Beaded Viruses</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ 

I subscribe to Beads-List, a listserve with beads and beadwork as its focus.
A few months back, I received a posting about the beaded virus models being created by scientist Dr. Holly A. Wichman, a Professor of Biology at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.  
I knew nothing of virus structures, let alone that they could be [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/beaded-viruses/</link>
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		<title>New Work</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A few weeks ago in my last &#8220;Studio News&#8221; post, I included mockups of a few pieces I was working on for the &#8220;Recycle: Recreate, Redefine, Re-imagine&#8221; show at Facere Gallery in Seattle. I promised to post images of the finished pieces.  Here are the ones that I like best.  They will be exhibited at [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/work/</link>
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		<title>Half the Sky Foundation</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Half the Sky Foundation
I am often asked to donate pieces of my beaded jewelry to various good causes, and I am happy to make those donations, especially when the funds go to cancer or HIV-Aids research.  Then again, I also like to give pieces to fundraisers that benefit arts institutions such as the Bellevue Arts Museum and the Philadelphia [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/sky-foundation/</link>
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		<title>Chen Lulan&#8217;s Abacus Museum</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Chen Lulan&#8217;s Abacus Museum                                                                                                                             
When I look at an abacus, I see a framework containing rods that hold moveable beads.  But are they really beads?  Or are they just small objects that happen to have holes in them to make counting easier?  

As someone whose assumptions are influenced by an intense interest in beads and beadwork, I would suggest [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/chen-lulans-abacus-museum/</link>
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		<title>Turkish Beaded Mashallahs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Turkish Beaded Mashallahs
January 5, 2009
They say memories are most indelibly etched in our brains when intense emotions are involved. 
One of my most indelible memories came about as a result of a minor car accident about fifteen years ago.  I was driving on an expressway in the Chicago area, and I accidentally rear-ended a taxi in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/turksih-beaded-mashallahs/</link>
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		<title>Kiff Slemmons &#8211; Brilliant New Work</title>
		<description><![CDATA[December 31, 2008
We e Chicagoans are fortunate to have Kiff Slemmons living among us, after she and her husband Rod relocated from Seattle a few years ago.  Rod is the Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College of Chicago.
For many years Kiff has been one of the world&#8217;s leading art jewelers&#8230;.although I [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/kiff-slemmons-brilliant-work/</link>
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		<title>Studio News</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Studio News
December 29, 2008

The last week of the year is always a quiet time, as we all rest up after the holidays and prepare to welcome the new year. 
I’m using this quiet time to begin making a few pieces for the “Recycle: Recreate, Redefine, Re-Imagine” show which runs from January 28 to February 15, 2009 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/studio-news/</link>
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		<title>Two Beaded Panels from Czecho-Slovakia</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Two Beaded Panels from Czecho-Slovakia

December 20, 2008
Recently I came across two small beaded panels featuring commercial prints of the Virgin Mary surrounded by little beaded flowers and set within beaded wirework frames.
The heart-shaped panel shows the Virgin Mary by herself and the oval panel shows her holding the Christ child in her arms.
The front of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/beaded-panels-czechoslovakia/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>A Spectacular Example of Chinese Bead Embroidery</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ I came across this beautiful piece in Beijing in 1997.  It was hanging on the back wall of a tiny shop which was devoted almost entirely to jade carvings.  
The shop attendant, Mr. Hou Wei Liang, was more than happy to discuss it with me&#8230;.and eventually he began to tell me of his experiences during World War [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.valeriehectordesigns.com/spectacular-chinese-bead-embroidery/</link>
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