For artist and designer Salihah Moore, creating has always been a part of life. Growing up the daughter of two Sufi Muslim artists, she was always surrounded by their creative energy and attributes the success of her own beaded designs to her connection to that same creative force.
Initially drawn to beadwork through its combination of painting and sewing, she soon found that she loved the feel of the beads moving through her fingers, and the meditative repetition of “painting with the beads” to create beautifully unique pieces of jewelry and fashion.
While beaded earrings are a staple of the artist’s Salihah Moore Jewelry line, she also creates stunning necklaces, wall hangings, wearable beaded pieces, and, coming soon to her lineup, a beaded bag.
Moore finds inspiration in myriad places. From textiles, folk art, independent designers, and furniture design to the incredible women in her life who she refers to as her “muses,” Moore channels this inspiration into what she calls color stories: “each beaded piece is like a painting [that comes] together through instinct and intuition.”
Shoppers can find Salihah’s creations in shops across the country; Boulder’s Cedar & Hyde, Saint Claude in New Orleans, and General Store in San Francisco and Venice.
On a typical day, Salihah can found blasting hip-hop in her studio, cooking up a delicious rice bowl, or taking an evening walk with her girls. It’s all in a day’s work for the creative force behind Salihah Moore Jewelry.
Through Salihah's Eyes:
Step 1: Pick the colors I want to use and pour some of the beads onto the bead mat to see how they work together. I move the loose beads together to play with how the colors respond and to see if any ideas come to mind.
Step 2: Put on the music of Tierra Whack.
Step 3: Thread a beading needle and begin to weave the glass beads together one at a time.
Step 4: Switch it up with a podcast: Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe.
Step 5: Keep beading!
Step 6: Take a look and evaluate if it’s working or if I need to change anything.
Step 7: There’s a part that’s not working; carefully, I take my finger clipping scissors and cut that part out. I replace it, bead-by-bead, with a new idea.
Step 8: Snack attack! I cut open an avocado and smother it with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and seaweed gomasio, accompanied by Simple Mills Farmhouse cheddar crackers.
Step 9: Turn on the Netflix television series Glow before getting back to the beads!
Step 10: Zone out a little and let the tiny donuts of glass weave between my fingers, allowing space for the colors to decide where the project is going.
Step 11: Take some pictures of the work in progress.
Step 12: Cozy up in my bed and look at the pictures I took; close my eyes and envision what to do next before drifting off to sleep.