Designer Beads by Jess

By Angie Arlington

Jessica Reed is a young woman on the autism spectrum who learned to do beading during her Project Search internship after graduating from Lawrence Central High School in 2015. The Project Search team received a Creative Classroom grant from Lawrence Township Education Foundation to make meditation beads for Community Hospital North. Jess was having difficulty being independent in the various hospital rotations, so her Project Search Team had her work on the meditation beads project. She enjoyed it and seemed to have a natural ability to work with beads.

During the internship, over 180 sets of meditation beads were given to patients at Community Hospital North Cancer Center. The project was then expanded, and beads were given to all Lawrence Township bus drivers and transportation staff following the tragic death of Amy Beverland Elementary School principal Susan Jordan.

In 2016, at the end of the internship, Jess and her instructor created her own Etsy shop, Designer Beads by Jess, as a way for her to continue what she had learned. Jess has continued making bracelets at home and has added lots of new items to her collection, such as earrings, necklaces, rosary beads, key chains, bookmarks, and lanyards. She is very proud of her work and appreciates all of the support that has been shown to her.

Jess attends 4-5 craft fairs in the fall and 4-5 events other months throughout the year, but most of her sales are through her Etsy shop.

When Jess is not making jewelry, she attends Same As U two days a week. She enjoys going to the movies, bowling, going out to eat, working on puzzles, and playing video games. She is a member of the Lawrence Aktion Club, where she participates in volunteer activities.

You can follow Designer Beads by Jess on her social media accounts and get a glimpse of her working on her new designs and customer favorites. Jess especially enjoys making earrings for the various holidays so her customers can show off her designs in a spirited fashion! Her collection also includes jewelry with various themes: health and disability awareness and sports teams from local high schools, colleges, and the NFL.

Designer Beads by Jess provides Jess with a meaningful activity to work on and a good alternative to a traditional job setting. She enjoys fulfilling orders from her Etsy store and meeting her customers at various craft shows and disability information fairs.