Secondhand beads, handmade necklaces and creative self-expression: Meet DIY Daisy

“One of my favourite things is helping people realise they’re creative.”

You know that friend who’s especially good with her hands? The one who’s always giving out cool hand-poured candles on birthdays and smiling proudly when you compliment her skirt because she made it herself? That’s DIY Daisy.

Based in Northern New South Wales, Daisy Braid is an author, self-taught sewer and workshop host, known for her pattern-free sewing projects and crafty tutorials. In 2022, she published her first book, Sew It Yourself, a pattern-free, size-inclusive guide for sewers of all abilities.

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More recently, she’s been drawn to beading. After hosting a craft night for a few friends, Daisy got the idea to expand the project, and has since been travelling across Australia and New Zealand, hosting workshops for ‘bead buddies’ of all ages.

What really sets these apart (aside from being a fun chance to meet new people) is that all the beads used in the workshops are sourced secondhand, found on various op shop treasure hunts. As well as reducing waste, it means that no two creations are exactly the same. And by the end of the two-hour session, guests take home their very own piece of jewellery. This winter, DIY Daisy will be taking her beading workshops cross-country, starting in the Gold Coast and making her way to Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart and Melbourne.

In an era of overconsumption, loneliness and social media, her workshops offer a respite – a chance to slow down, meet new people and find joy in the creative process. “As it turns out, being crafty is actually pretty good for you,” she says.

Fashion Journal: Hi Daisy! I know you come from a family of DIYers but can you tell me about one of your very first projects?

Daisy: The earliest project I can remember was making a crystal radio with my dad. My twin sister and I were always encouraged to take things apart and put them back together to figure out how something worked. That’s always stuck with me and kept me curious.

As a teenager, when I started to play with my own style (to be different from my twin sister), I made a purple dress using rectangles and elastic. No pattern, just making it up as I went along. I felt so cool and clever that I’d figured out how to make something actually wearable, and I thought, if I can make this, I can make anything! Or at least, I can try to, and have fun in the process.

What drew you to beading?

At first, I was attracted to beading because it reminded me of sewing together patchwork scraps to make a quilt. Something about picking out different beads, arranging all your favourites in the perfect order, and turning them into something wearable felt kind of similar.

Then, when you finally string them all together into a finished creation, you get that same buzz of completing a sewing project, except it’s on a slightly smaller scale. And, you can brag about it when you get compliments on it!

Can you tell me a bit about the vibe at one of your workshops?

I always feel like my cup is so full after a workshop and I hope each person goes home feeling like theirs is a little bit fuller, too. Everyone chats with their friends, or if they came by themselves, with new people. I often overhear cute conversations about sewing or knitting projects they’re working on, or movies and books they’ve been into lately. Usually, people’s heads are bobbing to the music, too.

As people are working on their designs, we all take peeks at what our neighbours are making. There are always plenty of oohs and ahhs, and compliments going around as each maker finishes their necklace and tries it on for the first time.

It’s so sweet to see strangers compliment and cheer each other on, and I’m so proud to facilitate a space for that. Selfishly, I also get so much secondhand dopamine and inspiration from everyone’s designs! I love fangirling over their creativity and gently hyping them up over their colour combinations and bead selections.

Who can come to your workshops?

I like to call attendees bead babes or bead buddies. Sometimes they’re super crafty people who sew, knit, crochet, or make junk journals. Other times, they’re dabblers, or people who haven’t really done anything creative in years, or don’t consider themselves creative at all.

I love meeting people at all different parts of their creative journey and watching them surprise themselves. One of my favourite things is helping people realise they’re creative, even if they’re just flexing those muscles for two hours in a workshop.

As we spend more time online, do you feel like coming together and working on something with your hands is kind of an antidote?

It is the antidote. Or at least one of them! It definitely was for me. I was totally burnt out when I started beading and hosting workshops, and it helped me reconnect with creativity in a way that felt fun and low-pressure. It reminded me that making things doesn’t always have to be perfect – sometimes it can just be for fun.

Plus, there are heaps of studies that show engaging in creative activities can reduce stress, lower cortisol levels and improve overall wellbeing. As it turns out, being crafty is actually pretty good for you!

What importance does DIY and crafting have in an era of fast fashion?

I think DIY and crafting help us understand the true value of things. It’s so easy to buy a necklace, dress, mug or even a book without really thinking about how much time, skill and effort went into making it. But once you’ve had a go at doing it yourself, you have a much stronger appreciation for the trial and error, and the practice and intention behind it.

Learning how to sew, or make things in general, has completely changed the way I consume. I’m more thoughtful about what I buy, more likely to repair something, and much more appreciative of handmade objects and the people who make them.

I also think crafting teaches you to look at things differently. A broken necklace isn’t actually broken; it’s just a collection of beads waiting to become something else. An old tablecloth might be a new hat. It encourages creativity, resourcefulness and seeing potential where other people might not.

And honestly, I think the more trendy we can make art and upcycling, the better. The more people who learn these skills, support makers, visit workshops, buy handmade goods and have a go at creating something themselves, the more likely we are to keep these skills alive for future generations. There’s something really special about making something with your own hands, and I don’t think that’s something we should lose.

To find out more about DIY Daisy’s workshops and sign up, head here.