Helen O’Donnell Designs

Welcome!

Evolution is in the air! Helen O’Donnell once owned a successful bead shop, Gahanna Bead Studio. She retired in March of 2021 and now has evolved into a semi-retired beading and mixed media artist. Her site features beads from Les Perles par Puca® – Paris® and kits. One day, she hopes to add handmade jewelry, crafted with originality and with care. Helen takes pride in designing original, one-of-a-kind works of art and limited edition jewelry that you’ll be proud to own and wear.  She sells her jewelry at shows local to the Columbus, Ohio area and at Hayley Gallery in New Albany, Ohio, at Art@43023 in Granville, Ohio. 

Helen’s newest direction is in mixed media. One day, out of the blue, Helen was inspired to make shadowboxes out of donated upholstery fabric, fabric from her stash, her own painted papers, and ephemera and found objects. Her subjects range from classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, John Steinbeck, and Jules Verne, to science greats like Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Lately, she has also been dabbling in abstract painting, under the tutelage of Jacqueline Sullivan and others. A limited selection of shadow boxes is available at The Gallery on Gambier, in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

 

Desert Museum

“Desert Museum” was created with Toho Beads mini-kit for 2025. The colors were inspired by a visit to the Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona many years ago and made use of a focal cabochon I made from dried plant material and resin.

When Bison Roamed the Plains

This was my first entry to Battle of the Beadsmith for 2025. It advanced to the second round but was then eliminated from future rounds. My inspiration for this piece was the tall grass prairies that we are cultivating on our land and features a patinated brass butterfly that was aged using household chemicals and several ceramic cabochons I created with plant matter from around the yard.

Bog Knees and Pine Trees

This was my second bead embroidered collar, inspired by a trip to the North Carolina cedar bogs with a college forestry class. It happened to be my anniversary, and I admit to returning home rejuvenated and filled with awe! It was a magnificent day topped off with an evening celebration with my husband.

Fanfare Earrings

These fun-to-make earrings are available in made-to-order kits. Recently, I taught this design to the Upper Midwest Bead Society on Zoom, my first foray into online teaching. I had a blast and hope the students did, too. This is a fun design to make using beads from Les Perles par Puca® – Paris and assorted other beads. You can find the tutorial here.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Beads

We are an authorized representative for Les perles par Puca®, designed in France and manufactured in Czechia.

 

Jewelry

Original jewelry designed and made by Helen O’Donnell is offered here. Boho necklaces, cork earrings, bead-woven bracelets, and more can be found here in one-of-a-kind and limited edition styles COMING SOON..

Kits

Original designs by Helen O’Donnell are offered in kit form. Instructions are provided via downloadable PDFs filled with photographs; and kits are carefully curated and packaged for your convenience. COMING SOON.

Tutorials

We are pleased to offer you free tutorials from French designer Puca Annick. Here you will find more than a hundred designs using Les perles par Puca® – Paris beads.