IMPORTANT: I am going to be at a residency for the month of September and will NOT be mailing kits while I’m away. I’ll still receive requests for kits, and when I return in October they’ll be mailed out on a first come, first serve basis.

In 2024 I wrote a grant proposal for the Minnesota State Arts Board, Creative Individuals Grant, to teach geometric beadwork to Minnesotans. I had done some teaching prior but many people reached out to me to let me know that either the price, the time slot, or the location were barriers to access.

With that feedback in mind I wrote a grant to create tutorial videos for the basics of the kind of geometric beadwork that I do, to be made available for free online. Included in the grant was a provision to assemble and send out 50 beading kits to Minnesotans who may have difficulty accessing materials for whatever reason.

These kits include 18 grams (3 grams each of 6 colors) of beads, 2 needles, thread, and a small bead mat. They will be sent out on a first come, first serve basis to folx who fill out this form. I am asking that this information, and the link to this page specifically, be kept off the wider internet, and only shared person-to-person. I will not ask for any kind of “proof” of accessibility issues when asking for a bead kit; we’re working on the honor system here. The only hard requirement is that you provide a Minnesota mailing address. Absolutely NO exceptions.

You do not have to fill out the demographic information in order to receive a kit. It’s for the report I’ll make to the Arts Board at the end of the grant cycle, when they ask me what populations were served by the grant money. It has no bearing on whether or not I’ll give you a kit. Again, it’s all honor system. The favorite color thing is my version of a captcha ;D

I’ve begun to post the video tutorials to my YouTube channel, @hummingbird_knight. I plan to have five or so up by September, and then as many more as I can fit out in the late fall to winter months.

If you have any questions, please reach out.

Erin Peña is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.