Woman makes living with imported Japanese beads

Living in Gaziantep, 43-year-old Fatma Öztop's love for Japanese beads led her to pursue making a living through "miyuki," or Japanese beads, after attending a jewelry design course three years ago. Selling her products in a business that she launched with her partner one year ago, Öztop is working to make her products popular through social media promotions of her brand, which she named after her children.

Fatma Öztop told Anadolu Agency (AA) that she attended a jewelry design course as a hobby when she was a housewife.

Having thought that she would never able to manage this job during the first few days of the course, Öztop said, "I thought the course wasn't for me. However, after I encountered the Japanese beads, I recognized that my designs began improving. My designs began to look really elegant and I began to receive positive reactions for my work."

"The colors and sizes of the 'miyuki' beads are all same and they are solid beads which never become loose. I design them with embroidery. When I make a mistake with a bead, the model doesn't work, just like an embroidery canvas. So, I then have to cut it off and do it again. It takes hours to design a model. However, I am very happy while doing it. These beads aren't widely known. For this reason, I receive requests from people upon seeing the unique beads. Everyone thinks the beads are a part of the actual fabric at first sight," Öztop said.

Noting that she is trying to create many models with her jewelry, Öztop continued to say, "I am still learning and I will continue to make progress in my job."

She said "miyuki" beads are not commonly found in Turkey, adding that the beads are expensive since they are imported from Japan. "We buy the beads by grams the same way that you would buy gold. Even though they are expensive, the products are great. They appeal to the eye. I will contribute to the promotion of this unique bead."