My name is
Terry Clairmont. My husband and I live in the beautiful Mission Valley,
on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Reservation, in the small rural
community of St. Ignatius, Montana.
As an
elementary teacher, I value the importance of reading. It has also been
my great joy for many years. Therefore, when my daughter-in-law, Tanya,
beaded me a beautiful bookmark to go with a book she gave me for
Christmas, I was charmed! It was the loveliest thing I had every seen
between the pages of my favorite book. It inspired me to have-a-go
myself. I had been dabbling in beading. I used what beads I had on hand
to make my first bookmark. I was hooked!
I began by
making bookmarks for my students as a means for rewarding their
reading. They loved them and could not wait to earn another. Soon, I
was making them for my husband. He was my biggest advocate and began
sharing them with his friends. Before long, family members encouraged
me to try selling them and even bought some themselves as gifts! The
idea of sharing my handiwork with others was marvelous!
Creating my
little business has become a family effort. My stepson, Craig designed
the web site you are looking at. Barb, my sister-in-law, coined “Fine
jewelry for your books” which perfectly describes how I see my
bookmarks. My bookmarks can be found throughout western Montana as well
as Chicago and Tampa.
