Our story in handmade jewelry and embroidery

We are Maria and Andrey, the people behind Ornamentico, Fleur du Jour, and Match & Stitch. Our work began as a crafting hobby and grew into three projects, each addressing a different question. We share this blog because the ideas behind them still come from the same place: our experience making things by hand.

First came the hobby

Before we had an online shop, we enjoyed experimenting with color and materials. We learned techniques, tried combinations, and made things we wanted to wear or share. There was satisfaction in watching a design take shape, one small detail at a time.

The places we have lived have influenced our work as well. Embroidery traditions, Mediterranean colors, and the flowers and changing seasons of the Slovenian Alps have found their way into our designs. Our studio is in Slovenia, where nature continues to inspire us.

Eventually, we wondered whether others might enjoy what we were making. Opening an online shop felt like a way to find out.

Ornamentico brought our handmade jewelry online

Ornamentico was our first step into selling our handmade work. Our jewelry combines materials such as Japanese beads, wood, and semi-precious stones. In addition to finished pieces, we create beading patterns and tutorials for those who want to make their own.

The shop gave our hobby a new direction. As we worked through designs, we also found ourselves wanting to share what we learned. A finished piece could become the starting point for someone else's beading project.

Fleur du Jour made room for interchangeable jewelry

Several years later, we began exploring interchangeable beaded pendants. We liked the idea that someone could change a piece of jewelry by choosing a different color, adding a charm, or combining familiar elements in a new way.

That idea became Fleur du Jour. Its flower-inspired collections combine beadwork with interchangeable elements, allowing selected pieces to be rearranged to suit your mood or your outfit.

We were still making jewelry, but now the wearer had a role in deciding how it would look. Giving that idea its own project let us develop it further.

A beading sample led us to Match & Stitch

The next idea began with a practical problem. While studying at Hand & Lock, Maria was working on a beading sample and could not find the Miyuki bead color that matched her DMC threads. Even finding a close match proved difficult.

Her classmates had the same problem. In bead embroidery, choosing a thread color is only part of the task. Finding beads that complement it can require a separate search.

We wanted an online tool to help with that comparison. When we could not find what we needed, we decided to build our own. That marked the beginning of Match & Stitch.

Our work has involved months of physically comparing DMC and Anchor embroidery threads with Miyuki Delica beads. We have also used a Datacolor colorimeter to support those comparisons with measurements. Our aim is to help makers find the closest available options across these materials. A close color match does not mean that thread and beads will look identical.

Using technology to help with the next idea

Choosing materials often raises another question: what could we make with them? Alongside the matching tool, we are developing AI-assisted methods to explore embroidery ideas from a photograph, a drawing, or a written description.

Physical comparisons and color measurements inform our matching work. AI helps us explore possible designs, which a maker can then adapt and test with real materials. These two parts are what we are bringing together in Match & Stitch.

The website is in the final stage of functional testing. We aim to make matchandstitch.com available in late September or early October 2026. We will share Match & Stitch updates here on the blog.

Why we share one blog

A color combination can become a piece of jewelry. A beading sample can reveal a problem worth solving. What we learn in one project often helps with another, so it makes sense to keep those stories together.

On this blog, we share beading tutorials and handmade jewelry projects from Ornamentico, ideas for interchangeable pieces from Fleur du Jour, and color-matching insights and development updates from Match & Stitch. We also explore hand embroidery and the techniques we are learning along the way.

Whether you make jewelry, embroider, or simply enjoy handmade pieces, we hope you find an idea here you want to try.

Explore the latest stories and tutorials

Maria and Andrey