Kara Laughlin has been working with needles since she was old enough to hold one. She's been selling her embroidered pins and wall work for the past six years.

A writer by training, Kara began her life as a fiber artist when she answered a want ad for a studio assistant to a rug maker. What began as a day job to support her writing habit quickly became the thing that made her jump out of bed in the morning. A move halfway across the country found her back at an office job, and missing the creative energy of the studio, so she picked up a needle and began embroidering pins to sell at the local farmers market.

Her work uses techniques that are thousands of years old to make jewelry and artwork that is decidedly modern, yet unapologetically pretty. Worked predominantly on silk in silk and cotton threads and finished with glass and silver findings, her pieces are often mistaken for paintings. In fact each piece of jewelry is sold with a frame so that it can serve as art for your home when not adorning your body.

Kara is a member of the American Crafts Council. Her articles have appeared in FiberArts magazine, The CraftsReport, and Crafts Business magazine.