The last time you got your bead on was when you were pounding it out at Bikram yoga. Contrary to popular belief, there’s an easier — and prettier — way to do it.

Say with the hundreds of tiny glass beads incorporated into Clara Francis’s beautiful jewellery. Each piece is crafted by the designer and her small team in her London studio.

Originally an actress, Francis — whose magpie sensibilities eventually outweighed her thespian ambitions — taught herself the techniques required for Japanese glass beading. She then began selling the nature-inspired designs (hummingbird earrings, delicate butterfly pendants, Alice bands crawling with exotic insects) in Spitalfields Market before her work was snapped up and sold worldwide.

Proving there’s not always a glass ceiling.

Available online at clarafrancis.co.uk, £60-£350.

Photo: Courtesy of Clara Francis Jewellery