Natascha Bijl was born in the beautiful historic city of Delft, in the Netherlands, where she developed her passion for beadwork as a child. Some of the first recipients of her handmade jewelry were the customers of her parents’ flower shop.
Her other passion in life is working with horses and for many years, Natascha was a member of the Dutch show jumping team and worked as a training instructor, giving lessons to professional show jumpers.
In 2003, she opened her own bead shop—Natascha Kralen—where she runs the day-to-day operations and gives beginner and advanced beading lessons. She also finds time to feed her beading addiction and nurture her artistic side by designing her own jewelry; experimenting with various techniques and playing with colors.
Natascha wishes to share her love of beading with everyone, and with the Natascha Kralen team, attends various Bead Shows across Europe and North America, such as Creativa Dortmund, Perlen kunst Messe Hamburg, Master-Beads Bergamo, and Bead & Button Show Milwaukee.
