Judi Koslen is a Key Biscayne legend. For fifty years she has been stringing beads and teaching jewelry making classes, first at the Sonesta Beach Resort Hotel and now at the Community Center. If you were to link together all the strings of beads she and her students have fashioned, the chain might well encircle the entire island.
Like many folks, Judi first came to South Florida looking for a fresh start. She arrived in 1973 with her then eleven-year-old son Jimmy and four-year-old daughter Carolyn in tow. “We were staying at a hotel on Miami Beach,” she recalls. “I took a ride out over the Causeway and discovered Key Biscayne. We found a house to rent and that was the beginning of the rest of my life.”
Before long, she started “playing with beads,” as she puts it. She’d spread the beads out on a blanket on the sand by the Sonesta, and kids would come up to see what she was doing. One thing led to another and she found herself teaching jewelry design classes, first on the beach and later up on the pool deck.
Geno Marron tended bar at the Sonesta for many years and recalls how special Judi’s presence was at the resort. “She touched generations of children as well as adults in such a positive way. Her soothing voice and spirit gave a sense of peace and harmony to all who sat with her to make jewelry.”
After the Sonesta closed in 2006, Judi relocated to the Community Center, where she has been teaching ever since. Her classes attract a pretty broad age range. “I have students from age 3 up to 98,” she says with an easy smile. And surely she would be happy to teach centenarians as well.
Judi teaches various stringing techniques, including knot tying. Students select from her wide assortment of colorful beads to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings. She also teaches simple jewelry repair.
She observes that people attend her classes for different reasons. “Some of the little boys want to make really long strings of beads. Some of the little girls focus on making fancy bracelets. And many people just find the act of stringing beads relaxing.”
Adriana Restrepo-Plotkin, Front Desk Manager at the Community Center, admires what Judi does. “She was a hit at the Sonesta and now she’s a hit at the Community Center. Her classes are very therapeutic and peaceful.”
Judi, who turned 87 last week and has three grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, shows no sign of slowing down. “My plan is to keep doing this until I’m 120.”
She attributes her longevity to being happy, staying busy, and spending time with people. She also recognizes the positive effect jewelry making has had on her life. “I get to express my creativity and it keeps me young.”
In 2019, she was selected to serve as Grand Marshal for the Key Biscayne Fourth of July parade – an honor recognizing her contributions to the community.
Judi is at the Community Center Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., with appointments available through the front desk. The fee for each session is $20, which includes three pieces of jewelry. All are welcome.
For the last Lighter Side column, click here.