Posts Tagged ‘beads’

Featured bead: Swarovski 5328 “Xilion” bicone

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

The Featured Bead this time is actually a whole series of beads — one that you probably need to know about!

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Coming soon: new #5328 Xilion cut bicone beads from CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements!   You may ask, “Dave, why exactly is this important?”  The reason is that this bead is replacing one of the most popular beads in the world, the #5301 faceted bicone.

The #5301s from CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements are being phased out by Swarovski, and replaced with Xilion cut #5328 bicones.   Swarovski plans to start shipping #5328s in June, and have a full transition before the end of the year.  This new cut is unique to Swarovski (preventing unauthorized imitations), and provides a new, higher degree of brilliant shine.  Here is one more view, in “line art” provided by the manufacturer:

5328_vs_5301_lineart2

So if you’re a fan of #5301s, now is the time to stock up.  They’ll be collector’s items soon!  The most popular colors and sizes of #5301 bicone beads are available at low factory-pack prices when you buy in large quantities.  For information on coatings and finishes, see our free online glossary of crystal coatings & effects.

May giveaway:
* You enter by leaving comments this month
* At the end of May, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*
So read the blog regularly, to enter a lot & to see if you won!

“As seen in” — thankful Friday

Friday, May 8th, 2009

We like to end the week on an up note, by thanking people who are good to us.

This week, the BeadStyle blog discussed a favorite find of emerald slices at a past Rings & Things show.

This week, the BeadStyle blog discussed a favorite find of emerald slice beads at a past Rings & Things show.

And AsetMekti was kind enough to suggest people visit our BeadTour bead shows.  Fab Fibers shared the excitement of preparing for our trunk show to come to town, and some bead finds when we showed up.  The Lampwork Art blog was nice enough to publicize our Louisville, KY show.

The Little Bead Shop showed off the awesome competition winners' creations in our 2009 "Your Designs Rock!" contest.

The Little Bead Shop showed off the awesome competition winners' creations in our 2009 "Your Designs Rock!" contest.

Meanwhile, Dawno generously steered her readers to our contests, even though the more entries, the lower her chances of winning are!

CraftGossip.com gave some handy tips on Finding Jewelry Artists Through Twitter, using us as an example.  (Okay, this was back in April, but we just became aware of it!)

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Wendy at Craft Dinner recommended stone cold stone lovers to check out our popular Gemstone Beads Index.  Another recommendation of the “Gem Index” appeared at Winged Heart Studio.

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In an excellent tutorial on how to dabble in mixed media with porcelain blanks, The Rabbit Muse kindly gave a shout-out to us as a good supplier for bails to hang them on.

In other design news, Margot Potter recommend Melanie’s (of Earthenwood Studio) designs using our lava-rock beads.

Thanks so much to all of you in the blogs and on Twitter for your nice words about Rings & Things.  We appreciate you!

May giveaway:
* You enter by leaving comments this month
* At the end of May, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*
So read the blog regularly, to enter a lot & to see if you won!

A jumble of June birth gems

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

We took a look ahead to find out the what June’s birthstones are.  There’s a jumble of gems to work with!

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Pearl is one of the most widely recognized June stones.  It’s nice that recent years have brought countless new styles and shapes of affordable freshwater pearls, including the ones you see here.  Have fun picking out a pearl that fits the personality of your June baby (or client!).

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Agate is the other commonly used birthstone for June.  It’s also the birthstone for Gemini, May 21 through June 20.  Are you aware of the huge variety of agate beads available?  This is another great browsing opportunity.

For a more unique touch, we’ve also found these stones used for June:

  • Emerald (also the Spring gemstone, and Cancer’s birthstone, June 21 to July 22) — a popular color of glass beads
  • Ruby (which is the Summer gemstone too, i.e. June 21 onwards) — there are lots of ruby-colored glass beads as well!
  • Moonstone (also famous for going so great with a basic black dress!)
  • Alexandrite — remember you can use glass beads in this color too
  • Beryl (St. Thomas)

You can learn about the physical & metaphysical properties of gemstones like these in the new edition of our popular Gemstone Beads Index!

Have you seen other great birthday-jewelry ideas for June?  Post them here in the Comments!

May giveaway:
* You enter by leaving comments this month
* At the end of May, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*
So read the blog regularly, to enter a lot & to see if you won!

Featured bead: “Russ troll” bead

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

I’ll be occasionally presenting a Featured Bead in this blog, and to start off this series, what could be better than…

Featured bead: "Russ Troll"

Featured bead: the "Russ Troll" from Rings & Things

A Rings & Things exclusive!  Our “Russ Troll” beads commemorate our iconic founder & owner, Russ Nobbs.  (He’ll probably ask me to remove those words once he reads this.) :)

These are handmade Peruvian ceramic beads, with a hole large enough (2.5-3mm) for just about any cording you’re going to string them on.  On narrower stringing materials, you might keep Russ in his place with Bead Bumpers.

Russ stands about 32 millimeters tall, which is approximately an inch and a quarter.  That makes him the Littlest Troll.  He has a varied wardrobe, as you can see in the picture above, so order a bunch.  Collect ‘em all!

Want to nominate a featured bead?  Leave a comment below, or tweet me: @Rings_Things on Twitter.

April giveaway: “DIY Display Ideas”:
* You enter by leaving comments under the March 31 giveaway announcement
* At the end of April, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*
So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

Cute new tiny ceramic food beads

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Rings & Things has carried great ceramic beads & pendants for a long time.  Now, we expand the menu with a smorgasbord of new tiny food beads

Lots of coffee shops sell unique artisan jewelry.  How about a Java theme, with our new coffee-bean-bead-28-684-228 coffee bean bead?

And what could go better with that cup o’ Joe than pastries?  We’ve noticed a regular cult of cupcakes in the crafts world lately (seriously, search on Etsy).

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Following the idea that there can never be too many holes for beading, we serve up these  little donut beads…

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A healthier alternative might be our fresh new peas-in-a-pod-bead-28-684-224 peas-in-a-pod bead.  Or perhaps some pumpkin-28-684-223-thmb pumpkin?

Stay tuned for more new ceramic beads…check our New Arrivals section in the online store!

April giveaway: “DIY Display Ideas”:
* You enter by leaving comments under the March 31 giveaway announcement
* At the end of April, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*
So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

“CRYSTALLIZED”? What’s that?

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

FYI: you’re probably used to seeing the Swarovski® name whenever crystal beads are mentioned.

The Swarovski company has changed the brand name of all its crystal beads.  This is why you’re suddenly seeing this next to (I’m making like a bead maker, and rounding) several hundred items in Rings & Things’ store:

CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements

A really good discussion over at Hands That Create made us realize that people have wondered about this different labeling.  So, a few quick pointers:

  • NO, this is not a new product
  • NO, this is not a new crystal process
  • NO, this is not a new coating
  • YES, these are the same old Swarovski crystals!
  • YES, this is just a new name

For bringing this up, thanks to cmydesigns, zettarose, bronzebullet, and noodles at Hands That Create!

Questions or comments about our crystals, beads, or findings? Leave a reply below!

April giveaway: “DIY Display Ideas”:
* You enter by leaving comments under the March 31 giveaway announcement
* At the end of April, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*
So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

Ready for May birthstones?

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Plan ahead for May birthstones!

There’s one main birthstone for May, emerald.  This is also the seasonal birthstone for Spring, so it’s doubly appropriate.  For an economical emerald look, think about glass beads.  Anything from these metal-core Calypso™ (“Pandora”-style) lampwork beads…

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…to the ever-popular, economical Cosmic Crystal™ bicone…

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…can be an evocative way to play on the emerald theme.  Just search our online store for “emerald”!  Or for “sapphire”, which some consider a birthstone for Taurus.  Now that’s multi-purposing your components!

Speaking of zodiac signs, Gemini’s birthstone is agate.  We always seem to have dozens of varieties of it at Rings & Things’ BeadTour bead shows, and you can always find agate beads in our online store.  A couple of favorites are Botswana agate, like these faceted rounds…

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…and blue lace agate, like this bib:

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Less well-known May gemstones, according to various traditions, are chrysolite, carbuncle, and chalcedony.  For reliable, honest background information, you can look these and many more up in our popular Gemstone Beads Index!

What’s your favorite May birthstone, or birthday jewelry?  Share it in a comment below.  You can even link to pictures of your own creations!

April giveaway: “DIY Display Ideas”:
* You enter by leaving comments under the March 31 giveaway announcement
* At the end of April, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*
So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

Urgent: The Bead Museum needs your help

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Proving the power of  the internet to quickly spread important news:  I found this information posted by my boss in an online forum before he could walk over to my desk.

Using that same power for good: Please read and act on this urgent announcement.

bead_museum_logoThe Bead Museum in Arizona is in danger of closing after 23 years. The Bead Museum in DC has already closed; the Arizona museum is the only one to showcase beads and beaded artifacts from around the world.*

A period without an acting director has left the Bead Museum of Arizona without grantwriting and fundraising for the current year.  The economy has taken its toll.  Jamey Allen, Alice Sheer and others are working to raise funds, and they’re asking for our help.  Rings & Things and other bead sellers are contributing to the efforts.  Here are some snips from letters and posts about the fund raising campaign.

The Bead Museum of Arizona is the original bead museum begun by Gabrielle and Ted Liese in the mid-1980s.  The closing of the smaller Bead Museum in DC, and the much earlier closing of the Museum of  Native American Cultures in Spokane, WA, left the Bead Museum of Arizona as the primary bead-centered museum in North America.  (The Picard Trade Bead Museum and African Art Gallery in Carmel, CA is the only other.)

If there are angels who could pledge large sums toward the effort to preserve the Museum and its collections intact, please contact Alice Scherer at alice [at] europa [dot] com or call her in Oregon at (503) 655-3078.  Or if it is more comfortable for you, by all means contact the acting Director of the Bead Museum, Kelly Norton, at director [at] beadmuseumaz [dot] org Or simply go to http://www.beadmuseumaz.org/ , find the Donate button on the left, click on it and follow the PayPal prompts from there.  1800 individuals with $100 donations and 20 who can give $1000 may be more realistic, but we’ll be glad to accept all donations!

In the meantime, if you are not currently a member of the Bead Museum, please join.  The cost for an individual member is $40, and here is the web address: http://www.beadmuseumaz.org/membership.htm

The Bead Museum of Arizona is the repository for:

  • the collections of Peter Francis Jr. (the Center for Bead Research), including a collection of many hundreds of bead sample cards
  • the vast majority of the artifacts collection of the Center for the Study of Beadwork, including what may well be the largest collection of bead looms in the world, as well as nearly 100 bead sample cards, and a slide bank of thousands of slides of the work of contemporary beadworkers from the United States, Europe and Asia in the period around the late 1980s and ‘90s (pre-The New Beadwork)
  • an extensive collection of beads, necklaces and relevant artifacts from Asian, African , Latin American and European sites donated by the Lieses, Lois Dubin and other long-time collectors
  • a collection of the work of contemporary glass bead makers starting with those of the early period in the 1980s and ’90s who exhibited in the ground-breaking 1993 exhibit at the Bead Museum
  • the Library: several thousand books and periodicals originally started as a private Art Library and grown to a valuable Research Library about the history of personal adornment, which includes important information on the history of glass

Also included in the collections are archived letters and papers of many collectors / researchers, including:

  • Elizabeth Harris
  • Peter Francis, Jr.
  • Lady Gloria Dale
  • Albert Summerfield
  • Michael Heide

Please make a donation using the link above or mail it directly to:

The Bead Museum
5754 West Glenn Drive
Glendale, Arizona 85301

Read more at  beadcollector.net…  Thanks for your consideration!

* Paragraph from Beading Daily newsletter, April 20, 2009.

Ever visited the Bead Museum in Arizona?  Have thoughts about why they’re such a valuable institution for our community?  Leave a comment to talk about it!

April giveaway: “DIY Display Ideas”:
* You enter by leaving comments under the March 31 giveaway announcement
* At the end of April, 2 winners will receive coveted Rings & Things goodie packs!
*
So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

Multi-purposing your art beads: Beadable pen findings (& more)

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Rings & Things has introduced a popular line of beadable-pen findings, perfect for displaying art beads!

These pens are the perfect partner for any bead artisan’s wares.  (Lampwork? Clay? The possibilities go on…)  They’re also a great way of showing customers that they can “multi-purpose” any beads they buy from you.

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Artists can set off the charms of their glass, ceramic, metal or other bead creations to maximum advantage by pairing them with a choice of pen colors.  A range of seven hues, from pearl white or matte silver to burgundy or copper, is on hand.

Made of genuine brass alloy, these blue-ink beadable ballpoints have an anodized finish. Each pen is 6″ long with a 2.5″ beadable section (adjustable by 0.125″).  The pen nib retracts with a twist.  The rod (mandrel) is 3/32″, perfect for showing off lampwork beads with 2.5mm holes or greater. The metal casing has good heft, unlike plastic varieties.  The shorter threads of the rod screw into the base of the pen.

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These pens become even more of a permanent treasure with the addition of optional ink refills.  Refills are offered separately in either black or blue ink.

We carry an ever-growing line of ‘beadable’ specialty findings, from magnifying glasses to lighter covers to bookmarks.  Keep an eye on our site for more new items that you can bead in various ways!

Have a favorite beadable finding?  Looking for one but haven’t found just the right thing yet?  Leave a comment below to talk about it!

March news: New monthly lottery, right here on the Rings & Things blog.  Here’s how it works:
* You enter by leaving comments. Comment on any March post(s).
* At the end of March, I’ll randomly draw 2 winners of surprise goodie packs! …So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

5 things you didn’t know about our bead shows

Friday, March 13th, 2009

In honor of our “on the road” season, starting today in Houston and going till some time in November…

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Russ the Bead, perched high atop the Rings & Things bead truck

5 things you didn’t know about Rings & Things’ BeadTour:

  • “Our trunk shows grew out of doing a hotel room show nearby a trade show. In that case it was an order-only glass or ceramic craft show. We couldn’t sell any stock and had lots of one of a kind strands that sold best at delivery shows. We had a booth at the show and invited our customers to walk a block to the hotel and see our delivery goods there. It worked. [General manager] Kim said “Ah HAH!” and the R&T trunk shows were born.” — our owner Russ
  • Our crew packed up one show & immediately left town to avoid AM rush hour next day in another city. But busy small-town streets ate up their head start… Then, at our hotel, no one could find any of the boxes of stock that we’d had shipped to us. We spent an hour and a half tracking the shipment, watching video surveillance tapes and finally, finding them in the restaurant storage. One box (of 16 boxes) was marked “Plated Chain” so the hotel had put it all with Plates and China in the kitchen!! Our general manager Kim was disappointed that our crew’s lunch was not served on “plated chain.”
    (We maintain a whole web page of more funny things that’ve happened at our shows!)
  • We’ve done about 600 shows in dozens of cities in 36 states, selling [secret number deleted :) ] tons of beads every year.
  • Our bead shows are a great way to personally meet a bunch of the Rings & Things people you deal with by phone, email, and Internet.  So you can come say hi and pick our brains about nearly any subject!
  • If you really really look, you might see Russ the Bead (above) at our shows!

Have a favorite “R&T” bead show story?  Any questions about our shows?  Comment below…and be automatically entered in our raffle!

March news: New monthly lottery, right here on the Rings & Things blog.  Here’s how it works:
* You enter by leaving comments. Comment on any March post(s).
* At the end of March, I’ll randomly draw 2 winners of surprise goodie packs! …So read the blog regularly to see if you won!