With new CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements colors:
And with some new inspirations in R&T’s Design Gallery!
The mark of fashion
May 3, 2010They’ve been showing up in magazines a lot…
Shimmering & delicate:
Striped mother of pearl beads are in the magazines.
What’s red, or white, and striped all over?
Are they in your jewelry yet? 🙂
4 shapes, many shades…you won’t be overlooked.
Featured bead: very vogue Vintaj®
April 30, 2010Very vogue Vintaj®…
We’ve fallen in love with Vintaj. It’s not just that this is a well-known name you can trust. It also has to do with the strikingly high quality of these “natural brass” findings. And the ingenious, carefully worked-out designs…
I just have to focus in on a big favorite of mine. (Out of dozens of Vintaj items we’ve added!) There are a number of filigree beads they make that open up like petals, and close again if you want. Imagine the different ways you could use this and similar beads:
Surf the link at the top of this article to be treated to more great brass than a marching band.
And by the way, we’re adding exclusive designs using Vintaj items in our Design Gallery, so a search there will be rewarding too.
Have a Vintaj favorite? Let us know!
Featured bead: washers
April 26, 2010Washers may be a new term to some of you…but check out how useful these are!
Your basic washer bead
When you hear about washers in connection with jewelry making, it doesn’t usually mean those flat, round donuts of metal that the hardware store can sell you.
‘Washers’ usually means heishi beads. Rings & Things’ enjoyable Bead Shapes Glossary gives this definition:
heishi: a type of disk bead that is usually flat, but sometimes slightly puffed. Traditionally, this shape was achieved by drilling flat chips, stringing them and then grinding the strand against stone to gradually wear the edges into smooth, flat-edged circles. Pronounced hee-shee, this shape is also known as a wafer, wheel or spacer.
A couple of examples of washers…
Tim Holtz ‘Idea-Ology’ washer pack
Copper trade bead washers
So, now you’ll recognize a washer if you see one. (You could even use a Chinese coin, couldn’t you?)
Well now, what are these washers good for?
Cold connections! Riveted metal jewelry. Steampunk designs.
How do you use washers?
"Round out" your designs
April 22, 2010Rondelles “round out” your designs!
Get the shimmer with a trimmer glimmer…
Suchlike rondelles by CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements are a shape that fits many of your designs where you just can’t roll with ball-shaped round beads.
Call ’em rondelles, roundelles, or rotunds, but they all come in the 6mm and 8mm sizes so popular among robots. That’s about ¼ inch and ⅓ inch, American 🙂
Click on thru to take in the view: a spectacular spectrum of colors is available in “style #5040”!
Trade beads on CNN?
April 6, 2010As seen on CNN:
There was a really neat story on CNN the other day about how traditional beads are making a comeback in Ghana (West Africa).
There were several interesting points made by Ghanaians interviewed in the story.
• Wearing beads is seen as enhancing one’s femininity.
• The Ghanaian bead industry is a good example of recycling. It turns soft-drink bottles into wearable art! (Learn about more recycled glass beads.)
• Each bead color has a traditional meaning: gold for wealth, blue for purity, and more.
Rings & Things’ confessed bead addict / owner, Russ Nobbs, had a few observations about the story:
“Many of the Ashanti powder glass beads we carry in the ‘African and trade bead‘ category are the sort shown in the video.
“The multicolored beads shown in the video include a lot of ‘writing method’ beads where plain beads are decorated with ceramic colorants to resemble old European and African beads. This technique has expanded in both quality and variety in recent years.
“Powder glass beads are often referred to as ‘sand beads’ although they are not made from sand. Instead, they are made from crushed and powdered glass fused or sintered into beads. The powder glass industry is an important source of income for this area of Ghana.”
You’ll find plenty of glass African and trade beads in Rings & Things’ online store, as well as at our popular BeadTour bead shows. You may also enjoy our offerings of metal and natural-material beads from Africa!
Fern green & provence lavender
March 31, 2010These are the new Swarovski colors!
Fern green (color #193) sprouts up with an organic, woodsy tinge, making a great springtime addition! Puts me in mind of our coastal rainforests here in the Northwest.
Provence lavender (color #194) evokes an impression of peaceful fields in the south of France. You can practically inhale the bucolic bliss 🙂
While they each have a very different feel, both colors are offered in a similarly broad range of shapes: butterfly beads, cube beads, bicones (rondelle beads), faceted rounds, bicone drops, briolettes, heart pendants and rivoli pendants.
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night…
March 25, 2010“…stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”
Here’s a clue to what the R&T BeadTour crew willingly goes through, to bring beads to your town!
Yesterday’s bead show in Denver was up against a major snowstorm. Our bead-truck driver and road crew, coming from Omaha, squeaked in ahead of the blizzard.
Photos by Sky N.
2 of us flying in from Spokane had a rougher time, though…
√ Delayed in Spokane
√ Unexpected plane change in SLC
√ Lightning strike on their plane over Denver
√ Baggage unloaded and left on the tarmac (as the handlers were called in to avoid lightning), so baggage was soaked
√ Rental car couldn’t drive in the blizzard so they had to upgrade to a 4 wheel drive
√ They finally arrived at the hotel at 9 pm instead of the 4:30 they expected!
On the bright side, we safely unloaded the beads through the snow, and had a great Denver show…
More photos at R&T’s Facebook ‘Bead Fans’ page
And the roads look clear to Salt Lake City for tomorrow’s bead show!
Another way to score great beads
March 23, 2010We’re always working hard to bring you wonderful beads. Here’s a hint you won’t get from any other bead supplier:
Cost: $0
Dig the beads!
Literally. Most towns have older areas where nobody lives (anymore). You may spot old trash or bottles on a hillside, etc. Take your shovel there, and see what you find:
۰ I found the 1930s-40s Czech glass bead above, near my home. Gotta go back to see if there are any more 🙂 But even one is a fun, vintage, conversation piece.
۰ A friend of mine once found an early 1800s Hudson Bay Company trade bead while walking along a river bank.
۰ Some people in Georgia found a whole treasure trove of 400-year-old beads!
Ever found old beads in the ground? Share your story!
Skulls sell
March 10, 2010Not an op-ed piece. A tip from actual jewelry sellers!
Skulls sell!
The magic words: “Can I buy that from you?”
Skull beads, that is.
I work with Antonio. We were at R&T’s bead show the other day, and Antonio pointed out a strand of big gemstone skulls.
“I made a necklace with those, and people were walking up to me in Seattle asking to buy it off my neck.“
So Antonio bought another strand at the bead show! 🙂
Skull beads are a “thing” right now. If you dig ’em, or your customers do, then you’ve got to check out lampwork glass sugar skulls (etc.) —
!Calaveras!
–and new Viva Mexicana skull charms.
Also available in silver tone
There’s time to order these and make fun styles before Cinco de Mayo. Wrap your cranium around that 🙂