In my last blog I shared the arrival of the box with our Spring Jewelry Supplies featuring the box contents, including a couple of the new seed bead arrivals:
Gold Seed Bead Hank
Various Colors of Seed Beads
Seed beads have existed for centuries and have been used all over the world for cultural and religious ornamentation as well as for trade. Glass-making in the Middle Ages was a highly secretive process, and glass makers faced death if they shared their secret processes outside of their immediate area.
Today, most seed beads are produced in Japan and in Czechoslovakia. There are numerous shapes, sizes and colors. When most people hear "seed bead" they tend to think of small beads woven on a loom, and intricate designs featuring geometric shapes or floral designs. This use of seed beads is often referred to as "on loom". "Off loom" uses of seed beads may include seed beads sewn onto garments or used in jewelry as part of a unique artisan design.
The wide variety of seed bead size, shape and color appeals to Lee's artistic vision and design instincts. He has explored and incorporated various types of seed beads in his jewelry designs, combining the tiny beads with semi-precious stones like Black Onyx, beautiful Swarovski Pearls, and sparkling Czech Fire-polished beads.
Here are three of my favorite jewelry sets that include various types of seed beads.
Black Onyx, White Pearls and Bronze Rocaille Silver Jewelry Set
This set includes Bronze Rocaille Beads and Czech Chestnut Mix Seed Beads. The inside of a Rocaille bead may be a different color--often silver--giving the bead a unique appearance. The Chestnut Seed Bead Mix used in this set are a Czech bead mix of various shades of beige and brown.
Opalite Gold and Silver Jewelry Set
This set includes beautiful Twisted Gold Bugle Beads, Gold Seed Beads and the Czech Metallic Seed Bead Mix. The Czech Preciosa Twisted Gold Bugle Beads are long tubular-shaped beads with a stunning twist that adds sparkle and dazzling color. The Metallic Mix includes both gold and silver seed beads.
Peacock Blue and White Pearls Gold Jewelry Set
