Beads

Ranked #6,254 in Arts & Design, #103,163 overall

What's your passion ~ glass, stone, or polymer? Vintage or modern? Czech, Venetian, Bali, or Hilltribe? Do you like teeny little seed beads, or big honking lampworked beads? Do you like 'em all?
All is a really good choice!


Here you'll find the links to the makers and suppliers of the best beads available.

Lampwork Glass

Nancy Tobey
Abstract borosilicate beauties!
Barbara Becker Simon
Barbara is famous for her fish, but see what other wonders she creates.
Mavis Smith
Mavis calls her beads "Small Wonders"...and they are! Her mermaids and storybook figures are truly wonderful.
Blue Iris Designs
Joanne Morash's subtle and elegant beads.
Leah Fairbanks
Gardens of Glass ~ beautiful beads and vessels, "painted" with glass.
Sharon Peters
Bright and wacky, nothing but silly stuff!
Blue Heeler Glass
Subtle colors, wonderful shapes.
Dichroic, Inc
Carol Fonda and Monty Clark do both lampworking and fusing. Lovely unique beads.
Dustin Tabor
You won't believe the colors and patterns! Astounding...
Mazel Tov! Jewelry Treasures
Glass bead pendants you can incorporate into your designs.

"All the Daughters of Eve"



Lampworked glass beads

Fused Glass

Lacy Glass Studio
Fused dichroic glass beads by Gail Lacy.
Janet Wolery
Two-holed fused glass beads.
Sara Creekmore
Beautiful dichroic kiln-formed glass beads.

Fused glass heart



Bead by Gail Lacy

Furnace Glass

Fire Designs
Beautiful hand-blown cane, or furnace, beads.

Venetian and Murano Glass

De Roma Venetian Glass
Imported Venetian glass beads.
Venetian Bead Shop
Imported Venetian and Murano glass beads.
Gems 2 Behold
Wholesalers of Venetian and Murano glass beads.
Via Murano
Imported Venetian glass beads.

Seed Beads

Caravan Beads
Complete line of Miyuki products, including Delicas.
WhimBeads
Delicas, other Japanese seed beads in all sizes, fancy shapes.
Empyrean Beads
Many antique and vintage seed beads.
Kawahara
Seed beads with dichroic coating ~ fantastic!
FusionBeads
Great selection of Japanese seed beads with quantity discounts.
All Seed Beads
Czech seed beads.

"Winter Sunrise"



Seed bead embroidered neckpiece

Swarovski Crystals

The Beadin' Path
Many vintage and hard-to-find styles.
Best Buy Beads
All the contemporary shapes and colors.
Rainbows of Light
Incredible selection!

Czech Glass

Exclusive Imports
All shapes of Czech beads ~ pressed, lampworked, firepolished, and rhinestone
Czech Beads
Lots of handmade beads as well as molded and machine cut.
Wild Things
Many hard-to-find specialty shapes.
Purebeads
Arranged by color and sold in lots for good prices. Helpful articles too!

"Bling!"



Czech glass beads

Polymer, Clay, and Porcelain

The Spirited Bead
Beautiful polymer beads by Karen Lewis, aka Klew.
Clayfulmingles
Mia Rox's polymer cane beads.
Beyond Beads Gallery
Porcelain beauties by Jean Christen.
CF Originals
Spectacular critters and more by Christi Friesen.
Columbine Beads
Raku beads and pendants by Linda A Hendrix.

Antique and Trade Beads

African Accents
Beautiful handmade beads available from a number of African nations.
Rita Okrent
Ancient and ethnographic beads. Sadly, Rita died in 2005, but her website is remaining open.
African Crafts
A wide selection of African trade beads.
Crazy Crow
Native American and mountain man syle beadwork supplies.

"African Fish"



West African trade beads

Vintage and Lucite Beads

Estate Beads
Unique stylish beads, in glass, lucite, and even bakelite!
Talisman Associates
Vintage German glass beads, arranged by color.
BeadRoom
A huge selection of vintage glass, arranged by color and size.
The Beadin' Path
Lots of vintage glass and lucite.
Costume Jewelry Supplies
Unique beads and pieces that you won't find elsewhere.
Splendor in the Glass
Some of the most beautiful and unusual beads available anywhere.

"Shulamite's Garden"



Vintage lucite embellishments

Semi-Precious Stone

ArtGems Inc
A huge selection with an easily searchable website.
Trash City Beads
Low prices, no frills. Website or mail ordering only.

Metal

Hands of the Hills
Glorious Hilltribe silver and Khmer gold.
Nina Designs
Bali, Indian, Thai, and Hilltribe silver.
Beads of Bali
Wholesale Bali silver, direct from the producers.
Rishashay
Huge selection of exquisite silverwork.
Anne Choi
American artist with an international background, Anne creates silver beads like no others!
Green Girl Studios
Silver and pewter fairy-tale beads. Wonderful!
Tarak High Karat Gold
Wholesale only ~ beads, chains, and findings.

"Elegance"



Onyx and Bali sterling silver

Other Materials

Red Horse Ranch
Carved tagua nut beads.
EastWest DyeCom
Anodized aluminum beads.
Natural touch
Lightweight beautiful resin beads.

Full-Service Online Catalogs

Rio Grande
A comprehensive selection of raw materials, findings, chains, gemstones, beads, stringing, art jewelry supplies, display and packaging.
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads
Huge assortment, aimed at uniting the world, one bead at a time!
Rings and Things
This wholesale catalog is your one-stop source for beads, jewelry findings, charms, cord, polymer clay, Swarovski crystal beads and prisms, Czech glass beads, jewelry display items and other jewelry components.
Ornamental Resources
An enormous selection of beads and other decorative materials, with many hard-to-find items.
The Bead Babe
No license required for this on-line wholesale catalog.

Books and Magazines for the Bead Fancier

Beads of the World
By Peter Francis
A must-have if you want to collect beads and know what you have!
Collectible Beads
By Robert K Liu
A beautiful must-have reference book the collector.
The History of Beads
By Lois Sherr Dubin
Do you think history is boring? Think again! I really do recommend it if you're at all interested in the materials you claim to love!
Ornament Magazine
The rolls royce of wearable art. Often features beadwork of other cultures.
1000 Glass Beads
By Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader (ed)
Innovation and imagination in contemporary glass beadmaking. Stunning. Beautiful.
Beads of Glass
By Cindy Jenkins
Get ready to enjoy a wondrous journey into the fascinating world of glass beads.
Bead Book Shop
A comprehensive list of beading books.

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CyndiL

I am Cyndi L, a mixed media artist in Massachusetts.
My experience has been that life and art are intertwined. We are all works of art
made...
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