A very short glossary of some of the beads: materials and stories.
Amber
Reconstituted amber from Mali, West Africa in multiple colors. I can hardly stand to use these because I love the color and warmth so much... but they absolutely transform the rest of the colors you combine them with...so how could I leave them behind?
Vintage Glass
I fell in love with these perfectly pink berry shaped and sized glass beads in an antique mall, a wonderful lady had vintage supplies stocked in her shop in KC, and a lot of them were ethnic originals. I enjoyed meeting her.
Recycled Glass
These West African beads are hand cast in individual molds filled with crushed bottles and other glass that would otherwise be trash. Even though they are usually blue, they're very eco-Green!
Vintage Rose Petal beads
My grandmother Avis had a fragrant blue necklace made of these composition beads, a paste clay made with real rose petals. I love the color of them and have never seen more like it, so when they've run out I'll have to try to make some myself!