Bead-Dazzling

Jan 21

The future of beads is here

While beads themselves have been around since the dawn of civilization, bead stores, the kind you may have come across in any town, really took off in the late `80s and early `90s. As a child of that era, I have many fond memories of perusing trays upon trays of seed beads in every color of the rainbow—and even a few shades more than that. (Shout out to Pittsburgh’s Bead Mine, now closed, but only after serving such `90s luminaries as Weird Al Yankovic and Dave Matthews for all their beading needs.)

But if your association with beaded jewelry is of the crafting variety, scores of jewelers and designers are using seed and bugle beads to great effect, elevating the miniscule materials to high art. See what we mean?

Deepa Gurnani “Macaw” earrings, $225 at Deepa Gurnani

Oscar de la Renta “Jasmine” flower earrings, $390 at Oscar de la Renta

Malouf on the Plaza “Becca” cuff, $580 at Malouf on the Plaza

Zia Couture beaded teardrop earrings, $69 at Zia Couture

Roxanne Assoulin “Flower Patch” necklace set, $195 at Roxanne Assoulin

Sachin & Babi “Coconut” bead earrings, $275 at W Hotels Store

Kenneth Jay Lane black seed bead earrings, $110 at Kenneth Jay Lane

Sam Taylor Studio seed beaded bracelet with sterling silver, $195 at Etsy

Devon Leigh ruby jade crystal tassel necklace, $475 at Devon Leigh

Editor: Samantha Durbin
Wordsmith: Rebecca Daly

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