Handcrafted Beaded Jewelry

Anyone can string beads, one after another, on a strand. But it takes an artist to select from the immense range of available beads and make an original creation. Handcrafted beaded jewelry is a work of wearable art.

In every culture since the Paleolithic cave dwellers, humans have used beads to adorn themselves. Some Native Americans fashioned beads from shells to make wampum. Other tribes made beads from the vertebrae of fish. When European traders arrived, beaded jewelry exploded with color, life and vibrancy. Handcrafted beaded jewelry remains a living art form in most Native American communities.

Africans fashioned a variety of beads, too. And, as in the Americas, trade beads sparked new heights of creativity. Today, some African bead makers grind waste glass to fashion new beads. African trade beads are highly prized by jewelry makers the world over. Many bead artists, whether or not they are of Afro-American descent, make handcrafted beaded jewelry using beads with African “roots.”

More recently, immigrants from southeast Asia have brought their own tradition of handcrafted beaded jewelry. The Hmong and other tribes have a long tradition of using silver and colored beads as adornment.

Glass beads were taken around the world by European traders, so it is not surprising that most European nations have their own traditional designs for handcrafted beaded jewelry. In Russia and eastern Europe, for instance, netted designs have long been popular. As American beaded jewelry artists explore these old traditions and techniques and ever-increasing variety of design becomes available.

As we become a more and more casual culture, handcrafted beaded jewelry becomes an important wardrobe component. We just don’t wear pearls and twin-set sweaters anymore. But beaded jewelry seems absolutely appropriate with casual wear. And, when the jewelry artist has found antique African trade beads, or produced a collar of exquisite Russian netting, or incorporated a finely detailed lampwork bead, handcrafted beaded jewelry becomes just right for the most formal of occasions.