Vintage Bead Source
So you all know now where we got all of our vintage Lucite beads. Ever wonder about the other stuff? You know, the vintage German glass, old Japanese lampwork, vintage rough-cut rounds, and the ever so rare antique Venetian foil beads (yes I know these aren’t online, you need to visit our store). Well, I’m going to tell you. Here it is, the secret source for vintage glass beads is... Everywhere.

Sorry, that was mean. But you know, it always cracks me up when people will approach me or the staff in the store or at a show and say “Where did you get these beads?” Often I’ll think they’re referring to the beads origin. So I’ll say “Oh those are from West Germany when there was a WEST Germany…” And they’ll say, “No, I mean where did YOU get these beads?” Now I know that people are well-intentioned. They love beads. They can’t get enough. Even though they shop with us, they want more. They still fully have intentions of shopping with us. But the thought of finding out where the mother-lode, the bead god who bestoweth all things bead on this earth is located is just too tempting. And in the mind of this customer, and I know because this was in MY mind before I knew much about this business, there is this ONE SOURCE for all beads and everyone who owns a bead store gets their beads from them. But this source just doesn’t exist. Especially in the world of vintage beads.

I once heard a woman who owns another bead company comment about how ‘incestuous’ the bead business was. I thought to myself “Ew, I don’t like that word…” but it’s really quite true. One person comes across a stash of say, vintage Swarovski.She calls all her friends who love Swarovski & shares the wealth. Then one of the friends sells her beads on ebay. Another sells her lot to a local bead store at a profit. The other friend leaves hers in her basement until her Granddaughter discovers them cleaning out the house generations later. As with anything dealt in vintage or antiques, there is no one source. It’s an open and living marketplace. Which is why finding, buying and collecting vintage beads is so satisfying. It’s the thrill of the treasure hunt. The quest for the booty.

So that said, I wanted to tell you about one of our vintage bead finds that happened, oh, about 4 years back. A woman called me and left a message with one of the girls at the store that she wanted me to call her regarding “some vintage beads she wanted to sell”. Sometimes this is a very tempting message. However, 9 times out of 10, it’s just one old crystal necklace that this person wants $200 for and knows that we just have to have it. This was not one of those times. As I chatted with her, I learned that she had one room in her house devoted to her drawers and drawers of old beads. She described to me how she had her collection arranged in Lucite drawers (yes, Lucite drawers) by color and by style. She said “You know, there is a whole shelf of pink necklaces from Venice, and a whole shelf of blue beads from Germany…” I was drooling. She was from New Jersey. I called my mother and we had plane tickets to head out for a visit the next day.

This collection was not uncirculated beads like 98% of what we find is. These were old necklaces. Marion had been a flea marketer and had collected jewelry for over 45 years. She even had her finds still in the original baggies that they were in when she had them wrapped up at the antique show 15 years ago with the prices still on them… a Venetian foil necklace with a browned old jewelry tag that read $4, a 3-strand Swarovski crystal choker in a stained baggy with $1.50 written across the front. Wow.

We purchased the whole collection. We still have a few of her more special pieces that my Mom insisted she squirrel away “to put Max through college.” In fact, I’ll see if I can photograph some of them for this blog just to truly tantalize you. Most of the lot was estate jewelry in really great condition: strung well, good clasps and very few broken beads. Because of my love of all things old, I think it’s BAD KARMA to cut up vintage necklaces just to use or sell the beads. Now I’m not talking about the poorly designed necklace I made back in 1992. That’s one of the great things about beads: the raw components are always there. You can always rework, redesign and update them. I’m talking about signed pieces by Miriam Haskell, or unsigned but well designed pieces in great shape. However, there was ‘one whole shelf’ of drawers and drawers of broken necklaces. These baggies had the BEST beads in the whole lot hiding in them. Now these beads are up for grabs! These beads are just begging to be used. After all, they’d been collecting dust in dirty baggies for years and years.

So always be on the lookout. You’re not missing anything, I swear. You know where vintage beads come from: everywhere. But the thing is, you have to be looking. Don’t take anything for granted. A church fair can be a bead collector's dream come true. A Goodwill can have a dusty strand of French glass right next to the Y-Necklace that was made in China. And your neighbor who you run into at the mailbox who says “Oh you bead? My Aunt just moved to a smaller house and we found these 3 boxes in her basement of glass vials of seed beads… do you want to take a look?” You’ve found it! You’ve found the source.

And if you don't want them? Call us!
1-877-92-BEADS, or;
Email Heather