Scratching Your Head About All the New Shaped Glass Beads?

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Guest blogger Amy Blevins is the owner of Bead & Glass Boutique, a full-service bead shop in Pitman, New Jersey.

From Jennifer: Do all the new shapes and sizes of glass beads leave you dizzy when you set foot inside your favorite local bead shop? Fear not! One of my favorite bead shop owners, Amy Blevins, owner of Bead & Glass Boutique in Pitman, New Jersey, has put together this handy guide to all of the new shaped glass beads hitting the shelves. The design possibilities are endless with all of these new options, so take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with all of these great glass beads!

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The beading industry has been producing a plethora of new shapes for us beaders to play with in the last few years. Some of the new shapes have been embraced lovingly; others have left some of us scratching our heads on what to do with them. The two-hole bead craze is in full swing.  Most of the two-hole introductions are manufactured in the Czech Republic, with one newcomer from Japan.

The 5x5mm Tila Bead was introduced by the Miyuki company in 2011.  These are a flat, square, thin two-hole bead.	Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
This year, on January 16, Miyuki launched a half sized Tila, known as the "Half Tila Bead".  These measure 5.0x2.3x1.9mm, and also have two holes.  They work interchangeably with their full sized predecessor as the holes in each are equidistant apart.	Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.

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BeadStuds

Coming this week is the launch of the brand new 6x6mm Bead Pyramids from the Czech Republic.  Bead Pyramids have also been called Bead Studs and were originally introduced in a 12x12mm size.  These are a pyramid shaped bead, with a flat bottom and two parallel holes.  They are a pressed glass with slightly rounded edges and corners.  These are a highly anticipated size and we're very much looking forward to new designs with these little geometrics.

Czechmates are a two-hole bead line up, manufactured in the Czech Republic.  It began with the two-hole tiles (6mm), and has been expanded to include a two-hole lentil (6mm), a two-hole brick (3x6mm), the two-hole dagger (5x16mm), and most recently the new two-hole triangle (6mm).  The brand new triangle is a highly coveted bead, and can be used in bead weaving projects, bead embroidery projects, and even in two-strand stringing projects.

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	O-Beads

Sabine Lippert first designed the Rizo bead, which is a rice-shaped drop bead that measures 2.5x6mm.  More recently, she has introduced the O-bead, which is taking the bead world by storm!!  These little 4x1.5mm cuties have seed bead weavers, bead embroiderers, and stringing enthusiasts all clamoring to get their hands on them.  So much so, that initial production sold out in less than two weeks!  Production went into high gear and we're now seeing some new colors & great designs coming from designers.  Lots of new patterns to play with!

Other new and notable beads from the Czech Republic:

Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.		SuperDuo - a two hole pressed bead, sold like a seed bead, measuring 5x2mm
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.		SuperUno - a single hole pressed bead, sold like a seed bead, manufactured to be used with the SuperDuo beads in projects where the designer does not wish the second hole of the SuperDuo to be exposed.  The SuperUno is the solution.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.		Thorn - a new bead from Preciosa, 5x16mm round dagger style, single hole at top, works very nicely as the end piece on fringe or as an earring drop.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.		Pellet - a new bead from Preciosa, a glass cylinder measuring 4x6mm with a single hole through the center of the bead.  Their unique feature is that they are hourglass shaped and when placed side by side, they will flip to opposite directions, interlocking their centers.  We've seen them in woven projects as well as part of a strung necklace or bracelet.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.		Piggy - a Czech glass bead, measuring 4x8mm, with a domed shape and two holes.  One hole is through the center of the peak of the dome, and the other hole is off-center.  Their name was given as the bead resembles a pig's nose; a unique bead that hasn't gained a lot of traction of yet.  The off-center hole has presented a challenge to beaders. (Rremember when I mentioned scratching heads?  The off-center hole has put some of us off-balance.)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.		Rulla - a two-hole tube/barrel shaped bead, measuring 3x5mm, sold like a seed bead.  These are great in bead weaving, bead embroidery, and when stringing a two-strand bracelet or necklace.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.		Rose Petals - a pressed glass Czech bead with a single hole near the top.  These are available in two sizes: 8x7mm, which are fabulous as fringe, and a larger 14x13mm size.  Some brand new colors are being introduced in the 8x7 size, which we are quite excited about.

With all these new shapes and sizes of glass beads, it's easy to let your imagination soar! Create the beading projects of your dreams with all of these amazing new shapes of glass beads!

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Bead & Glass Boutique is a full service bead store, located in historic uptown Pitman, NJ.  Owner Amy Blevins has been a bead enabler for over 10 years, and she understands your need-to-bead.  A progressive store that embraces many of the new trends, Bead & Glass Boutique is now hosting online bead sales on Facebook.  The newest products are available several times a month, usually on Thursday nights at 8pm EST.  The next Online Sales Event is 2/27 at 8pm EST.  You can join them and select from the newest shaped beads this week at www.Facebook.com/BeadAndGlass.

 

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