The Bead Society

The Bead Society The Bead Society, of Los Angeles, founded in 1975 by an enthusiastic group of bead collectors, jewelry designers, importers and scholars.

The Bead Society, of Los Angeles, the oldest of its kind in the United States. In June of 2020, we celebrated our 45th anniversary. The Bead Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports the study, discussion, and shared knowledge of beads in the United States and throughout the world. The organization has undergone many changes over the years as we grew from fifteen to more than 30

0 strong. The Mission of the Bead Society is to disseminate the knowledge of beads and all related subjects. Our goal is to bring that knowledge to as many people worldwide as possible.

Ahh! The humor in Jewelry!
06/09/2026

Ahh! The humor in Jewelry!

As it turns out, I’m pretty easy to please.

Show me something that (even vaguely) recalls a pencil sharpener, ruler, or- better YET!- a wearable set of the ICONICALLY nostalgic Crayola crayons and I’m SOLD!

Though I’d be MORE than happy to wear accessories crafted from the waxy originals (has anybody done that?!) there’s something rather delightful about seeing our childhood treasures get the ‘fine jewellery treatment’...

Enter Nadine Ghosn’s IMPOSSIBLY cool Crayola-inspired open bangles.

Featuring bodies of brushed gold and black enamels, the true ingenuity of Ghosn’s wearable crayons lies in the fact that those hyper-realistic coloured tips are not wax or cast plastic, but painstakingly carved HARDSTONES; lapis lazuli, semi-translucent apple jades and yellow jasper, to name but a few!

I’m imagining a stack of them on my wrist right NOW.

(Whilst happily wearing my oversized 1980’s Crayola carton-shaped tin badge, of course!)

https://www.instagram.com/nadineghosnjewelry/

06/09/2026

I love that they say, What’s the point of having Barbie’s if you aren’t going to play with them?

June Meeting! Wind Chimes! See details here. Join us!
05/27/2026

June Meeting! Wind Chimes!
See details here. Join us!

​Our guest speaker/instructor, Sylvia Humphrey is continuing our creativity quest this month at our Tuesday, June 9th Bead Society Program Meeting. We will be creating a single strand wind chime...

So sad that they are on the other side of the country!
05/23/2026

So sad that they are on the other side of the country!

Starstuff & Cosmic Dust, our 3rd annual Beadwork Challenge exhibit will close on June 28th, giving you one more month to come see this incredible show!

The theme is the final frontier itself, the Cosmos. The great astronomer Carl Sagan called the Cosmos “all that ever was and all that ever will be,” and yet it is also “the greatest of mysteries.”

We asked artists to show us what they thought about when they look up to the sky. Whether it was comets and constellations, aliens and astrology, or dwarf planets and dark matter–board your spaceship of the imagination and boldly go where these artists have wondered, and let us show you what can be envisioned of galaxies and worlds far, far away.

www.museumofbeadwork.org/pages/starstuff-challenge

To learn something new every day!
05/23/2026

To learn something new every day!

The Queen for a Day Écharpe was designed for the Upper Midwest Bead Society’s 35th anniversary celebration, which had a wonderfully theatrical royal theme. Historically, an écharpe is a decorative shoulder sash or draped adornment worn across the body, and I loved the idea of translating that sweeping silhouette into beadwork.

This piece was inspired by a Cartier exhibit I saw years ago at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my grandmother. The jewelry itself was extraordinary, but what completely captivated me were the original hand-painted Cartier renderings displayed alongside the finished pieces. Seeing the sketches next to the jewels made the finished work feel even more magical.

The original Cartier piece that inspired this design was created in diamonds and pearls. My interpretation is worked in Swarovski pearls and crystals. Since Swarovski components are not as widely available as they once were, I now recommend substituting Preciosa or other high-quality Czech pearls and crystals.

The Queen for a Day Écharpe tutorial is now available in my Etsy shop at http://HannahRosnerDesigns.etsy.com

Search: Queen for a Day✨

One thing I still remember vividly was the guest book at the end of the Met exhibit. Quite a few visitors had written comments insisting that Cartier “didn’t belong” at the Metropolitan Museum because jewelry supposedly wasn’t art. I remember being absolutely stunned by that idea.

Tell me: do you consider Cartier jewelry and couture beadwork to be fine art?




Lots of Mr Peanut here!
05/21/2026

Lots of Mr Peanut here!

Oh, what I would GIVE to own this 1930's grocery-themed lucite & celluloid charm bracelet. 😍😍😍

Check it out!
05/19/2026

Check it out!

Up until this moment, I truly thought I’d seen every flavour of found pottery sherd jewellery…

UNTIL I discovered the work of Dolhathai Srijamcharoen AKA Past Objects Art! 😍

Dolhathai’s unique soft-soldering techniques allow her to create STUNNING freeform settings for her found sherds; abstract networks of sinewy curlicues and leaf-like metal lobes that alternately recall miniature works of avant-garde sculpture, or the artful tendrils of Nouveau-era metalwork.

(Not only THAT, but Dolhathai isn’t afraid to get freaky with the odd bit of vintage plastic, found tin fragment or midcentury porcelain whimsy!)

UNMISSABLE stuff. 👏👏👏

http://www.pastobjectsart.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pastobjectsart/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PastObjectsArt?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

https://www.facebook.com/pastobjectsart/

TBS Program Meeting on May 12th at 7 pm! A make & take workshop with Sylvia Humphrey! Culver City! If you want to RSVP,...
05/07/2026

TBS Program Meeting on May 12th at 7 pm! A make & take workshop with Sylvia Humphrey! Culver City! If you want to RSVP, see the article below!

Walking in Another Artist's Shoes! ​Our guest speaker/instructor, Sylvia Humphrey is going to lead a "make and take" workshop at our Tuesday, May 12th Bead Society Program Meeting. She will talk a...

I knew of Calder as a sculptor, I hadn't realize he also created jewelry!
05/05/2026

I knew of Calder as a sculptor, I hadn't realize he also created jewelry!

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P. O. Box 1456
Culver City, CA
90232

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