Hemp Jewelry Designs

I have been thinking lately about beads and hemp jewelry. Do people enjoy different and unique beads for their jewelry? Do they prefer the same type of beads that you see in a lot of stores that carry hemp jewelry made overseas? I see a lot of bone type beads, small wooden beads and the same colors of beads in these stores, and to ME they are boring.

I have come to a block in making my hemp jewelry. Which is kind of obvious going through my site, as there is not many styles to choose from as I have been clearing out designs that do not sell. It is so hard to know what will sell and what won’t, what people like and what they do not like.  Ever have a piece of jewelry that you think is so cool and unique and then no one likes it?

I guess I am not a marketing type of gal. It is all about knowing and researching your market, and suppling to them what they want.

When you choose your beads for making hemp jewelry what do you look for? Specific colors? Materials? for example glass, wood, polymer clay, lamp work, sea glass. Do you pick what you like and hope others will like it as well? Do you go with trends that you see? I am curious to see what others think about this and how you choose what your jewelry will look like.

Happy Knotting

Bookmark To:

There are a lot of places where you can find beads and pendants for your hemp jewelry. When looking for them, remember to keep in mind the couple of questions I posed in my post beads for hemp jewelry.

Finding Beads Locally

Depending on where you live, finding beads locally can be easy. Michaels Craft Store, Hobby Lobby and even Walmart have good bead selections.

If you live in a larger town or city, try doing a google search on bead shops. Shops that specialize in beads are great. They have tons of beads to choose from.

Finding Beads on the Internet

You can find great stuff on the internet when looking for beads or pendants.

Here are a couple of sites that I look at when searching for beads and pendants:

Etsy.com This is an awesome site where people post their handmade crafts. Beads and pendants are also included. Their search is awesome. If you are searching for a large purple glass pendant, odds are that you will find it there. Make your searches specific..large holed beads….large glass pendants…blue pendants…etc. etc.

Aunties Beads  Great site for pendants and beads. As of Feb. 21 2008 they are running a special for free shipping.  They also have free beading videos and free beading projects!

Also, if you have a favorite hemp jewelry site, or jewelry site look there, sometimes they sell beads and pendants as well!

If you are looking for specific bead or pendant, and need some help, let me know I will do my best to help you look for it.

Got questions? ASK. Got any sites that you recommend and want to share? Post them in the comment section or even email them to me. I can post them.

Again, to those of you who took a minute to vote in my polls THANK YOU.

Happy Knotting

Bookmark To:

When it comes to making hemp jewelry and finding the beads or pendants you want can be tricky. Why? Because you have to find ones that have big enough holes in them to fit through your hemp twine.

A couple questions to ask yourself when hunting for hemp jewelry beads:

1. How many cords am I going to using as knot bearers?
2. What is the thickness of the cords I am using?

Size of Beads

Let me back up a minute. Beads come in different sizes and are listed as “mm” sizes. The mm stands for how big the center hole is. The larger the number, the larger the hole size. I mostly try to look for beads that are 8 mm size and up. If I am using smaller sized cord, and only one strand, I can get away with using smaller sized beads.

I have found a bead chart that is a good reference for you. It is in pdf form, so you will need Adobe Acrobat to download it.  Adobe Acrobat is free to download.

How Many Cords?

You need to know how many cords you are going to use as knot bearers. If you are using one cord, you won’t need too large of a hole in your beads. If you are using two, you need larger holes for beads. I know it seems trivial, but when starting my adventure in hemp jewelry, I did not take this into account. I would find the coolest beads, buy the wrong size and have to make a trip to exchange them.

Thickness of Cord

You must also take in to consideration the thickness of your cord. If you are using 20# test hemp, of course you can get away with using smaller sized beads. If you are using the thicker hemp, 48# or higher, you need larger beads! I know, once again, trivial, but important.

Of course, a lot of it is trial and error. But if you have a basis of what you are looking for, it helps.  If you have any suggestions or questions, please leave a comment or contact me!

Happy Knotting

Bookmark To: