Beadalon Blog

Are you a motivated, independent worker with good organizational and planning skills? Visit our  "jobs" page   to see our latest job postings and apply to work for your favorite beading wire company! Not all brands of flexible beading wire are equal. For more than 30 years, Beadalon  has been the originator, innovator and manufacturer of flexible bead stringing wire. We are unique in the industry in that we are the only company that makes its own wire, strand and cable for bead stringing. Other brands simply label or respool wire purchased from third party factories. We operate our own factory 24 hours a day and schedule our production according to market needs. -Beadalon Sales Team sales@beadalon.com

In this bracelet featuring German-Style Wire from Beadalon  and findings from Michaels , birds are flying away from the coming cold days. Bye, bye Spring! - Fernando Dasilva for Beadalon Modern-Expressions.blogspot.com

Wire wrapping is going strong and you have more choices than ever when it comes to different wire shapes, strengths and colors! While many people are familiar with the terms that relate to sterling silver, it isn't always so clear where other types of wire fall in relation. This chart shows a scale of hardness, based on comparison to sterling, gold-filled and non-tarnish brass wire. Dead Soft is the most easily manipulated type of wire, while Full Hard has the most body. Half-hard is in the center of the spectrum. Beginners are typically advised to start out with the softest wire because it's easier to bend. This prevents frustration and also allows the beginner to more easily correct mistakes. Precise wire wrapping requires wires toward the harder end of the spectrum. Artistic Wire  is available in 55 colors and 13 diameters. Non-tarnish brass resembles gold and will retain its finish and shine due a proprietary non-tarnish finish. Tinned copper, bare copper, and bare br

insert Make Jewellery cover The editors of Make Jewellery , based in the UK, asked me to write a new feature called Stateside Style. In each issue, I talk a bit about what's catching my eye these days, highlight new products, share a tip, and show a quick project. There are also links to videos from Beads, Baubles & Jewels. Check it out! -Katie Hacker for Beadalon Katiedids™ www.KatieHacker.com

I was inspired by the colors of the fall landscape when I designed this long, textured necklace. I also made a black and silver version that I wear with just about everything. Jewel tones or pastel beads and stone rings would give it a completely different look! • Materials & Tools • • 4 brown15x18x10mm ceramic beads • 4 brown 24mm stone rings • 18 crystal golden shadow 6mm Crystallized™ rounds • 12 smoked topaz 4mm Crystallized™ rounds • 10 light brown 4mm stone rounds • 12 tiger’s eye 4mm stone rounds • 8 gold 18x25mm oval Quick Links™ #314A-344 • 38” gold Rolo Chain #340A-070 • 1” gold large Rolo Chain #340A-080 • 10 gold flat Head Pins #312A-223 • 10 gold ball Head Pins #312A-013 • 4 gold Eye Pins #310A-113 8 gold • 8mm Jump Rings #314A-008 • Round-nose Pliers • Chain-nose Pliers • Wire Cutters          Click here to download the Printable version of this design. (PDF Version) • Instructions • Tip: To open Rolo Chain links, place the tips of Needle-nose Pliers inside th

Beadalon Design Team Members Katie Hacker  and Fernando Dasilva  just returned from an inspiring, educational trip to the SWAROVSKI NORTH AMERICA Headquarters in Rhode Island. The training included an amazing trend presentation featuring SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS' innovations for Autumn/Winter 2011/12 .   According to their report, "The latest innovations look back in order to move forward, and draw on nature and botanics for inspiration. " One of the highlights of the trip for both designers was getting to know some of the other CREATE YOUR STYLE Ambassadors  and their favorite techniques. Wire wrapping, wire crochet and combining metalsmithing techniques with crystals are among the hot trends in that group. Katie and Fernando are both teaching classes using Beadalon and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS at CREATE YOUR STYLE in TUCSON 2011 . And, Beadalon is sponsoring Fernando's workshop on the SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Creativity Cruise   Hope to see you there! -Beadalon Blog Team