Stringing beads is one of the earliest art forms known to man and can be traced across civilizations connecting humanity by a common thread. We are intriguingly attracted to beads and possess the need to create objects for beauty and display. Throughout history humans have adorned themselves with beads and attached them to clothing, furniture, bags, headdresses, even buildings. They have also been used to barter for basic needs like food, clothing and shelter. The earliest known beads date back some 40,000 years and were made mostly out of seeds, nuts, shells, rocks with natural holes, and bones, materials readily found in natural surroundings. As humans developed more sophisticated tools, the art of carving stones, rolling and sculpting clay, and melting glass into beads evolved. Today there is such a wide variety of beads with each culture offering its own style and specialty; one could travel the globe on a quest and never gather them all as new styles are created daily.
At Brightlings Beads we promise to bring you a wide spectrum of beads in various shapes, colors and mediums, as well as a variety of jewelry-making accessories, supplies and tools. We are always in search of high-quality jewelry components for our customers. Whether you're a reseller, an experienced artisan, a casual craftsperson, or a novice thinking about a project just for fun, our ever-growing inventory should have just what you need.
We hope you'll enjoy browsing through our selection of glass beads. We are always expanding the extremely popular Swarovski crystal bead and pendant lines, as well as our Czech bead line which includes fire polished, lampworked handmade, and pressed beads. Designer art glass made in the USA is extraordinarily stunning, and furnace glass beads from China are of excellent quality. Beads from India offer different textures and unique mixes to complement your designs. The glass seed beads we carry, made in Japan, are of superior quality.
Our silver beads come form all corners of the earth. We’ve spent a lot of time sourcing only the highest quality sterling silver beads and jewelry components. The beautiful Bali-style beads are imported from Bali, Turkey and India.
Along with our sterling silver items, our gemstone beads have been gathered from around the world. Most of our freshwater pearls are imported from Japan and China where creating freshwater pearls within mussels inhabiting freshwater lakes and rivers has become very big business.
We have an amazing collection of sterling silver charms, which is constantly being expanded, as is our assortment of sterling silver enameled charms and pewter charms. Most of these are made right here in the USA, as are our pewter components and gold-filled items.
Unique and stunning beading projects are not created by beads alone. That's why we also offer stringing supplies, jewelry craft tools, and books. You will also find a wide variety of gold and silver watch faces at an unbeatable price that are perfect for creating your own unique watch creations. If you're shopping at our store for a special gift for someone who loves beads, but are a bit overwhelmed by our inventory--no problem! We also offer gift certificates.
