London Bead Store

So, I just got back from London (well, actually two weeks ago, but time flies fast) and I wanted to write about the bead store I visited. It is called, appropriately so, The Bead Shop.

I have been there several times before, but this time I was sorely disappointed. It seems the bad economy has even trickled down to the bead shops overseas. They have a wholesale area in their basement, and in the past I have come away with some pretty terrific finds. Well, not so this time. I did buy some beads (can't go that far and come home empty-handed!) and have started using them, but it was just not the same.

I bought two bags of metallic beads (gold and silver plated) that are round like a tube, but short, like a large seed bead. They look best strung and not in a beadweaving pattern because the beads are quite irregular. But that makes them look rather cool in multi strands.

I made a bracelet this past Sunday with four strands of the silver beads, and interspersed with small silver Indian bells. The bracelet has definitely an East Indian look to it, which I attribute to my love of Bollywood movies. When I get a chance to photograph it, I will upload it.

Meanwhile, I am continuing to play with the other stuff I got there, and will write about it when I make some more pieces.