Articles about the history and interesting facts about different beads and findings used in SWCreations beaded jewelry designs.  Submit your bead related article.

Below is a list of articles with the most recent ones listed first.

A Short History of Glass and How the Murano Glass Making Tradition Has Started
by Patricia Furstenberg

Glass and glass products may be taken for granted now, but they were a luxury item a very few people could afford, sometimes in the 3000’s BC when its manufacturing history started in the Middle East.

The glass manufacturing grew during the Roman Empire and spread from Italy to all countries under Roman jurisdiction. During the times of the Venetian Republic the glass craftsmanship flourished as a result of good contacts with Byzantine Empire. In 1291, fearing fire and destruction to the city’s mostly wooden buildings, or maybe... read more...

Shop Smartly With a Guide to Different Types of Pearls
by PearlClassic.com

Pearl jewelry has been for years, one of the most treasured and coveted personal items a person can have. Its simplicity and sheen truly makes it a unique jewel that marks the sign of good taste and wealth. When we think of a pearl, generally we think of a small white sphere. What we don’t think about is the many different types and colors of pearls available. Different types of pearls come in not only different colors, but also shapes, nacre, luster and with different surfaces. Knowing each type and their differences can help you gain an understanding of pearls and help you make the best choice in pearl jewelry that fits your specific needs and even... read more...

Murano Venetian Glass Beads 
written for SWCreations by Lisa Vella

Anyone who has ever worn a necklace created with Murano glass beads knows that they are some of the loveliest and highest quality beads in the world. In addition to their aesthetic qualities, perhaps something else that makes these beads so unique and interesting is the history that they represent.

Originally, Venetian glass was made in the city of Venice, which was comprised of mostly wooden buildings. Toward the end of the 13th century, the Venetian Republic began to fear that the huge fires from the furnaces the artists used would eventually end up destroying the city. They forced the artists to move their foundries to the island of Murano, where the glassmakers quickly became noted as masters of their craft.

Glass making had been around for a long time, but had not been perfected. The artisans of Murano had unique skills that... read more...

Handcrafted Lampwork Beads as Tiny Works of Art
written for SWCreations by Lisa Vella

Creating beaded jewelry is so much fun to do. It allows for an opportunity to use all sorts of findings and a little creativity to design original pieces of art. But what’s something else that’s interesting is that many of the beads designers use in their jewelry are also tiny pieces of art themselves. In many cases, another individual using their own intricate creative processes created the beads designers use. This is definitely the case when it comes to jewelry designed with lampwork beads.

Lampwork bead making really began to flourish in Murano, Italy in the 1300’s. During this time, the beads were made in the flame of an oil lamp, while the designer blew air into the flame through a pipe.

Today’s artists take a completely different approach. They use torches that burn either... read more...

Understanding the Button
by Fibre2fashion.com

A button is an object that is used in a garment either for the purpose of fastening or for ornamentation or both.  Buttons are usually in the shape of a disc or a knob. Evidence shows that buttons have been used since as long back as 1500-2000 B.C.  Buttons used in 2600-2800 B.C. have been excavated in the ancient Indus valley, while those used in 1500-2000 B.C. have been found in China as well as in Rome.

Materials used in buttons

Buttons can be made from a wide variety of materials – plastic, wood, brass, bone, horn, pearls, ivory, fabric, shells, glass, leather, stones, papier-mâché, ceramic and polymer clay.

Evolution of buttons

In the 13th century, buttons were used an ornament and then they began being used as a functional fastener in the 16th century. During the 15th and 16th centuries, buttons plated with gold and silver were... read more...

One form of quartz crystal that is becoming more popular among jewelry designers today is known as the Drusy (pronounced DREW-zee) mineral. Oddly enough, there are many different spellings, including “druzy,” “drusie,” “druse,” and even “drusies.” The word itself originated from the German word, druse, and is defined as a beautiful grouping of very tiny crystals that grows on the surface of a stone. It is also not uncommon for drusy to form in the cavity of a geode or larger pocket of a mineral deposit.

When ground water carries dissolved silica and forces it into a porous area of a rock, rapid cooling occurs. Tiny crystals, the drusy crystals, then form on the surface or in the cavity of that rock. It may be composed of the same material as the base rock, or it may... read more...

Mood Beads - What Mood Are You
written for SWCreations by Lisa Vella 

In the 1970’s a new and interesting kind of jewelry became one of the biggest fads of the decade to hit the market. It was the first piece of jewelry that could supposedly tell what mood its wearer was in. This piece of jewelry was the mood ring—it was fun, it was fresh, and it was totally cool if you owned one! Today, mood jewelry comes in more than just the original form of mood rings. There are now necklaces, earrings, toe rings, and most recently, beads to become bracelets. Regardless of form, however, mood jewelry has an interesting history.

 It is a bit uncertain as to who actually invented the mood ring. One story says that in the 1960’s a man named Marvin Wernick invented it. He had supposedly gotten the idea while... read more...

Swarovski Crystal—Making History and Beads
written for SWCreations  by Lisa Vella 

Swarovski Crystal is one of the most recognized names in crystal in the world. Noted for its unique colors and coatings, and sp arkling clarity it’s no wonder it is highly sought after by jewelry collector’s everywhere. As with everything though, this particular crystal also has a fascinating history.

The story of Swarovski Crystal began in 1892 when a Bohemian-born man by the name of Daniel Swarovski invented a machine that would cut crystal with superior precision. This machine required a lot of energy, so he moved his family to Wattens, Tyrol where he could take advantage of their great energy resource—hydroelectricity. It was here in 1895, at the... read more...

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