The versatility of Beam beads

But first, a little introduction to the Beam beads and the CzechMates family!

Beam beads are pressed glass beads of the highest quality. During manufacturing, pressed beads are made from piping hot glass rods pushed through a unique molding machine resembling an old-fashioned sewing machine. At the same time, needles are inserted into the beads to punch the holes. It is a fast-paced process: the glass must be re-heated repeatedly as the temperature lowers fast. The quality of pressed glass beads is determined by the craftsmanship of the master beadmaker, and it can differ greatly.

A fun fact: Over 1500 bead shapes are available in the ‘bead shape libraries’ of the Czech Crystal Valley, and we work with only a fraction of them. Contrary to popular belief that seed beading is traditional and shaped beads are all new the majority of shaped beads have existed for a long time already. Some of them are ‘dormant,’ and some are here continuously or revived and enjoyed by beaders worldwide. What’s new is the possibility to have multiple holes in a single pressed glass beads, and Beam beads are a new addition, not even a decade old.

According to Nichole, Beam beads have specific functions: you can use them to ‘suspend, extend, and intersect.’

I am very picky about bead shapes, and I add new shapes to the Beadingschool Bead Shop only when I genuinely feel that it brings us something extra: first of all – new possibilities, or maybe they come in mouthwatering finishes that are not readily available on other shapes. I enjoyed playing with the Beams and would like to share some of my thoughts and experiments.

But in the end, I am the most curious about your ideas! I will start sharing mine, and please share your in comments and in the Beadingschool Club!

An easy way to play with the Beam beads is to join them into a circle by beading through their first holes and inserting different beads or groups of beads between the first, second, and third holes.

You can create different angles between the Beam beads this way. My Polaris motif starts with only three Beam beads, resulting in a triangular shape. On the opposite, both variations of the Boreus use as many as eight Beam beads for the initial step. Thanks to this I had enough space in the middle to add a sparkly Preciosa crystal cabochon as the focal. When you work with fewer beads in the circle, the whole circle and the distance between the beads are smaller. By adding more beads, you can increase the circle’s size and the distance between the beads. Look at the back sides of your Boreus and Polaris jewels after beading them during our #NoOneHasToBeadAlone workshops during the upcoming weeks to observe this!

Even if you are using fewer Beam beads in the initial circle, you can create more distance between them by adding bigger or more beads in between. It is also possible to insert full bezeled cabochons into the design. On my imaginary bead mat in my graphic design program, I joined four pieces of Beam beads and four square stitch bezeled Nacre cabochons into a square-shaped motif.

I wonder if someone will feel inspired and play with this idea – I am curious how you would join the outside holes of the Beams and stabilize the whole motif.

Download my GIFT tutorial for square stitch bezels!

You can achieve an interesting effect if you interrupt the circles and create waves from the Beams. For this, you will need a focal to anchor the semi-circles and find a way to attach the Beams to it. Later, you can fill in beads or groups of beads in between the second and third holes of the Beams in the same way as you did with the full circles of Boreus and Polaris.

As Nichole said, Beams are also perfect for creating suspensions. You can join two holes of the same Beam with different groups of beads. Imagine adding a pendant drop or a 2-hole dagger at the bottom! This is a great way to elongate earrings if you are a fan of shoulder-duster pieces like I am. You can use any colors and shapes of beads until they aren’t too big for the gap that needs to be covered.

I created the bail of the Boreus pendant this way. Two pieces of 4 mm Preciosa bicone beads and a few seed beads were all that I needed. The Beam beads come in different colors so you can use this bail for your other designs too. Thanks to its compact size, you can insert the element in between motifs as a connector or create a full bracelet using only these.

How would you like to use this little motif?

And lastly, extensions! You can join Beams to each other through the side holes and add another bead to the middle holes.

You can create bracelets of different widths this way, and the bling up and complete this base with seed beads, crystals, as you wish.

Nitti Anita Schackmann used an elongated motif consisting of four Beam beads as one of the building blocks of her beautiful Heading North bracelet. She shared her source of inspiration with us, and after all these technical beady talk I would like to share with you Nitti’s poetic words:

“We used to have pretty cold and long winters in Hungary when I was a child. The colder the weather got and the more snow we had, the brighter those sparkling children eyes became. When we had a fair amount of snow, my mom got our sleigh from the shed, put some nice and warm blankets on it and that’s how she picked us up from school and kindergarten.

We were snuggled in the blankets with my brother and that’s how my mom walked home almost a mile with us. Those afternoons are cherished memories of mine. The winter magic that is surrounding us, the sparkle of the freshly falling snow, the track that our sleigh left behind and the tiny lights of the village reflecting from every snow crystal. Sometimes I imagined all the places we could go to with our sleigh. I imagined to see the Northern Lights as they dance above us.”