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THE COLLECTORS
GLASS BEAD
NECKLACES
collection of Nancy Jo Leachman
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Nancy Jo says, " My interest in collecting glass beads was the
end result of getting interested in making my own. Bead shops were
springing up everywhere in the late 80's, but they were expensive. So I
started looking for glass beads at flea markets and I began to notice
designers names. That led to my discovery
of Jewel Collect, the on line chat group, which was a huge factor in my
appreciation for what I was finding.
I like the European beads the best because of their artistry and the
quality way in which they are made. For those of you who want to
learn more about the kind of beads I collect, I strongly recommend Sibylle
Jargstorf's books "Baubles, Buttons and Beads: The Heritage of Bohemia"
and "Glass Beads from Europe". Several of the beads you see here can be
found in her books."
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| Nancy Jo collects beads... walls full of beads! She had
birds, flowers, puzzle beads and more... and a rainbow of colors. If you
did not realize the beauty and variety of beads, just take a look. She
says this photograph shows only a small portion of her entire collection!
Her bead necklaces create a shimmering wall paper....
and it never goes out of style. View
This green bead necklace with a colorful "bubble" look is
truly unusual, and probably hand made. View
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Beautifully detailed flowers and leaves in aqua
glass. View |
Tiny white glass birds nestle in the green
leaves. View |
A morning glory necklace.... ahhhh! View |
| My first love is flower and leaf beads. The more
"frou-frou" the better. I love their intricacy. I think my all
time favorite has to be the love
birds with leaves necklace which is Czechslovakian from the 1920's.
Too late for me, but I think it would make the perfect wedding necklace.
It's also probably the costliest necklace I have, along with the morning
glories.
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Frosted beads and aqua glass flowers are accented with
green leaves. View |
Minty green glass in tulip shapes... how
unusual! View |
Pink flowers, white leaves and delicate
detail. View |
I view beads as tiny works of art. I can look at them for
hours like one might look at a painting. I love anything unique --
beads that interlock, beads that have etched designs, beads that have
raised surface decorations - you get the idea.
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Pastels in baby-soft colors, this necklace looks like
candy! View |
All the colors of the rainbow in one necklace.
View |
Another in hard candy colors. View |
Another attraction for me is that they are a style of
jewelry that I am comfortable wearing. I love to look at the glitzy
stuff, but as a beyond-middle-age, frumpy librarian I just can't carry
them off. Glass beads are gorgeous without being pretentious or screaming
for attention. I'm a little too shy for that but I can handle the milder
notice of my beads. I often choose what to wear to work based on which
necklace I feel like wearing, then finding clothes to match.
Price-wise, glass beads can be a good buy because they are often unsigned.
It's the beads themselves that make them special, not the intricacy of the
design. Most are simply strung or wired. Anything more intricate competes
with the bead itself.
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Raspberries and cream, this looks good enough to
eat. View |
Rose pink beads with a glass flower cluster
pendant. View |
Pink and green "puzzle bead"
necklace. View |
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The beads themselves aren't flowers but have been wired
or strung to form a flower. View
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White glass disks decorated with colored
florets. View |
The beads on this pink necklace are huge and really
strange. This one goes
on my all time Top 5 favorite list. It's Czech from the 20's or
30's. View |
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Dainty pastel florets and leaves. View |
Cobalt, faux pearl and pastel necklace. View |
Baby blue in transparent and opaque glass
beads. View |
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Applied glass decorations and iridescent finishes create
these "wedding cake" beads. View |
Remember those red hot candies from when we were
kids! View |
Beads in various shades of blue. View |
| My greatest finds have come from flea-market shoe boxes marked
"Necklaces, $1.00 each". Fortunately for me, a lot of people
can't tell the difference between glass and plastic. The hunt is the
best part. If they only knew, I'd PAY dealers just to look through
the box. The best find on the page? The last strand of wedding
cake beads. It was buried in a shoebox
full of cheap plastic Mardi Gras necklaces -- one of my $1 purchases.
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Two similar necklaces with lovely flower clusters. |
This carnelian-colored agate looks just like those
1920's lamps. |
Raised dot beads; the orange one is Trifari. |
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Pale pastels, the bottom Venetian blue one has intricate
inner designs in
white. |
Interlocking bead necklaces, which are also sometimes
called puzzle necklaces. |
And more of those wonderful pinks.
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