Bead World

I actually don't remember when I was lucky enough to tag along on a visit to Yekti Beads.  This is where all jewelry makers in this town must end up. It's not a storefront, but a home where everything I saw except the bathroom was dedicated to space for beads. Our group of ladies was first invited to learn about the bead making process that provides many of the beads she stocks. Recycled glass materials are melted down and new beads are created. They copy venetian glass beads among other things. The "shiny" beads are cheaper than the beads that are fashioned to mimic vintage (I often prefer shiny beads so that works for me!) More work is involved to de-shine the newly minted beads.  All very interesting. All shapes, sizes, colors, though not a lot of reds. The ones she had are rather muted. We were next given bead boards and turned loose in the "shop" to select beads to make a necklace, bracelet, whatever you wanted. You were charged per bead, but the prices are very reasonable. After figuring out what you wanted, one of two staff members would string the beads for you and add findings. That labor and supplies is included.

At first I tried a color palette, but ultimately, just couldn't decide. Simply too many choices. I ended up with a black and white palette. I didn't have them put together the earrings, but did purchase the matching beads so I could pull the earrings together myself at home. Here is just one section of one area.

All strung beads like this are on cotton cord which is tied. If you want to actually hold a strand for comparison you had to have a staff person cut the cord right then. Or try to remember where you saw that strand you wanted to see. With a dozen ladies and only the owner and 2 helpers, this was difficult at times.There are also a bunch of cases with drawers with individual loose beads. I will go back there. You must call and make an appointment, however, because as I said, it isn't a storefront but her home. The home itself is interesting. It is a traditional Javan house. She moved it here from a field somewhere. There is no foundation, but the roof structure is supported by huge columns. Built to withstand earthquakes, the columns move around a little and the roof floats and it all settles back down after the quake. The design and structure itself though made the interior very dark. Thank goodness for technology. Quite a few of us were using the flashlight app on our phones to see the beads better. I didn't take a photo of my necklace and earrings yet. Sorry!