I can’t say when my obsession with seed beads began, but I have a suspicion it was when I was a child and my aunt and uncle would bring back the kitschy,  beaded, Indian souvenirs from their trips to Arizona. I still have my first beaded necklace (many moons later) and I am magnetically attracted to them when junking at my favorite flea markets.

That love has now grown to include the wonderful vintage, beaded purses that are not quite as easy to find.  There is something about the wonderful detail, the patience of the maker and the “weighted”, wonderful feeling of them in my hand.  So imagine my excitement when I found more than one company that are once again making wonderful, bead embellished handbags and jewelry.

While shopping at Americasmart in Atlanta I chanced upon the Mary Frances line out of California, with her incredible details and choices. Her designs range from playful and whimsical (think Disney designs), beaded bee motifs, to elegant clutches and cross bodies. My very fav is her Heart Burst beaded cross body phone bag, with the sacred heart design (another obsession of mine).  My head was spinning with the yumminess of them all.

The second company that caught my eye was Tiana out of New Jersey and can be found at www.shoptiana.com   The beauty of this company is that you can order individual bags and customize your colors, so they are one of a kind.  Once again, their bags were good quality with a wonderful choice of designs.

My last beaded treasures found in Atlanta were at a company that manufactures thousands upon thousands of playful, affordable costume jewelry.  When I found the display of the bead-embellished heart earrings I was in heaven. Moral of the story – there are seed bead embellished heart earrings at Chesterdales Home & Garden in Naples, Florida.