Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

My young friend Sophie, ever her mother’s daughter, decided that even though she’s studying for her HSC this year, she’d make 51 bracelets to give to her fellow cast members in the school play. As it was a production of Beauty and the Beast, she was keen to use a red rose as the focal bead.

I convinced her to make phone dangles instead or bracelets, and offered to lend her a hand. We spent a happy few hours shopping, then beading and turning loops. Each little ornament had a single rose, a glass pearl, and a gold filament bead…

Monkey Girl made Soph’s day by telling her that they were very Dulce & Gabbana…

One of the best parts of the day was discovering the amazing I Love You Beads warehouse in Leichhardt. It’s huge, has the cheapest prices I’ve ever seen, and the staff are very friendly and helpful….

They are the only authorised Swarovski wholesaler in Australia and New Zealand, and have an enormous range of crystals and findings on offer…

There are beads in glass, plastic, crystal, semi-precious minerals, wood, coral, shell and more. They have strands of freshwater pearls in a variety of sizes and colours, every imaginable finding, tools, stringing and wiring materials (although no precious metal wire), as well as display items and gift bags.

It’s a members-only club, so you need to pay the $10 joining fee before you can purchase anything…

I came home with a few beads to play with, including strands of 10mm amethyst rounds, unusual non-shiny black agate and large faceted tiger’s eyes. To give you an idea of cost, the tiger’s eye (no photo, sorry, it turned out quite blurry) was $16.90 a strand and the amethyst $10.50. Both had enough beads for two bracelets. The 1mm elastic I used to string them set me back just 85c a roll…

I made matching agate earrings and bracelet, as well as a funky art deco green plastic ensemble. The blue Chinese crystals were high quality and cost just $3.50 for two strands (they were on a buy one, get one free promotion), which was enough for  a necklace, bracelet and earring set using findings that were already in my stash…

Tibetan skull  bracelets are traditionally carved from bone and used as a memento mori – a reminder of mortality and the transient nature of existence. I made mine from a $2 strand of plastic beads and elastic string. As a reminder of impermanence though, it works…

We had such a fun afternoon! If you’re a Sydneysider who enjoys jewellery making, or craft in general, I’d highly recommend a visit. No affiliation, just a happy customer!

PS. I take a mesh bag with me to bring my purchases home – jewellery findings almost always come in little plastic bags, but you can avoid a couple of larger ones if you bring your own.

I Love You Beads
311 Parramatta Road
Leichhardt NSW 2040 
Phone: (02) 9572 8288
Fax: (02) 9572 8878