An illustrated, step-by-step guide to creating jewelry from a wide variety of beads.

Here is the definitive book on the history of beads and bead-making techniques--with more than 350 full-color photos and step-by-step instructions for creating 30 beautiful, authentic beaded objects from a variety of world cultures. Projects include belts, earrings, and purses to a stunning collar necklace straight from ancient Egypt. Full color.

Informative guide to decorative beads from around the world. Listing of bead societies, organizations and publications. Quarto.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The plot provided by the universe was filled with starvation, war and rape. I would not—could not—live in that tale.” Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety—perpetually hungry, imprisoned and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, witnessing inhuman cruelty. They did not know whether their parents were dead or alive. When Clemantine was twelve, she and her sister were granted refugee status in the United States; there, in Chicago, their lives diverged. Though their bond remained unbreakable, Claire, who had for so long protected and provided for Clemantine, was a single mother struggling to make ends meet, while Clemantine was taken in by a family who raised her as their own. She seemed to live the American dream: attending private school, taking up cheerleading, and, ultimately, graduating from Yale. Yet the years of being treated as less than human, of going hungry and seeing death, could not be erased. She felt at the same time six years old and one hundred years old. In The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Clemantine provokes us to look beyond the label of “victim” and recognize the power of the imagination to transcend even the most profound injuries and aftershocks. Devastating yet beautiful, and bracingly original, it is a powerful testament to her commitment to constructing a life on her own terms.

Beads are the oldest and most widespread form of art. They have been made from all materials in every corner of the globe. Their uses are innumerable. They do not just decorate people, but many other things as well. Moreover, they function as status symbols, magic charms, and are helpful to us in many other ways. While there have always been people interested in beads, the lack of information on them has restricted their collecting. A few years ago there were only a handful of small bead societies and very little on beads in print. That is now changing rapidly; bead societies are being formed at an astounding rate around the U.S. and abroad. As with all collectibles, as interest in them grows, scarce beads rise in price. What has caused the boom in bead collecting is that today there are far more resources for collectors than ever. These include bead societies, bead conferences, and other support groups as well as much more published information. The author of this book is responsible for a great deal of this. Though there are other books on beads, Beads of the World is unique for two reasons. For one, it covers the universe of collectible beads, including beads made especially for trade and those produced locally for personal use. Moreover, it is written in a highly accessible style from extensive personal, first-hand knowledge. Much of this book is the author's own work. It distills years of research to bring a comprehensive, global view of beads to brginning and experienced collectors and other studends of humanity. The detailed Appendix and Notes sections open up the fascinating "bead world" to newcomers and document past research for advanced collectors. The first bead price guide ever published will also prove useful.

The best and broadest reference on the origins and uses of beads available to date. Written to encourage collectors, it explores the importance of beads in their native settings in Europe, the Middle East, India, the Far East, Southeast Asia, North and South America and Africa. Beads of organic, stone, and glass materials are individually discussed, and newly revised values are provided to help the collector.

Includes how-to information.