Celebrate the idea-that every gesture, no matter how small, can promote personal growth and the birth of deep and meaningful connections with others.
Bead samples are provided by Trollbeads.
Today I have a sampling of some of the new spring beads from Trollbeads. It’s still winter in Canada although we have not had much snow this year. I look forward to seeing everything grow and turn green again. These beads make me feel happy and excited for the return of spring.
A piece I was especially excited to see is the Leather Cord Bracelet in Black. Similar in style to the leather necklace, it’s a great to have another option for a lightweight bracelet. I have quite a few leather bracelets (Pandora, Redbalifrog, OHM, etc) but those don’t often fit Trollbeads. You need to buy a clasp separately and the beads will 100% move around on this, unlike the older double Trollbeads leather bracelets or the older single leather ones. You *could* try to force a spacer on, or even try a clip from OHM or Pandora, but I didn’t want to wreck the leather by trying either of those ideas. I’m opting to wear one silver bead on the leather bracelet and not let the movement bother me. I wore it at work on Friday and kept the clasp on the top of my wrist and let the silver watering can bead fall to the bottom of my wrist. I love this combo and it will be what I wear on the plane to Florida for spring break. I will be curious to hear other people’s thoughts about this leather bracelet and other ones in general.
Here’s the leather bracelet with (L-R) a Feldspar Moonstone Bead, the new Sunshine Vitality Bead and the new Fossilised Shell Bead. Love the peach tones!
The Tulip of Optimism Clasp is so gorgeous! The back of this clasp is plain and I like that choice! I prefer a simple, Scandinavian design as opposed to an ornate, fussy design. The designer of this clasp was Signe M. Schumann, who also designed the watering can bead and the tulips bead in this collection. Also, she designed the glass Sea Anemone Bead which is one of my all time favourite beads!
Here’s a video to better show the clasp.
While we’re at it, let’s see a video of the Love Source Bead (the watering can bead). I adore this! It’s so cute and perfect for the spring. This is my bead of choice for the leather bracelet. My friend Trisha said she thinks it will be wonderful on a necklace.
Let’s also see a video showing the Fossilised Shell Bead and the Sunshine Vitality Bead.
I have another couple of the new faceted glass beads. This one is called Drops of Attention.
I tried it with my Trollbeads Day 2022 Troll Agate beads.
Here’s a video…
The last faceted bead I have to show is the one in the middle of this bangle. There are a lot of colours going on here. It’s called the Current of Life Bead.
And now for a video. Since Blooming Boutique is no longer carrying Trollbeads I don’t know where people can look for live images of beads anymore. I really wish there was a Trollbeads store in my city as I love to see the different variations of beads.
I also received three smooth glass beads and they are very colourful and detailed. The Trollbeads artisans always impress me so much with their fine motor skills! The butterfly bead is amazing! It’s called Velvet Wings Bead. The glass beads are quite tiny and it must require an incredible amount of concentration to make these beads.
Look how sweet these tulips are! This bead is called the Tulip of Optimism Bead.
The Seeds of Happiness bead is very cheery.
The Secret Spring Bead is very pretty.
Here’s a video of the bracelet.
The last two beads for today are the Pearl of Dedication Tassel and the Path of Flowers Bead. I love how Trollbeads makes their Valentines’s Day beads each year match up with the beads from previous years.
Of course, the beads here are going to move around, but I wanted to show them on the leather anyway.
Here’s another video to help show the size of the beads.
I also made a silver bracelet with these beads.
The pearl dangle would look lovey on a necklace! Here’s a video of the bracelet.
Again, this is just a sampling of the collection so check out the rest of it on the Trollbeads website. I might buy a Blue Willow Bead and maybe a couple of the new coin shaped beads. These days I don’t wear full bracelets much at all and these mini bracelets in my blog post are reflective of what I actually wear. Some of the busier beads I will end up wearing just on their own on a silver chain bracelet with two gold stoppers. Do let me know what you think of these beads. Has anything caught your eye or have you already made a purchase from this collection?
I was about to reply with a link to a webshop showing live images of trollsbeads – only to discover that it closed about about two months ago 😦 Too bad. I’d been considering eventually picking up another trollbeads agate from there, but I guess I was too slow.
Well, I’ve got another two up my sleeve, though they’re not showing live images of all beads. Katzenmaiers often have some live images of new glass, if you’re not bothered by it being a german site. Of course, looking at live images is much better if the store is located so it makes sense to order beads from there. But I used to look at the pictures from blooming boutique anyway, just to get a sense of what I was likely to get if I had to order blind locally.
SwissFlowerandGift has live images of at least a few stones, if that helps anyone.
I do really miss seeing the beads in person, and my purchasing has almost completely stopped with the lack of physical stores. We used to have several in my city, including a concept store, now I can’t find even one…
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Thanks for your suggestions of seeing live images-especially for gemstones. I’ve never been too bothered with ordering glass sight unseen, but I know it’s important for some people. Too bad you’ve lost your stores where you live. There’s nothing more fun than getting to see beads in person. It’s always been a special treat for me. When Covid hit and our border with the USA closed, I got out of the habit of cross border shopping and so rarely go to Michigan now. I think I’ll order that Blue Willow Bead today as I know I’ll love it. Have a great rest of your weekend, Lakitra!
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Hi Martha
I enjoyed your post. Can you please let me know the name of the two thin silver beads flanking the Drop of Attention glass bead and the pink shimmery glass beads on the bracelet with the new pearl dangle and tulip bead (in the last photo)?
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Hi Karen! Sure-the two things beads are called Fantasy Hibuscus Bead. I use them a lot! The pink/red shimmery beads are called I Love You and are from 2021. That one would unfortunately be hard to find, I think.
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I love the combinations! Thank you!
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I’ve ordered Path of Flowers and last year’s Love and Care. They’re going on a bracelet with several Valentine’s Day beads, Flow of Love and I Love You. I love the new tulip lock but not sure I will get it. I already have a lot.
It is sad about difficulty in seeing the beads. The number of dealers who have dropped or are dropping the line is very sad.
I used to have 3 dealers close to my home. Now there is one and I think they are dropping the line also. 3 online dealers of the 4 in the US I used to use have dropped the line or are closing out. I’ve used European dealers and the story is much the same. So sad.
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Pat, it sounds like your Valentine’s Day themed bracelet is going to be lovely. I find these colours to be so cheery at this time of year.
It seems like the bead scene is changing. I wonder if it’s partly due to the aging population. Certainly when one has been buying for years and years, I think it’s typical to slow down. I think it’s hard for brands to attract new customers. I don’t know what the answer is, really.
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Hi Martha, I agree that bead world is changing. After a lot of years in retail, the one thing I’ve noticed is that merchandise trends and styles have an arc. Something gets perceived as new and different and everyone has to have it. This builds and then there is point of saturation. It become too prevalent and/or people think that they might have too much and and for whatever myriad of reasons decide to back away or a new trend emerges and they shift gears. After that saturation point is reached, the focus gets changed and the business falls off.
As an example, I’m old enough that I remember when traditional charms suspended from the bracelet were the must have piece of jewelry. They peaked and seemingly disappeared until the rise of the bead on the chain.
I just noticed Fiona and your’s exchange and would like to add I too really like the new collection. I think Trollbeads will survive but probably smaller in size. Because they are really a classic and have great design and no one can touch their glass beads. Their glass is why I’ve ended up with so much. For me, I’m a color person and the range of colors in Troll has sparked my creativity.
I think pricing has also become an issue. It has gotten a lot more expensive. That coupled with inflation caused by COVID and the supply chain issues has made it more difficult to acquire beads.
Thank for listening to my long winded response.
Take care.
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I agree with everything you’ve said, Pat. Yesterday I wore the Path of Flowers Bead and the dots on it are so exquisite and so evenly placed that I was thinking how incredible the glass artists are to be able to produce these little works of art.
Thanks so much for commenting. It helps me and others to put things into perspective and to understand the retail world.
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Thanks Martha for showing the new collection It’s a bit of a blow that Blooming Boutique is exiting! I loved the live images and the selection of uniques they had I’m not sure what is happening with TB globally as so many vendors have gone is it how they run the business? not enough new customers? pricing? I have collected from 2009 and have slowed down as I do have a lot of beads and you can’t buy everything released from every collection but I’d like to see my favourite brand prosper! This collection is very nice
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Hi Fiona, I just saying to Pat that I wonder if the aging population is partly responsible for the shift in people’s bead buying habits. Once people have accumulated a lot of product, there are so many combinations you can make without having to add too many new pieces. I’m happy you think this collection is nice! I ended up buying the Blue Willow bead and am looking forward to wearing it.
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Great to read your review of the new Trollbeads release Martha. Wonderful photos and loved the little video’s too. Wasn’t too sure whether I wanted any of these when I first saw images on-line but now I am liking the bumpy glass ones, (Secret Spring, Seeds of Tomorrow & Seeds of Happiness). I am in the UK and have to order online as there haven’t been Trollbeads retailers near me for quite a few years now. Started collecting in 2011 but still love adding to my collection when I am able to. Looking ahead, I hope Trollbeads continue as they will be 50 in 2026. Imagine what they may release in celebration!
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Hi Janis! Oh, I wonder if there will be something special in 2026! I’m glad you like the little videos. I was lucky that it was fairly warm (+2C) instead of below freezing when the beads arrived! It’s great that you like a few of the beads from this collection. As a long time collector, all you really need is a few each time to freshen things up, perhaps!
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Yes, true Martha! Lucky to have such wonderful beads in my box, but something else usually catches my eye. I adore their glass beads the most and that is why I started collecting this brand. Look forward to your next blog!
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Oops don’t know why my name is shown as above, normally just says Janis!
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Hi Martha, Thanks for your review as always. I will also miss Blooming Beads and their live images. I have been collecting TBs for a while and used to have a few local stores that are all long gone. Nothing beats seeing the beads in person. It would be nice if TB or even some of the concept stores could figure out a way to do live images on their sites. Also TB used to have several sales each year (maybe 3 or 4?) but lately it seems that they don’t do as many sales or only include a small selection of beads in their sales. I have to agree with others that TB beads especially glass are superior to most other brands! And like you, I’ve started to do more bangles with just a few beads. Some beads just really need to be showcased.
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Kathy, I agree with your thoughts about beads needing to be showcased, especially beads with lots of details. I really enjoy just one bead at a time so that it doesn’t overwhelm my brain! 😀
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