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Friday, August 24, 2012

The Skinny on Bead Maintenance


There are a couple of questions I’m often asked…

How do I store my beads?...  How do I care for  them?

Answers…
I don’t really look after my beads at all!  They get dumped into a toilet bag and stuffed in a drawer.  When I want to wear something I rummage through the bag and haul out a handfuls to search.

I do this for a couple of reasons – the first and most significant is because I am  lazy and not all that tidy.  But the second  is because I need to know how sturdy the beads are, especially when I began making them.  So I figure that if I’m harder on them than almost anybody else would  be, then I know what to expect from them.  It’s an ideal excuse for being messy, don’t you think?

If they get dirty – and they do get makeup and even food (spaghetti sauce is my usual culprit) on them occasionally – I have been known to put them  into the cutlery container in the dishwasher (with a compartment to themselves) and run them through a normal cycle with the plates.   I don’t really recommend this for you – it’s hard on the jewelers wire they’re strung on – the beads cope really well, but the wire can take a hammering. 

If you’re worried about them being grubby you’re welcome to send them back to me and for the cost of the postage I will clean them for you in an ultrasonic cleaner.  I’m also really happy to re-string beads for you if you’ve had a disaster :( 

I am not a dainty girl - I understand that things happen!
***
 
Do I wear things out of the stock that’s for sale?

Never! I think that the things we wear take on our energy (and vice versa), and while I have put my intention into making the piece, it is not necessarily mine to wear.  While I love to recycle almost anything, I think that when you  purchase something you should know that it has a history – perhaps that history is a mystery, but if you buy something new it should be new!
***
  
I keep my earrings and brooches in a separate box – purely because I can’t find them if they’re rattling with all of the other beads in the bag.
How do you store your beads?

5 comments:

Andrea and Kim said...

What a great post! I have to say I am finding it very hard to believe you are not tidy. That being said, how in the world can a creative person be tidy and get any creative work done? We would spend all our time keeping things neat and have no time at all to create! :)

Are you kidding? The dishwasher? Seriously! That is awesome. I will not try it for reasons you state, but I still think it is absolutely fantastic! What a time saver!

How do I keep my beads? Well, I have a couple of boxes I use and am very "kind" to my Lesley pieces and they have perches all to themselves! Sometimes I even put pieces inside their own pouches before they go into the box. That being said, most everything else in my house is a shambles of discombobulation!

Andrea and Kim said...

oops, I have no idea why it came up that way! Silly Google!

Lesley said...

I love that word "discombobulation"! One of my favourites and used from time to time :). It describes my life perfectly!
The beads are tough - I can really vouch for that!
Hugs.

Andrea and Kim said...

I do believe they are tough, but they are so precious and deserve the royal treatment.

I love "discombobulation", too!

Lyndy at Stitchbird said...

I am always amazed at how you treat your beads. I wrap mine - precious.