By April MacIntyre Oct 17, 2010, 20:12 GMT
The holidays are practically upon us, and Monsters and Critics is finding some fantastic American small businesses creating stunning gifts and fantastic products for you to consider this season.
Bellabeads 925 is a small business created by a Chicago woman Dina Amico-Kriescher, who was inspired by her travels and exposure to unique craftsmanship in Italy.
Her company, Bellabeads 925, allows you to tap into your inner jewelry designer, and even establish your own jewelry business. Bellabeads 925 is part of the Noah's Ark Animal Workshop Corporation that was founded by Amico-Kriescher in 2004.
Today, this family-owned company is headquartered in the Chicago suburbs, selling their stunning gems and jewels all over the world.
If you remember the key scene in the Peter Jackson film, "The Lovely Bones," the main character Susie Salmon's beautiful and inticate charm bracelet was an expression of her life and her personality. It was a critical device within the film, a meaningful marker of a life taken too soon in a violent ending.
It seems most women never outgrow a love for charm bracelets, and go to great lengths to find that right charm to add to a piece of jewelry that reflects their personality like no other. My own charm bracelet is my favorite piece to wear, with friends and family adding to it over the years.
Bellabeads 925 ("Sterling" silver is 92.5%) gives you an opportunity to design and create charm bracelets for fashion, fun and sentimental meaning, and even make a business out of it.
Background
925 Sterling Silver - "Sterling" silver is 92.5% pure and can officially be stamped with the internationally recognized numbers 925 at this percent. Bellabeads 925 jewelry is crafted of only the purest silver, including the solid cores on an astounding array of murano beads that capture every color and are like little polished gems.
While travelling through Europe with her family, founder Dina Amico-Kriescher was inspired by the beauty of the Murano Italian glass, made on the Murano island of Venice.
Murano’s glassmakers have been reknowned for their intricate glassmaking for centuries, and their work features crystalline glass, enamelled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicoloured glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass.
Today, the artisans of Murano turn out everything from glass art pieces, chandeliers to high quality jewelry, which Dina found on her travels and instantly fell in love with. Bellabeads 925 was born from her importing these charms for custom jewelry.
Dina established her company to distribute Bellabeads 925 jewelry to interested dealers (Charm Consultants) in a direct-sales format throughout the US and Canada. Dina tells Monsters and Critics her company mission. "We are giving individuals the opportunity to work with others designing beautiful jewelry that will provide life long memories and a family heirloom, while offering independent Charm Consultants an enjoyable home businss that is fun, flexible, and profitable."
Bellabeads 925 is a twist on the old school version of bulky, dangling charms, these charms are more colorful, and can be coordinated by theme, color and materials. Selections include artisan-handcrafted beads made from sterling silver, Murano glass, natural pearls and crystals. You can add special and symbolic meanings like family, travel, love, childhood, nature and even craft a bracelet as a gift for friend or family member, maybe as a starter bracelet and let them add charms and beads as time goes on.
www.bellabeads925.com
A "Charm Consultant" will measure your wrist. A good method is to use an existing bracelet that allows you to put two fingers between your wrist and the bracelet — leaving enough room to fill your bracelet with beads and charms. You can also wrap a piece of string around your wrist to determine length, again allowing enough room for beads.
You choose the desired beads and design your jewelry by a memory, color, style, theme, or a combination. Mix and match all bead colors and styles for a bold visual appeal. String beads on by sliding each one onto the small end of the chain and finish with a clasp.
There are many ways to assemble your jewelry to create different looks; it is recommended that you choose a series of 3-4 beads to repeat for a well-structured, balanced look. Select a few beads with one bead to act as a central point or sophisticated statement, and choose your beads and place in any random order for a whimsical touch, according to Dina. Each bracelet comes with a basic, doubled ended, removable clasp. There are several custom clasps that add even more panache to the bracelet if you decide to add.
Dina recommends that for cleaning, simply use lukewarm soapy water. A soft toothbrush to scrub the jewelry and rinsing in clean water or use a polishing cloth only is recommended. Do not use any cleaning solutions such as jewelry cleaner, silver polish or silver polish liquid cleaner as they may remove the oxidization of the beads or jewelry. Also, do not wear your jewelry in a chlorinated swimming pool, or in a hot tub as they contain chemicals that will affect the finish of your jewelry.
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April MacIntyre is Monsters and Critics' smallscreen and people/celebrity editor who loves to visit and celebrate small American businesses when she can. You can contact her on Twitter
