Ostrich Eggshell beads

I like to use the ostrich eggshell beads in my designs. They add a different texture and contrast when paired with the reclaimed Trade beads.

Ostrich eggshell beads are the most common ornaments found in Later Stone Age sites in Africa.  Some were recently recovered from a site in the Serengeti National Park Tanzania, are  believed to be about 70,000 years old, according to a team of scientists.  The research was supported in part by the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration and the Leakey Foundation.

The ostrich is the largest living bird in the world today, found in it's natural habitat only in Africa.  However, there is evidence that ostrich roamed over many parts of Asia, including India, in the past.

Ostrich eggshell beads are made by shaping and perforating small fragments of eggshell.  Beads were made by women. With a stone, the eggshell is broken into small pieces.  The pieces are pierced with an iron awl, then threaded onto a strip of sinew.  Then the strand of eggshell pieces are laid down on a hard surface as the rough edges were chipped off with a horn.  The strand was then tightened between two knots by having the fibers twisted between them.  This resulted in the strand becoming very solid and rigid like a stick. This "stick" was then rested on a piece of hard wood and ground with a course-grained stone, to the desired size.

Today, ostrich eggshell beads are still being made by the Sun Bushmen women of the Kalahari Desert. To the San Bushmen, ostrich eggshell beads are symbolic of good luck/good fortune.

bevsbeadz.comVisit my website and see if you can spot these beads within my designs!

How my addiction started....

 Mention the word "addition" and most people would think of all kinds of bad habits.  My addiction is beads, and more specifically, antique Trade beads. I have been making jewelry for a long time, with frequent trips to the local craft stores. Stringing beads was relaxing for me, while at the same time I was expressing my creative side, and turning out a finished piece of jewelry.  Little did I know that my love for working with my hands, was about to take on a whole new world.  We were living in Pennsylvania at the time, and Saturdays were spent exploring, be it a farmer's market, flea market, antique shop,etc. I can remember it like it was yesterday, going into a shop whose sign read "The Importer". After perusing the furniture, baskets, carved wooden boxes, all things that I just had to have, I spotted a staircase  tucked away in the corner of the building.  It led to a small room containing jewelry making supplies. And there they were......small compartments on a table top, each designed to hold a sampling of beads from around the world.  Being that red is my favorite color, my eyes were immediately drawn to these beauties.  Their name is "African Green hearts". The term "green hearts" is because the centers of the beads are green glass, the outer part is the most beautiful shade of red I have ever seen. To me  the color  speaks volumes;  dark, warm, earthy, aged and well worn. This particular strand of beads in the photo, came from Ghana where they were made in the early 1800's.  I no longer cared about the treasures downstairs, I had to have these beads! Discovering those beads that day, brought back memories of the lessons learned in grade school about Trade beads and how they were once used as currency. Now years later, I was standing there holding history in my hands.  I felt as if I was stepping back in time. I was hooked, from that day on, I have been collecting many different types of the ancient beads and incorporating

them into my designs. 

What ARE Trade beads?

Trade Beads

I have been collecting Trade beads for 20 plus years. During the past 2 years since starting my jewelry business "Bev's Beadz", I have been asked that question more times than I care to remember.  It puzzles me as to why people don't  know this? Were you absent that day in grade school ? Do the schools no longer teach that? I remember learning about beads and how they were once used as currency hundreds of years ago. It was the barter system. We didn't always have coins and dollar bills!  Millions of beads were once produced in Venice, Italy and made their way to Western Africa where they were traded for gold, palm oil, slaves, etc. We're talking real history here folks. When you visit my website bevsbeadz.com and browse my jewelry, you're not buying some shiny, glitzy beads from the local craft shop, you are getting a real piece of history. Trade Bead Jewelry....antiques you wear!