At Completedworks, a jewelry studio in London, hand-threaded seed pearls and candy-colored globs of bio resins united by knots, ties and weaves have become recurring creations.
“Our beadwork definitely allows for expressiveness,” said Anna Jewsbury, the studio’s artistic director and founder, “because you can compose and arrange in a freehand way, but it’s also time- and labor-intensive work that can only be achieved by hand, and requires a huge amount of patience.” A choker-length necklace called Cove (685 pounds, or $870), combining baroque pearls with twisted threads of tiny freshwater pearls, can take at least a day to make, she noted.
Jennifer Mulli, founder of the fashion and accessories brand Jiamini in Nairobi, Kenya, and a member of the Kamba tribe, said that her work highlighted what she called the “symbolic, nonverbal language” of beadwork that has long been practiced in her community.
For example, Jiamini’s latest collection, called Mtwana, combined traditional Kamba leatherback beadwork with gold-plated pieces meant to look like human vertebrae, a recurring motif in Ms. Mulli’s work. She said the style was intended to signal “strength and a constant reminder that whenever you’re down, all you need to do is reach deeper into your axis.”
Today, she trains local women in beadwork, a process that she said took at least two years. “It is an art form I witnessed my mother, grandmother and other women in the community actively take part in,” she said. “For me, it is the language of beads and the act of embroidering them together that combine to make the final piece.”
Some designers don’t just sell strings of beads; they invite clients to thread them, too.
Carolina Bucci, for example, used client creation as the starting point five years ago for her Forte bead collection. Customers can create strings of stone beads in rainbow colors at her stores in London or Florence, Italy, or by using a tool on the company’s website. Each bead and detail is customizable, and kits arrive ready for clients to thread their chosen beads onto their chosen cord. Prices start at £480 for a bracelet, and there are optional extras, such as an 18-karat gold palm tree charm (£980) or a diamond-encrusted 18-karat yellow gold bead (£1,690).
