Beads and Wires

Last week was actually a good week to start new beading projects, as I had no writing deadline to meet. Unfortunately, I fell sick.

Was worried that I might have contracted the notorious swine flu, because I had sore throat, cough and fever. Luckily doctor said it was just a throat infection, plus some early symptoms of a flu. Since I’m working from home, I was given medicine that causes drowsiness - the more I sleep the faster I would get better. So, I followed the doctor’s advice and slept my days away!

Got all the rest I needed and recovered by weekend, and finally had the chance to leave the house for some fresh air. Was hanging out at SEA Park area where I used to stay since I was a child, and discovered two shops that are selling seed beads!

The two shops have been there for more than 20 years, selling tailoring materials and supplies. One of the shops is actually selling miyuki and matsuno beads, but mostly matsuno size 12/0 and 2-cut beads. I won’t consider them cheap, as one small packet is selling around RM4. I can actually find better deals online. Moreover, I don’t see size 11/0 seed beads, which are most commonly used in beading projects.

I suppose the beads in the shop are mainly used for adorning clothes or making beaded shoes, and not for making beaded jewelry. But it does come in handy when you urgently need one or two colors of seed beads and the bead size doesn’t really affect what you are doing.

So, that’s my big discovery of the week. Haha!

I have not been spending much time on practicing or studying jewelry making in the past few weeks. I was (still am!) tied up with writing assignments. My mom’s pearl necklace, which I’m supposed to ‘revamp’ for her, is not completed yet.

But I managed to visit a beading store during my last trip in KL.

I had so far bought jewelry-making materials from two online stores - Above Fashion Accessories on e-bay and Beading.com.my. Beading.com.my is the one that has a shop in Berjaya Times Square KL. (Refer to their website for address.)

While Above Fashion Accessories does have outlets selling ready-made accessories (e.g. in 1 Utama), I’m not sure if they sell beads and stuffs in their shops too.

Comparing two jewelry-making materials suppliers, taking Swarovski crystals as an example, product prices are relatively lower with Above Fashion. However, taking postage into consideration, Beading.com.my has a lower postage charges (i.e. a flat rate of RM5 or RM6 up to a certain weight) for delivery within Malaysia, and that reduces the average cost of item purchased.

On the other hand, Above Fashion charges based on item quantity - USD2.99 for first item, and top up USD1 for each additional item. Perhaps they are able to give discount if one buy in bulk?

One thing - if you are visiting Beading.com.my shop in BTS, note that they do not accept credit card. Every thing has to be paid in cash. But if you are short of cash to pay for what the shop staff has just packed for you, from what I ‘overheard’ while I was in the shop, you may pay via bank transfer (e.g. via ATM machine) to their account. Once payment is made and the sales staff informed, you can collect the items or have them sent to your postal address instead. It may sound rather inconvenient, but the advantage is that you actually get to see, touch and examine the products before you make a purchase. You can’t do that if you are buying online.

My quest for jewelry-making materials is still on. My friend told me to check out Petaling Street. Well, I have to leave that till my next trip to KL.