A community of bead fanatics sharing their love of beads!
One Small Planet's Page
One Small Planet - Eclectic, Imported & Recycled Art
I love beads and my goal is to have a website featuring all kinds of eclectic, imported and recycled beads. I really enjoy beads that are made from 'found' items. I'm fascinated lately with stories about women in 3rd world countries making beads from seeds they grow or from recycled magazine pages. Their cottage-industry bead production is often a big step towards some level of financial security and independence and my hope is to do something with my business plans to help them realize their goals.
About
© 2009 Created by Bead Lovers Network on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
Comment Wall (2 comments)
You need to be a member of Bead Lovers Network to add comments!
Join this Ning Network
I have a friend who lives in Nairobi, Kenya. She has organized a group of women to create the paper beads you are speaking of. Please check out her site www.Acacia-Designs.com
My business does very similar work with several artist cooperatives in Nepal. Bead makers are not all that we support, but certainly a large portion. What I find though, is that there are many people in wealthy countries threatened by the cheap labor in poor countries, that's why we have been trying to encourage designers, artists and small women owned shops in wealthier nations to come up with the designs. We help them to get their items made. It makes them more able to compete with their own designs and the craftsmen in poor nations are also able to make a living.
I've spent my entire adult life working on fair trade projects. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to write me. It's a hot topic and tends to make people examine their beliefs on many levels. http://aworldofgood.com
Sincerely,
Jennifer Gerard
(Just this past weekend I saw a fabulous necklace made of rolled comic strips that had been shellacked. I can remember doing that with gum wrappers as a kid. ) Recycling is awesome!