march-2021

Acrylic & Aquamarine Beads & How MrBead Started

28th February 2021

Boris says bead fairs can start from 17th May, but limited indoors to 1,000 people or half the venue’s capacity, whichever is lower.

This means all smaller shows are allowed. Check our bookings, soon to appear at Bead Fairs 2021.

Until then, order supplies online. With MrBead’s no question refund – you have nothing to loose!  New MrBead Shop: https://mrbeadshop.com

Content:
Plastic Acrylic Beads
Aquamarine For March
How Did MrBead Start?
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Our New MrBead Shop: https://mrbeadshop.com

15% Off All From MrBead

Enjoy the new shop with 15% off anything with no minimum order. This is £15 off £100 worth of beads – the more you spend: the more you safe!

Only once per customer. Shipping is free too on orders over £30 – under this UK P&P is just £2.50. International shipping from £5.

Can only be used at the NEW shop & not with any other coupon. To get the discount Key AQUAMARINE at checkout now, as offer ends Friday 5th March 2021. Use at https://mrbeadshop.com.

Plastic Fantastic Jewellery!

Acrylic Beads – A Worthy Alternative
Acrylic Plastic Rose BeadPlastic beads were originally much sought after, until the popularity of glass beads and other materials caused them to be looked down upon.

However, the advantages of acrylic beads, made from a polymer, has started to be noticed among top designers.

Advantages of Plastic Beads
Acrylic Plastic BeadsAcrylic is a transparent plastic material with outstanding strength. It’s lightweight and soft to the touch. Making acrylic beads an inexpensive alternative to glass and semi precious.

Acrylic Plastic Rose BeadThey can be dyed popular bright colours for striking jewellery – and can survive a low temperature wash, ideal for decorating clothes. They’re also easily molded into interesting shapes, and great to teach children jewellery making.

Acrylic Plastic BeadsThese fun beads often imitate more exotic gems like dzi, faceted crystal, pearls, and other semiprecious stones. At a fraction of their cost.

Therefore, don’t overlook the potential of plastic beads to help create interesting affordable designer jewellery.

Click To See Our Acrylic Beads

Aquamarine – March’s Gemstone

Aquamarine is March’s stone – a blue-green gemstone from South America, meaning Water of the Sea.

Aquamarine lifts spirit, and excellent for meditation, bringing peace and serenity. Use it for your spring jewellery designs.

aquamarine beadsFolklore says it protects sailors’  and is the treasure of mermaids. The gemstone is also supposed to have powers that reach to land too, helping married couples solve their problems and drive off evil.

Aquamarine is associated with the thymus gland and is very soothing worn as a necklace.

Also thought to help coughs and calm the nerves. The Romans used aquamarine for stomach troubles and believed it could cure liver and throat problems. Aquamarine brings courage, aids quick intellectual response, and protecting the aura.

Aquamarine BeadsColour ranges from a light turquoise blue to a bluish green. Darker blue is the best, greener less valuable. Check the clarity of the stone. Because aquamarine has a light pastel colour, it’s important to be free of flaws or inclusions.

Examine the cut from different angles checking light reflects evenly off the surface of the gem.  Aquamarine is usually heat treated and will become paler if left in the sun.

Clean aquamarine in with warm soapy water and a soft bristle brush. As with all gemstones, protect from scratches and sharp blows.

Click To See Our Aquamarine Beads

HOW DID MRBEAD START?

Nigel MckayI started online in 1998 in Hong Kong, building my first internet shop a year later, with a ‘dial up’ connection on a 10-inch laptop in a tiny Mong Kok flat.  The stock was boxed on a covered outside balcony.

GuangzhouShortly after, I shared a 20th-floor apartment above the largest bead wholesale complex in the world, in mainland China.

We wondered if we could sell beads that were everywhere below us. Ignorant about semi-precious, we searched AltaVista online and listed them on newly-started eBay. Picture is view from the balcony.

Bead Store RoomIt went so well, within a few years, an eBay rep took us out for an expensive meal in Hong Kong.

Those days I traded as OnlineOriental.com and BetterBead.com, until Keith in the UK thought of the name ‘MrBead’ during a late night phone call over 20-years ago. I registered the domain immediately.

Bead Fair 2010Prior to 2008, I’d never seen a customer – they only existed online!

Until exhibiting with a single table at my first bead fair at the Sandown Park Big Bead Show. Never visiting a bead fair before, I thought it would be like jewellery shows in Hong Kong, where customers’ placed orders, rather than actually took stock away.

First Bead FairSo, I brought a big monitor and computer to market MrBead.com. Astonishingly, bead samples were snapped up faster than I’d ever imagined. I was also surprised to see many stalls selling our beads that they’d brought online.

Norwich Spring 2017Now we live in the UK, we can do many more shows. As there’s not enough for our apatite, I organize our own bead shows to fill the calendar.  If anyone would like to join any of these for free, please email me.

Nigel Mckay

Mr & Mrs BeadMr & Mrs Bead

15% Off All From MrBead

Enjoy the new shop with 15% off anything with no minimum order. This is £15 off £100 worth of beads – the more you spend: the more you safe!

Only once per customer. Shipping is free too on orders over £30 – under this UK P&P is just £2.50. International shipping from £5.

Can only be used at the NEW shop & not with any other coupon. To get the discount Key AQUAMARINE at checkout now, as offer ends Friday 5th March 2021. Use at https://mrbeadshop.com.

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