Glass beads

Les 9 Mondes

History and Fantasy Crafts
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GLASS BEADS

In days of yore, glass beads were used as prized currency. Now, they take a natural part in our creations and wares.

Whether you look for historical replica beads to further perfect your costume, or more modern and fantasy pieces to highlight your everyday outfit, glass offers a versatile and out-of-time look to every kind of ornament.

THE MATERIAL

Glass is one of the oldest known man-made materials. Produced by melting silica from the sand, and mixed with different oxides to harden or colour it, glass can be used in many ways to shape it.
Hot, it can be blown, spun and flameworked, modelled like clay, or cast in moulds.

IN THE WORKSHOP

We use soft (soda lime) glass rods to produce our lampwork beads. We also happen to recycle colored bottles.

WHAT ABOUT BACK THEN ?

Even though they disposed of the basic materials to do so, it seems the vikings never produced their own glass. But they did transform and melt the traded glass, and beads were used as trading items. Glass was also a choice material for luxury beakers and goblets.
Up until recently, archaeology used beads (and weapons) to determine the gender of the human remains in tombs (bead = woman, weapon = man...), but fortunately, with the progress of research and evolution of mentalities, we can now assert that beads were not exclusively feminine adornments (as well as we can rule out the fact that weapons were men's privilege only). Still, beads were less numerous and probably used in a more utilitarian way in male tombs.