Wednesday 26 September 2012

New Additions to my Collection, Thanks Internet!



Firstly, sorry for the delay in posting some original material, that is to say, about how I'm wearing my bracelet and not news from Trollbeads. After all the lovely comments I had about my leather bracelet I have rested on my laurels a little and just continued to wear that bracelet.

But something awful happened a few weeks ago. I rediscovered eBay. This is only awful as my bank balance inevitably suffers when this happens. I went online to look for a CD and ended up searching for Trollbeads and going through pages and pages of beads!

To start with I was shocked at how many fake beads there were on eBay pretending to be real Trollbeads, I was shocked at the blatant copies, one set even boasted being Hallmarked L*A*A* (where Trollbeads are Hallmarked LAA for Lise Aagard) I would definitely be very careful about buying beads from there, if it looks too good to be true it probably is! Having said that, there were a lot of cheap beads on there (lots of them starting at 99p) but I soon realised that they tend to go up from there rather quickly as the time for bidding comes to an end. I think all us collectors have an idea of how much they would like to spend on them, it does mean you can't get some bargains though.

I found a lovely private seller that was selling a bracelet they had bought but never worn. It had a silver bracelet (which turns out to be the perfect size for me!) a Simple Clasp, 4 Glass beads that aren't Troll but are very pretty (Christmas is 3 months away, so I shan't be wearing them, but gifting them) silver Troll Fairy, Mermaid and the most excitingly the old retired silver Smiley bead! Having seen one of these beads on Amanda’s (a customer and now a forum friend) bracelet at work I knew I needed it. Yes, needed!
I placed my bids and was lucky enough to win it. Below is close up of my Smiley bead.


 
I also found another private seller who was selling a few silver beads at a really good price, unfortunately (Or fortunately if you are my bank balance) I lost out on Three Siblings and Midgard Serpent. But I did win the very lovely (and a bit more square than I realised) retired Viking Trollbead and Trollopoly (Trollbeads Monopoly). It turns out the seller works at Robert Gatward in Reading, around the corner from the Beaverbooks I started working in. I often went into RG to have a nosey as they stocked some really lovely brands that we didn't. The strangest thing is that one of the seller's colleagues now works at Clive Ranger Cribbs (opposite Beaverbooks) and had popped in to say hello a couple of days earlier! It's a small world!


I thought I was all bought out so imagine my surprise when another parcel turned up at work with my name on (you know you have a problem when you don't remember what you have ordered!) this parcel held a really lovely Blue/See through OOAK (One Of A Kind, now called Uniques, as you will often find lots that look similar but aren’t part of the main Trollbead collection) for which I paid a bit more than I should’ve, but it is lovely (a bit smaller than I thought it might be though), and another OOAK which has a pattern to match a purple bead I got a Trollbeads HQ.


So this is how I am wearing all my new beads, Hope you like it:

All photos are courtesy of my little sister Grace, and are taken on my (not so younger (he's 13 tomorrow) brother Joseph's Art book

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Something Old, Something New

Having read Mars guest blog from Pauline I knew I really had to join the Trollbead forum so I joined Trollbeads Gallery Forum, and now Nic thinks I’m really obsessed. There are some really lovely people (mainly Ladies) on there, from all over the world. They have some really amazing collections, I thought I had a lot of beads, but it is nothing compared to some of these awesome collections. It’s worth joining just to ogle the pictures and steal their ideas for yourself!


Anyhoo, whilst on there I noticed a Group all about swapping beads, I have a Kimono Kit from which I only want 2 beads so I thought this was a great place to get some beads that I did want. I posted an entry to say that I had some beads I wanted to swap and a lovely lady called Julie said she would swap with me. After a few negations (mainly because I didn’t know what I wanted) we decided 2 of my beads for a Snowflake Obsidian and the retired silver Sandi. I was a bit worried that I would post my beads and never receive any in exchange, it goes a bit against human nature to trust a complete stranger, but I need not have worried as the next day my beads arrived with a lovely little card. I love my beads, the Sandi bead is a better match to Feather as it sits closer to the bracelet and is about the same width, than Love Within. The snowflake Obsidian is amazing with not just black and grey but also hints of brown in it. It goes really well with my Jasper beads too.
The next day I got a message from Amanda (with the silver Smiley bead) saying she would like to swap one with me and I got this amazing Harlequin bead. It’s greeny/blue and see through yellow (which is a colour I am starting to collect a few more of)

They are on my bracelet combo with a few of my eBay purchases too:




I have a Mermaid, Fairy and a Kimono bead to swap, or sell, if anyone is interested!x

Friday 21 September 2012

Whispering in the Wind

There has been a few whispers around that Trollbeads were about to announce something new and exciting. So imagine my excitment when my twitter feed this morning was filled with not one, but two peieces of exciting news!

First of all they had a very funky visual, I do like the visual image they have used recently, this one was to announce that the October 5th release was for Halloween! 

YAY! Loads of people have wanted a Halloween release for a long time (as have they wanted a 16th/18th and 21st birthday charms). But those occasions aren't really celebrated in Denmark so it's bnrilliant that they have finally decided to release some beads for Halloween. I think the fact that their Flagship Trollbeads Boutique is in Tivoli Gardens, Denmark is the reason they have released them. Tivoli is like a funfair/themepark/botanic gardens/boutique shopping plaza. Each year they have massive celebrations for Halloween. Each store has to put at least 1 pumpkin per window display. In fact, they have a special farm in Demark which farms 15000 pumpkins just to decorate Tivoli!

The Second Announcement was about some new Luck and Joy bracelets that are due for release in a couple of weeks (15th Oct). It's not clear if you just get the 2 beads, 2 Beads and the chain (Probably) or 2 Beads chain and clasp for the £75. What is clear is that they all come with a silver Lucky Knot bead and a Glass bead in different colours. The glass beads are exclusive to the Love and Joy bracelets, and look similar to the easter egss they released earlier in the year.
Pink represents Hope. You are compassionate, understanding, nurturing, and above all loving. Always a romantic...
Pink represents Hope. You are compassionate, understanding, nurturing, and above all loving. Always a romantic...
The color Midnight is one of Mystery. You are secretive, elegant, sophisticated and serious. A leader. Confident, strong and powerful.

   
The color Teal is one of Imagination. You are creative, sensitive, and a multi-tasker. Often supportive, self-sufficient and perceptive.           

Red is the color of Passion. You are strong willed, persistent, assertive, confident and energetic. Always exciting! 
  PS I like the Midnight one and Nic would like the Teal one. Thanks in advance!

Tuesday 18 September 2012

It's all about Storage!

So as any Trollbead collector knows you get a bit carried away with buying some lovely beads and before you know it you have more beads then your bracelet can hold. And then you have to find something to hold them that means they wont get scratched, lost or forgotten (the last one is unlikely I know!)

Trollbeads do a Stacking Case which is great for keeping your beads all categorised in it's little pockets and has space for a bead in the bottom tier. They have also just released a really beautiful Acrylic jewellery box which is bigger and has space for more beads, with little rungs and space for any bracelets you have created, and a bit lifts out for more beads to go into!

My collection is kept nice and safe on a Mini Abacus which you can also now buy from Trollbeads. I got mine from EBay from a independent retailer before they were being sold by Trollbeads. Sometimes it put it into colour order, but I change my bracelet so often it doesn't stay that way for long. This is its current configuration:


It seems I have filled that too! (oops!) and also I needed space for my bracelets to go somewhere safe. As you may know I love all things homewares (yes I'm cool) and like things that are a bit unusual too! Whilst in Birmingham I visited one of my new favourite shops Muji. They are a Japanese company and I love their Philosophy, Sustainable materials, simple design, less packaging, and 'No Brand Quality' Read it properly here. Anyway, whilst I was having a (very long) browse I came across their new Clear Storage Collection. 
 
This is cool I thought. And then I found this:
 

And then I thought that it would be perfect for my Trollbeads! The multi-slot side for more beads and the bigger side for bracelets to sit in.
They also do these bits, which I shall be buying next!


They are really affordable and look brilliant all stacked up together. What's even better is that these smaller trays fit perfectly under my Abacus (They do larger variations and ones with lids not drawers (There are loads of them. See Here

So this is what the corner of my living room looks like now: Silver Cloth for cleaning, Our special boxes (well one is mine, the bottom two are Nic's)


I would say they are really worth a look.

Ps all pictures of the cases are amaturely stolen from www.muji.eu

Hope you Like it

This is the way I have been wearing my bracelet for a little while and thought I best share it with the world because Sara said that this is the best she has ever seen it and she loves the combination. To get all the beads in the picture I had to squeeze the beads closer together so you could see them all.


I'm wearing Wiener Melange because I wanted the Tea Cup but I drink tea from a really really big mug. So this bead was an obvious choice as soon as I saw it!
My new Tormulated Quartz. Cause it's new and brilliant.
Space - the bead I treated myself too for being Customer Champion at work last year.
Silver Mountain - this bead is a lot bigger than most beads. When this was pointed out to me at work I knew I had to have it. It goes really well with the Beach Bead Nic got me.
Love Within - Wear this bead as much as possible as my sister and I have just bought the same bead (She lives in Australia)

Milky Way - I waited for a really even spread of silver in this bead and it ties in with my obsession with stars.
Love Locks - Nic bought this bead for me for our 3 year anniversary at the end of August. And I bought it for him.
Striped Blue Agate - Got 4 of these and love the vibrancy of the colours in them.
Owl - Henry is cute and I wear him a lot, I find him comforting. Yes I'm cool!
Moon Ocean - This is a really lovely metallic blue and it balances out the Milky Way on the other side!

Hope you like it. Feel free to leave a comment or tweet me @mokeymike

A Very Special Bead

Funny story. I wanted to buy Nic the Coffee Table book when we moved into our new house, but we never bought a coffee table for it to go on. Also I already had Mocha so didn't really need the free bead (Although Nic quite liked it as he has now become a Nespresso snob!)
And then Trollbeads released the book with the limited edition Tourmulated Quartz bead which was featured in the book. I really wanted the bead and wanted to get the book so it was brilliant. I still wanted to wait for us to buy a coffee table for it though (that's how you buy furniture right, around your Trollbeads?!)

Anyhoo... When we visited their office I heard about how Sarah and Richard where storing all these Massive Coffee Table book in their little spare room when they first started selling the beads, and I wanted it even more. And then they told me they have sold out and wouldn't be getting any more :'( :'(

On my first trip back to Southampton (where I was born and raised) in 2 years I managed to find a Trollbeads retailer within about 2 minutes of going into the city centre. I think it might be my new skill! Whilst in there they had an advert for the Coffee Table Book, but as I had just spent too much on the world tour beads I decided I would wait until I went back again 2 weeks later and if it was still there it was fate and I deserved it!
Well fate was in my favour! The lovely staff at Picketts and Pursers, and Rosemary the girl who served me were all lovely. They even gave me a little bit off (I think they wanted to get rid of it!) They didn't know a great amount about Trollbeads, but then us collectors are a bit obsessed! I did get a handwritten reciept though, which was rather cute!

Below are a couple of pictures of my lovely Tormulated Quartz, it has 2 big inclusions on one side and one on the other. It also looks a bit cloudy which I love (my Sister said she thought it looked broken)

That's it for now! Thanks for reading my waffle!



Saturday 15 September 2012

New Beads!!

A new collection of Trollbeads is being released on 5th October!!

And Breathe!

PS. I'll show you the pictures as soon as im allowed by Fable Trading

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Celebration!

To celebrate reaching 1000 hits to my blog (Thank you!!) Nic was very lovely and treated me to
a new bead on Sunday. (He is very Lovely)
Feather, one of the people beads for this year. I really love the detail in this bead and the way it wraps around the chain. It's about the width of Love Within but sits a lot closer to the bracelet as it doesn't have the hidden hearts. Once I have made up a new bracelet I will post some pictures (I'm wearing it on my leather bracelet featured just a second ago, but I've taken off Owl)

'In Native America, the feather is a symbol of spiritual ascension and evolution and is used by the chiefs to symbolise their ability to communicate with the spirit world. '

Saturday 8 September 2012

OOOHHHH SECRET!!

To celebrate getting to 1000 views on my blog here is a sneaky peak at something brand new! Leave a comment of what you think it might be and we can play hotter/colder (unless I work with you as I can't keep news this excting from you. Sorry Sue!)

A few words to give you a hint on something really exciting coming soon from Trollbeads, I don't want to spoil the surprise too much so won't give too much away.

Three.
Seasonal.
Glow.
Food.
Scary!



Oh ok, a little picture too! (It's a close up of a bead)


That's it... For now!

Thank you Endangered Trolls for your photos

Wahooo!!

Guess what I have just ordered!!
Fable Trading had a few of these beads left so they let me order them. They were only available at the IJL.

With “Bavaria” we join the celebration of the historic “Oktoberfest” which originates from the area of Munich/Bavaria in Germany more than 200 years ago. Today it is a world known event with global fans. The design of the new bead is based on the beautiful blue and white pattern which truly is the emblem of Bavaria and also the Oktoberfest. This year the Oktoberfest runs from 22nd September to 7th October.
The bead core is Universal size. RRP £26 / €28.

Thank you @mytrollbeads!

Gold!

*disclaimer: writing this while walking to work so typeo's and spelling mistakes may occur*
This last week I have had a few people ask about gold Trollbeads, to be honest, I think they are very expensive for the amount if gold you get. The reason for the price is because working with gold to make something that detailed is a lot more difficult and takes a lot longer than silver.
But this last week I've also been lucky enough to look at, no admire, gold lucky knot and Heart bouquet (exclusive in gold) they are both absolutely stunning!!

Lucky knot gold works really well because it's polished and not oxidised like its silver counterpart, so light sparkles right back off it at all the differing angles.

Bouquet of hearts is really beautiful too. It's like the slightly smaller opposite to Heart ball. It's hearts are almost cut outs and it gives it a really lovely look, like Mesh or Ornamental when you can see the bracelet through it. Bouquet of hearts isn't quite round, more rugby ball shaped so it sits closer to the size of the glass beads.

And so the Beaverbrooks Curse has struck again! I really really really would love a few gold beads! (waiting until someone I know wins the lottery!) I personally would buy a silver chain (as you can't see it when full, and when you can through the likes if mesh then the dark silver highlights the bright gold. I would then have gold stoppers and a few gold beads spread with lots of glass beads in either royal blue, or creamy colours to pick up on the gold. I'm sure a few silver/gold beads would look perfect on here too!
So if anyone is feeling generous... :-D