Trollbeads information that can inspire your creativity with your own Trollbeads collection. Share your thoughts, be involved and please leave comments!

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As I was deciding what to include in my 2010 Trollbeads summary it astonished me to see how much Trollbeads accomplished in just one year.  Too much, in fact, it will take more than one blog to include all of the special releases that made 2010 such a remarkable year for Trollbeads and Trollbeads Collectors. Thank you Trollbeads!

February 2010 Trollbeads released a Limited Edition of the Crazy Lace Agate beads.  This bead is one of many different colors and forms of agate and is a deep rich pink with veins of purple, gray, rust and black running through the stone which gives the beads a wide variety of appearances.  For the first time there were actually two shapes created.  Europe was offered the smooth Crazy Lace Agate and the U.S. was offered the bead in a faceted version.

Crazy Lace Agate is known as a healing stone.  It provides balance and it protects the wearer.  It brings laughter to its possessor.  Crazy Lace Agate is used to help in making decisions by balancing the energies used in the physical, the emotional and the mental which keeps the possessor focused and better able to make good decisions.

As with all of the limited edition releases, only the Premium Trollbeads dealers were offered the Crazy Lace Agate beads.  Premium Partner dealers are dealers that offer no other competing interchangeable bead line. Crazy lace Agate was only available for a very short time and is no longer attainable through Trollbeads. Trollbeads Gallery sold many of these beads and is always looking for more to sell under our retired Trollbeads line.  We have the beads and will soon be adding them to our retired website. Please email if you have any you would like to part with! http://RetiredTrollbeadsGallery.com

email: Louise@TrollbeadsGallery.com

*Photo taken by Trollbeads Gallery Forum member! The four smooth pick beads are Crazy lace Agates.

Professional photographer Celia Pearson was visiting recently and I handed her the Trollbeads Coffee Table Book to watch her reaction.  Celia is a highly visual person and I wanted to see her reaction from a non Trollbeads collector's point of view.  While she finds Trollbeads fascinating, she isn't a jewelry person.  I always show, discuss and sell the book to Trollbeads collectors and I thought it would be fascinating to hear Celia's impressions.  She has illustrated books with her photography and I was eager to see what her reaction would be.  To understand Trollbeads could she see it from the the pages within this book?  I think she did!  LR

I was visiting Louise Rogers recently and she introduced me to the book An Icon in Jewellery Design: Trollbeads.  She’d already introduced me to Trollbeads. I think they are fascinating and beautiful - so creatively designed. I haven’t purchased any, but that’s only because I’m a person who wears very little jewelry.  When we opened this book together, Louise and I, I was immediately drawn to its strong and vibrant photographs. I am a lifelong photographer, so it was natural that I would notice the images.

All at once I understood Trollbeads better. The story of this family, and its company and designers, is compelling. Just as the beads come alive in the creative and inspired hands of the designers, the story comes alive in the book’s amazing photographs. All are flawlessly composed, and without exception the images are imbued with a sense of vitality and energy. There is life in these pages.

Trollbeads, too, seem to be imbued with this same life (so well described by the book’s stunning close-up photographs of them), and now I see that the vibrancy and integrity of the humans behind these beads is part of that life. They are an inspired and inspiring community and not only do they share who they are in this book, they seem as well to invite us to become a part of them.

This family and company have an unerring sense of and ability to share what I believe many of us want. I believe we want fine things, a sense of the life all around us (and in us), and community. Beauty, vitality, connection. The photographs in this book power that message, and the Trollbeads take on an added significance as they become a symbol for those things.

Thanks, Louise!

Celia Pearson

Celia Pearson Biography

Celia Pearson has been a fine art and assignment photographer for many years. Richard Bond’s lectures in Annapolis, Maryland in the 1970’s sparked a passion that has defined her adult life. Her fine art photographs are collected privately and are in two permanent museum collections: The Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD, and The New Bedford Museum of Glass in New Bedford, MA. Her work has been shown in galleries in Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The Cape Cod Museum of Art has just mounted an exhibit of her sea glass images that will continue through October 10, 2010. 

Pearson’s photographs of architecture, interiors, and gardens have been published in national magazines such as Coastal Living, Metropolitan Home, Southern Accents, and Residential Architect. Book credits include Pure SEA GLASS published by Sea Glass Publishing, with more than 85,000 copies sold since publication in 2004; and Wayne L. Good Architect: Tradition Elegance, Repose, a monograph published in four languages.

As a result of the book Pure SEA GLASS Pearson's work came to the attention of Maryland Public Television and was the subject of a segment on ArtWorks. MPT’s host, Rhea Feikin, described Pearson’s “innate ability to find the essence of an object that resonates with beauty”.

The artist lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

To Celia, Many thanks for looking into my world! Louise

Trollbeads are undeniably the ultimate choice in interchangeable beads and they will remain so for a very long time to come. Why is this so?  There are numerous factors, two of which are discussed here.

With the dozens of brands following the Trollbeads original design, no one brand has ever come close to capturing the magical quality of Trollbeads.  I'm sure I'm not sharing any industry secrets here and even if the folks at Pandora or Chamilia read my blog they couldn’t utilize the concepts I’m discussing and come anywhere close to Trollbeads.  Being the oldest brand brings wisdom and no brand can copy that.

    Trollbeads is the only bead line using 18K gold, while others use 14K and some lines even use gold filled.  As with most companies the decisions concerning the choice of materials come from the top at Trollbeads.  Fortunately for us, at Trollbeads the person at “the top” also happens to be one of the designers.  Only the designers should make decisions concerning their creations.  This is at the core of why Trollbeads creations are a true form of art.  In the case with gold beads Trollbeads designers know that the higher the karat, the finer the detail.  The 18K gold is higher in price but instrumental in producing the finest quality, finest detailed beads.  Look at the gold beads and see how light plays upon each detail and reflects the magic in each bead.  "Little Precious" (shown left)is brand new and  “Treasures” with fine seaside detail is a favorite of mine.  “Angel Feathers” had a texture unique to this bead as each feather has an etching-like detailed quality and all together the feathers catch the light like no other gold bead.  Look at the Gold Wisdom bead below and see how the 18K gold cradles the precious stones framing each stone’s color so beautifully.  For the best in quality 18K Gold is imperative.

Another reason Trollbeads is the ultimate choice and one that sets the bar so high is the special category, Unique Trollbeads. In fact they are so special they are not even mentioned in the Trollbeads catalogs!  These Trollbeads are the absolute favorite of seasoned collectors. Unique Trollbeads are Trollbeads that are created in a very limited quantity and are never identified or given a name as the in-line glass Trollbeads are. There are hundreds of different unique Trollbeads designs. Even the name "Unique" is not universally used.  There really isn’t one name used for these beads and in some cases it may cause confusion, but not for long.  In Europe they are referred to as OOAK, which is the acronym for ‘one of a kind’.  In the United States dealers are asked not to use the ‘OOAK’ term to identify these beads as it is a misnomer and in marketing the beads it is considered misleading and can be could be seen as an untruth.   Very few of the unique beads made are actually a true “one of a kind” as most of these beads are made in multiple, but limited quantities.  The United States distributor, TrollbeadsU.S. refers to them as “Assorted Beads”.

Four years ago when I became a Trollbeads retailer the Unique Beads really were unique in many respects.  That was when fewer beads were being made and these beads were a brilliant use of beads that didn’t meet the quality control parameters for an in-line bead and the glass artists would take these beads and add a dollop of glass with a swirl of color and call it unique, and it truly was!  There would also be Unique beads created as trials for testing future in-line Trollbeads but as demand has increased for Trollbeads the current Unique beads are actually being created for the purpose of being sold as Unique beads. They are equally beautiful and expertly executed, just not as spontaneously created!   What ever your favorite color and what ever your favorite pattern of bead, the Unique Trollbeads will offer you a wide choice.

Above is a set of blue Unique Trollbeads and the middle set is a group of the Unique Flower Trollbeads which come in a variety of colors.  This is just a small sample!

Below is a "3-Nique" Set from  Trollbeads Gallery.  We pair 3 Unique beads up that look well together and sell them as a set!

 For more samples of Unique Trollbeads visit:

Trollbeads Gallery Uniques!

Please leave a comment and tell me your favorite style/color of Unique Trollbeads!

   Trollbeads Gallery has just released our yearly group of Holiday Unique beads!  For 4 years now it is a tradition for Trollbeads Gallery to release all of the Christmas color themed Trollbeads we've put aside for the whole year!  Trollbeads Gallery was the first Trollbeads website to offer holiday groups of Unique beads.  Four years ago was the first year we introduced the July 4th themed Unique beads with outstanding success to many people starting July 4th themed bracelets. That was followed by Halloween then Christmas and this wonderful tradition continues with many collectors sporting holiday themed bracelets!

   Because our Christmas Holiday Unique releases sell quickly we will continue to add new ones through the month of December. It is a very popular release!! So keep your eyes on the site as you never know when we are apt to list more.

Don't forget the many Glass Group 1 beads that work well on holiday bracelets such as Red Stripe and Green Stripe.  There is also the Snowman, Snow, Pax, Angel Feathers, Halleluja and Faith,Hope and Charity beads!  All of these beads are great on Christmas bracelets! 

And now with the NEW 2010 Winter Trollbeads your ChristmasTrollbeads just has to include an Ice Bear ,a Snowball and a Sparkling Star !

The NEW beads are in!! The Trollbeads new 2010 Winter bead release includes a wonderful group of wintery themed beads just perfect for the blustery days of winter.

I couldn't resist using as many of the new "Pink Diamonds" Trollbeads as I could feasibly manage. They came in this morning and I love them! You can see the new "Ice Bear" along with the "Snowball" . The "Ice Bear" was the winning design for Trollbeads 2010 People's Bead Design Contest.  Kristi Denning of Maryland won first place with her delightful bear design.  Kristi received an 18K Gold "Ice Bear" as a very special gift from Trollbeads.  The first People's Bead Design contest was last year and was won by Suzanne Hopping of Australia for her "Pax" bead.  Susanne also received a Pax bead in 18K Gold and having seen it in person during Trollbeads Fest!, it is exquisite!  I have included the "Pax" bead in the bracelet above so both winning beads could share the stage!

Along with the new release Trollbeads there was also a beauty of a limited edition release of two glass sets "Christmas in Australia" and "Christmas in Hawaii" and they offer everything we all love in the glass Trollbeads. 

Trollbeads Gallery will soon be offering these limited edition Trollbeads individually!

You can see two of the Trollbeads from the "Christmas in Australia" set on this bracelet along with the new "Sparkling Star" bead.  The  stars reflect the light beautifully!

Trollbeads did it again, another huge winner of a release!  Thank you!!

Trollbeads is the original interchangeable bead line and through its 35 years Trollbeads continues to show its collectors why they remain head over heels ahead of the dozens of subsequent copycat bead lines.   Yes, there is at least one other company, Pandora, that has higher recognition in the market place, has higher sales and is many times larger but that is not what being top is all about.  Definitely not in my book because Pandora’s size and sheer volume has made the brand too common. What is there in Pandora to be emotionally committed to? How can you feel passion for a conglomerate making cookie cutter beads?  Trollbeads as a company, as a brand and as a product is so much more for so many reasons.  Is it that Trollbeads is still family owned and run?   Is it that Trollbeads are created by true artists who start with their sketches then moving on to wax models and then to the actual mold? Trollbeads are not computer generated designs like other bead brands. If you think of Trollbeads as a “being”, which many of us do whatever the reason, Trollbeads is the true folk hero of bead lines.  A major category of folk hero is ‘the defender of the smaller populace against the oppression or corruption of the established power structure’.  How perfect is that for Trollbeads when looking at Trollbeads in the bead marketplace today? Trollbeads does not bend to the common marketplace pressure to deliver beads like the other brands do such as cute cartoon-like children, puppies and birthday cakes. The Trollbeads designers continue to have the artistic freedom to create beads they believe in. Throughout the years Trollbeads collectors have contributed to this heroic brand through understanding the true essence of Trollbeads and understanding the deeper personal meaning to each bead. Just look at this year's winning "People's Bead Award" winner "Ice Bear" by Kristi Denning. Almost the whole of the Trollbeads collecting world voted on it because it fits the collection perfectly.  The "Ice Bear" bead truly captures the spirit of Trollbeads, the voters and Kristi's passion for the environment.  Brand new bead!

In October 2010 Trollbeads Gallery and Rogers Gallery presented the first Trollbeads Fest or “convention” of its kind in the United States. Creating the perfect weekend for collectors meant the planning took months of work but it was all worth it. Trollbeads Fest was a huge success. Mary Jo Coe, the National Director of sales at TrollbeadsUS who was present at Trollbeads Fest 2010 said “Incredibly the event was the “essence” of what Trollbeads is all about.”  There is an intangible energy within Trollbeads that brings out a similar energy in its collectors and its this phenomenon that is creating a cult like following for Trollbeads.  It is incredible to be a part of it and to watch it in action. I can’t put my finger on it but it is truly magical and to many of us that is what Trollbeads is all about. If you would like to see more of the Trollbeads spirit you may want to go to the website for the Trollbeads Fest and look through the slideshow of images.

Take a look at Trollbeads Gallery Forum.  It is clearly a very energetic group of some of the most enthusiastic Trollbeads fans in the world.  The Trollbeads Fest became a reality through the Forum and for many of us that are active forum members the closeness we all felt at the Trollbeads Fest was not unexpected.  For many it was a continuation of friendships that have formed through Trollbeads all over the world because of this one shared passion, our very own folk hero beads, Trollbeads.  It may be a shame so many cookie cutter bead brands have sullied the market since Trollbeads were born but the people who truly understand and feel the energy Trollbeads exude, it matters not.

What are your thoughts as a collector? 

Trollbeads Fest! 2010 Very Happy Attendees!

The New Trollbeads release for the Winter 2010 is coming out in the U.S. on November 12th! There are  all sorts of wonderful new additions to the Trollbeads line!!  We are particularily excited to see the 2010 People's Bead Award Winner the "Ice Bear" bead designed by Kristi Denning from Maryland. Kristi was at our Trollbeads Fest! 2010 in October and she had with her the model she made for the contest.  The "Ice Bear" will be a huge favorite, especially for all the people who were lucky enough to meet Kristi at Trollbeads Fest. Below Kristi is holding the model for her award winning design.  Just this weed Kristi received the Gold version of the "Ice Bear" as an award from Trollbeads Denmark.

Another favorite will be the new "Pink Diamonds" bead.  The "White Diamonds" and "Black Diamonds" Trollbeads are two of the more popular beads for Trollbeads Gallery customers.  The new silver Star Trollbead and the new Snowflake Trollbeads look to be a great addition also.  There is one new 18K Gold bead and it looks to be very interesting, I can't wait to see it in person!

The brand new Trollbeads earring components are frosty and fun and interchangeable! Add them to your holiday wardobe!  We have begun to create more earring designs with the interchangeable accessories to much acclaim from our customers and Trollbeads will continue to add fresh components with each new Troll release.

While Denmark enjoys a white Christmas,  the designers at Trollbeads have not forgotten those on the other side of the world that celebrate Christmas with beach parties and blossoming cherry orchards. For Premier Partner Program members, Trollbeads has two Special Edition glass kits - Christmas in Hawaii with blue nuances and Christmas in Australia with patterns of Cherry Blossoms.  These two glass kits will be sold separately and will add a great set of colors for your holiday jewelry designs. 

For those of you looking for a more traditional Trollbeads look please check out the Red Stripe Glass Bead, the Green Stripe Bead which is much darker than the photograph on the website and is perfect with the red stripe!  Also think of adding White Diamonds !  With the old silver Trollbeads favorites like the Snowman bead and the silver Snow bead and the new snow bead we should all be able to make many very unique Christmas designs this year.  Very soon Trollbeads Gallery will be releasing our holiday favorite "Holiday Uniques". We have assembled a huge quanity and are quite excited by our selection! Many beautiful unique (referred to OOAK in Europe) in greens and reds are being photographed as I write this!  We will announce it on Trollbeads Gallery Forum and we will send out an email when they are released!

Trollbeads Fest! 2010

Rogers Gallery /Trollbeads Gallery

New Bedford, Mass.

October 15 & 16 2010

Post Trollbeads Fest! 2010 Letter

Dear Trollbeads Fans,

How can I thank you all enough for everything you each brought to our amazing event? It has been referred to as a truly historical event for Trollbeads in the U.S. and we should all be proud to have been a part of it.  I have tried to imagine what I would say to you but words can’t quite express it.  Having been present, you know what I mean. 

There was something magical in our midst, palpable yet indescribable.  Mary Jo Coe, the National Sales Director for TrollbeadsUS, summed it up by saying what we created and what the event embodied was exactly what Trollbeads is all about.   So I thought I would sum up the event in Trollbeads.

Friendship Bead.  Do you realize that our Forum is only 1 ½ years old and we were more like old friends at a high school reunion? Look at some of the photos and you’ll see why I think that. The closeness we all felt allowed us to” let our hair down” and be who we are and enjoy the moment with friends and with Trollbeads. Our forum had brought together a very real sense of ourselves relating to each other through our hearts.

Pax Bead. Having the designer, Suzanne Hopping and her husband with us from Australia created a sense of the world just as she portrayed it.  Protected by the doves wings we were safe amongst each other to celebrate our love of Trollbeads and our own community.

Waves Bead. How was I to know about the Northeaster storm hitting New England mid-October when I planned the event and the accompanying Harbor Cruises?  Frede got a wave in the face and I know a lot of you other hardy souls did to!

Three Monkeys Bead.  There was definitely mischief about!  The monkeys were busy will pranks and tricks although I would love to name you all, I can’t! 1 monkey would be Maddog, 2 would be his sidekick Mary Maddog and 3 would be Mary Anna the screamer!

Angel and Devil bead.  Dearest Frede, with your smooth southern accent and your tall stature you resemble an angel in all ways…but boy what a devil you are!  Our Soren didn’t know what he was in for!

Lucky Knot bead.  This bead is for luck and happiness and we surely had luck and happiness all covered for our Trollbeads Fest. My face still hurts from all the smiling and laughing.

Harmony bead. Most importantly this bead is about harmony, something our gathering was graced with and out friendships are sealed by.

Victory bead. This I dedicate to New Bedford’s Mayor, Scott Lang.  At our dinner Saturday night Scott gave a great talk sharing his love of New Bedford and its history for everyone to take home and share. Scott has been leading New Bedford to rise again to its past prominence with grace and intelligence, which are two things not often seen in politics.  Thank you to Scott and to his wife Gig, our courageous event planner!

Transition Man bead. I definitely want to give a “Hat’s off” to all the wonderfully patient and enabling spouses.  What amazing men!  I have never seen such supportive men and the best were the ones that ended up sporting their own Trollbeads by the end of the Fest!  You guys are the real men!

Yesterday all of our gang from Rogers Gallery and Trollbeads Gallery assembled for a post Trollbeads Fest meeting.  Before I knew what was happening Carole, Penni, Nate, Marjorie, Ruth and Gig were all chattering about Trollbeads Fest! 2011.    Did you all notice I left Ben’s name out of it… actually we are all on board for next year.  So many people wanted to be there that could not be this time around that for we owe it to them and to everyone else asking for Trollbeads Fest! 2011, we are off and running!!

Please accept my heartfelt thanks to everyone who came and who made the effort to travel to be a part of this amazing event.  We all made it what it was. 

Warm regards,

Louise

PS. If you have not joined Our Trollbeads Gallery Forum do so! You can catch all of the photos from Trollbeads Fest and believe me they are high on the factor!

No matter how hard a hot selling brand, such as Trollbeads, works to protect its name and products there will always be someone trying to make counterfeit versions to illegally reap the benefits of the brand’s success.  I have written on this topic before and will continue to do so when I find new information to share.  If we all stay astute and purchase only 100% Authentic Trollbeads and report the fakes to Trollbeads and to whatever selling platform the counterfeiters are using, we are doing all we can do for the successful future of the brand.  As far as your Troll collection goes never purchase from an unknown source and remember if the deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

The stamp on the bead above is the authentic trademark. The stamp on the bead in the lower photograph is counterfeit.

There have been many discussions on the stamp “LAA” used by Trollbeads to identify and authenticate a glass bead as being an authentic Trollbead. Please note that not all Trollbeads glass beads are stamped so don't panic if you have a bead that does not have a stamp but when looking at beads you have from sources other than authorized retailers, this is important. 

Stamping the rim of the silver core on glass beads has been one way the company has tried to differentiate their beads by giving collectors an identifier to help them ascertain the authenticity.  Unfortunately the counterfeiters are now stamping beads with LAA as well.  A collector from the Netherlands has supplied me with the photographs shown here and you need to study them so you can detect the differences between the real stamp and the fake stamp.  Please share this information or the link to this blog so we can educate as many collectors as possible. The photo just above is a fake LAA stamp.  Can you see the difference in the thickness of the letters?  The photo below will show the different stamps side by side and you should be able to pick out the differences of the stamps. Three authentic and the one fake.

With only 12 days to go before our Trollbeads get together gets underway we have only to sit back and ponder our plans!  The Fantasy Necklace, Leather Bracelet and New Trollbeads Earrings learning stations are well thought out and well stocked. The teachers are getting their learning stations ready!  The photo above was taken by our Trollbeads Fest visiting photographer, Ginger Hatten from Wyoming.  She will show you how to shoot photos of your collection with clarity and detail so you can be proud of your Trollbeads photographs.

The famous Rogers Gallery/Trollbeads Gallery selection of Unique beads totaling almost 1500 Assorted Unique Trollbeads (referred to as OOAK in Europe) could not be more diverse and more beautiful.  The stunning possibilities for adding to your Troll collection in one place has never been as great.  Trollbeads Fest! 2010 will be the the first festival of it's kind in the United States.

A Trollbeads Trunk Show will be running concurrently with Trollfest offering specials to all attendees. If you purchace 4 Trollbeads of any value you may receive a free Trollbead of equal or less that the lowest priced bead purchased. If you purchase any of the Gold Trollbeads you will receive $100.00 off and if you purchase a Silver/Gold Trollbead you will receive $50.00 off!  The Trunk show specials offer such great savings attending Trollbeads Fest for this alone is worth it! If you need further details call the gallery at 1-508-758-3641.

Purchase a "Pax" Trollbead at Trollbeads Fest and meet Suzanne Hopping the designer.  Suzanne is coming from Australia and will be at Trollbeads Fest signing special Trollbeads Fest presentation certificates for the "Pax" bead so you will always have unique memoriabilia for the first festival of it's kind.  Suzanne will also be signing the coffee table book "Icon of Jewelry Design, Trollbeads".  The 2009 Trollbeads People's Bead Winner is featured in the book.

If you haven't yet signed up for Trollbeads Fest, it's not too late! Join us for a fun filled weekend in the best month of the year in New England!  Enjoy the foliage and the crisp clean fall air with a lot of other Trollbeads fanatics!

Check out the excitement here!

History in the making! On Friday October 15th Rogers Gallery will be unveiling the first Trollbeads Museum of its kind in the United States.  Two years of collecting some of the oldest and the rarest of Trollbeads has produced a collection worthy of seeing!