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As the year comes to a close and as the holidays are upon us I find myself thinking about what Trollbeads will create for us in 2012.  I just received an email from Trollbeads United States outlining the new approaches and new ideas and this has definitely got my mind going and my imagination wandering.

Just imagine what great things are coming our way! Each year we can look forward to new beads, new limited edition releases and new surprises through out the year.  Just think of the surprises we got this year! I think my favorite release this year had to have been the Silver Whorl and second most favorite the Anniversary Coin!

No definite plans except for the National Trunk Show events.  I know many of you have been discussing the pros and cons on discussion panels and when the holiday is over I will go and read all about them.  There will be a total of 3 during 2012.  You may be missing the opportunity to go to more trunk shows but on the flip side of that Trollbeads is giving retailers the choice of offering other specials through out the year. 

No more serious business today because I am actually writing to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays for whatever days you want to celebrate. Below are some new holidays that you might want to add to your list of days to celebrate.

1.December 26th is national "Play With Your New Trollbeads Day".

2.December 27th is "Buy New Trollbeads With Your Christmas Money Day".

3.December 28th is "Return all that other jewelry you got and buy a lot of Trollbeads Day." 

OK, you get the idea. How can you not celebrate being a part of a line of jewelry that brings people together from all over the world, gives back in many charitable venues and is simply the most exquisite line of beads ever created.

I have just added a page to Trollbeads Gallery about the company and it's philosophies. If you are want to read or see the page and you aren't near this blog you can find it on the site's home page on the top row of features on the far right. I hope you will go and read it, here is the link.  About the Company.

(The photo above show the holiday decorations inside the food concession at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen where I shared glogg with my favorite Trollbeads designer, Soren.)

It has been quite a while since I have written something about Picasso Jasper and now that Trollbeads is sold out I thought it a good time to tell new collectors about it and remind the old collectors to get it now before it is totally gone!

The Picasso Jaspers were released late fall and they are soon to become very hard to find.  As usual I hoard limited edtions and I purchased many Picasso Jasper beads because I knew they were very limited but also because I love the natural stone beads and the look is so great.

Picasso Jasper actually comes from a crystal.  It seems hard to believe but this kind of crystal produces other visually abstract forms of stone such as Malachite.  Sometime referred to as Picasso marble, the Picasso Jasper comes in extraordinary abstract patterns and wild veining and this attribute is what makes it so exciting to collectors of Trollbeads.  Like miniature aerial photos each stone appears to have streams, fissures and lakes.  Look into a Picasso Jasper and see what you can see, it’s rather like finding things in the clouds.  During the creation process the stone goes through metamorphosis and is changed by natural occurring temperature changes and pressure.  These processes are what cause the graining and color changes that can occur with one stone.

Like all of the natural stones, the Picasso Jasper is associated with energies and healing.  The stone is reported to attract people who see things the same who then in turn become close friends. It can also be the catalyst that heals a broken relationship.  If you are an artist and feel a block on your creativity just meditate on the designs of your Picasso Jasper and follow the paths upon the stone.  It is believed that you path will open up before you.

Are you wondering where the stone got its name?  It resembles Pablo Picasso’s abstract painting style with it lines and quick changes of color.  I see other artists in the different beads too, Alexander Calder and Georges Seurat just to name a couple.  

Bead at left reminds me of Seurat's pointilissm.      

Bead at the right reminds me of Calder's forms!

Trollbeads Gallery had just listed more Picasso Jasper and will continue this as I have many stashed away!

Always take a good look at all of theTrollbeads Limited Edition

offerings as once they sell out they are gone!

Trollbeads Gallery Guest Blog by Suzanne Hopping (First People's Bead Award Winner)

Suzanne Hopping (in below photo)

 It all started in 2003 when the publishing company I worked for as an Art Director, moved premises from a beautiful, renovated, old wharf jutting over Sydney Harbour, to new premises on the north side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

My work colleagues and I were very unhappy with the move as we had lost our stunning views, and amazing location on the water (even though the area we had moved to was very close to the harbour and full of lovely cafes and gorgeous little shops) and although it was still in Sydney it had the look and atmosphere of a quaint village.

While exploring my new surroundings I came across a wonderful little art, craft and gift shop, which sold beads. They had a large display of Pandora, which my workmates were getting into in a big way.

The owner of the shop, Penny offered me a gold Pandora bracelet full of gold charms, which a lady was selling, because she needed the money. I ended up buying it at a very reasonable price. I then noticed there was an amazing bead on this bracelet, which was unlike any of the other Pandora beads. I was told by Penny that it was called a Trollbead (the bracelet owner had it specially fitted onto the Pandora bracelet). It was truly the most magnificent bead I had ever seen! She then told me it was a Trollbead known as the Gold Wisdom! I felt so privileged to have this beauty in the centre of the gold Pandora bracelet I had just purchased!

Of course, I then had to find out more about the origins of this wonderful bead. I was very lucky, as, in the corner of the shop, was a small display of beads, which had been over-shadowed by the Pandora display. Penny told me they were ‘Trollbeads’ and the Gold Wisdom belonged to this family. I was totally gob-smacked by their originality and beauty. They were truly exquisite little works of art, a far cry from the production-line Pandoras, which as far as I was concerned faded into insignificance next to Trollbeads.

I was immediately hooked and started buying these little gems like there was no tomorrow!

In my obsession I fell in love with the translucent and crystal like properties of the Dichroic Ice beads and ended up with twenty-four of them! Yes, you read correctly, TWENTY-FOUR!

I bought every variety of the silver with precious stones. I was also fortunate enough to buy many beads that are now retired – such as the Tibet Tibet, the Purple Bud and many, many more. My only regret is that I wish I knew then, what I know now about Trollbeads, I could have had even more of the older retireds, which now grace both Louise’s museum and the official Trollbead’s museum.

Over the years my Trollbead obsession grew stronger and I ended up with a wonderful book about the history of Trollbeads, which I refer to regularly.

The Gold Wisdom no longer lives on my Pandora bracelet but has pride of place on my Amethyst World Tour Fantasy Necklace.

In 2009 I ended up winning the People’s Bead competition.

But that’s another story …

  When I discovered Trollbeads I learned that there was more then only the regular collection. I read about unique beads, limited editions, retired beads and more. I think that makes this brand so special. Collecting Trollbeads is like being on a treasure hunt.

If you really want to be up to date and want to know about every release you really have to put some time in your hobby. Visit Trollbeads dealers, look in all their boxes, snoop on forums for sneak peaks and look on webshops for special beads.  And if you are lucky your piggy bank can keep up with all the great beads that pop out of the great ‘Trollbeads Creators’ in Denmark*.

At the beginning I didn’t know where to start. Did I had to hunt down all the great retired beads like crane, joyful and bead of prophecy? Or should I choose a specific type of unique bead, for instance with buds or flowers, and search a bunch of those? Or should I just buy what I really liked and don’t follow others preferences?

On Trollbeads Gallery Forum there is a topic about collections in collections. It is great to see that some people have necklaces full with unique armadillo’s, bubble beads or ambers. And even retired beads. They have set a goal and are on hunt constantly. I really love to see their photos.

But I don’t have that urge or need for a specific bead. My goal is to collect beautiful regular beads and from the special beads I would like one or two (or a few more) of everything.  Chinese jades, pink agates, picasso jaspers, kimono beads, gemstones. I feel proud when I spot them lying around in a shop. I like to combine them with others to get a nice variety on my bracelet.  

I have a few favorites in my collection like the anniversary cater pillar and anniversary Viking bead (shown below). The retired python, lovely peacock pearls and some great unique beauties, they are my little treasures. I am satisfied with them. For the simple reason that I, mother of three little children, just can’t buy a bead of prophecy or a glass turtle bead. And that is alright, a person has to have something to wish for. In the magical world of Trollbeads everything is possible.

*Unique beads come from Tibet and China. Lise Aagaard gets most of her unique beads from refugees, among others. Lise maintains a close relationship with the artists. With each group of unique beads that arrive in Denmark she will go through them and she will chose the best and give these artists an increase in compensation.  The special beadmakers learn the skills of making glass beads and earn money in doing so.

Anna Teresa is a guest blogger from the Netherlands and has a great interest in Trollbeads and is a professional journalist.

With the introduction of the Spring 2011, Trollbeads also released a limited Edition at the same time.  The Limited Edition was Agate beads, in Pink and in Turquoise.  These beads were very unlike the Crazy Lace Agate Trollbeads released in 2010 so the release was brand new and totally unexpected.  These Trollbead stones are finished with a very high polish and are very smooth and have similar outlines to the Jasper and Picasso Jasper Trollbeads.  No facets just smooth rock.  The two colors also came in 2 choices, solid and striped.  While the solid Agate Trollbeads offer you a very drenched color, the striped Agates add pattern and intrigue to your jewelry.  Once again a hard choice to make and my advice would be to choose what you like and decide where you will use them later.  Photo below and the set at the end of this post shows a solid Pink Agate and the set at the top shows the solid Turquoise set.

Collecting Trollbeads is always about choices but making decision based on what other beads you have to use it with will stifle your collection.  Think about your Trollbeads collection as a painter’s palette, one you have all the colors spread across, and start from scratch designing new creations.  Ok, now think about the beads you said no to because they just didn’t work with what you had?  Your palette would be boring and you chance at self-exploration would once again leave you once again at the boredom door.  Is this where you want to be?  No, I know you don’t because if you did you’d be collecting some other bead brand!  So go back to your local dealer or back to the website of your choice and choose the wildest of the Agate Stripes and know your collection will always lead you to exciting places where you can reinvent yourself through Trollbeads!

The striped Agate has a very interesting story behind its development.  Like many of the interesting varieties of stones, Agates are formed from volcanic activity.  There are nodules or cavities within volcanic rocks that have had layers of silica type materials have form in regular spaces and some are thin and others wide.  These agates when cut opposite to the grain, or transversely, shows the layers as they occurred in time and it is these layers that give our Striped Agate, its name.  Hold the striped beads up to the light and you will see the light through the bead.  (Notice the bead to the right.)

The lighter silica striations go from white to a cloudy but light clear. Sometimes called banded Agate, it is the most exciting to me as a Trollbeads dealer and collector.  When you look at these new Trollbeads remember to purchase for its beauty and then be concerned as to how you might use it.  Don’t give up the chance to own something so strikingly beautiful because you are afraid of its use.

 For interesting ideas of what to use your Agate LE Trollbeads with join us on Trollbeads Gallery Forum and see what collectors are doing!

Also join us on Facebook and continue your Trollbeads journey by learning and seeing what the rest of the world is doing with their Trollbeads! http://www.facebook.com/TrollbeadsGallery

As we continue the accomplishments of Trollbeads for the last year we move on to the Limited Edition Spring Flower sets, Pink and Blue. As with other special releases these were available for a short time and only to Premier Dealers. Premier Dealers are the retailers who sell no other interchangeable bead line. The two Flower sets were composed of 6 beads each and were strategically designed for each set to create complimentary colors for a bracelet or if you wished, the beads could be purchased individually. For the U.S. this was the first time the very unique designs were available to the collectors. Unique beads or OOAK, as they are called in Europe, were being offered abroad in these designs for a while prior to this release.

Right on the heal of the Spring Flower sets Trollbeads stepped up to answer the desperate needs of Haiti following the horrific Earthquake of January 2010 by producing the Haiti Empowerment Sets of Trollbeads. This release brought an even wider and more extraordinary range of new Trollbeads designs to the U.S. and the success was great for Trollbeads, for the collectors and for Haiti. By the end of the release Trollbeads was able to donate close to $300,000 to Haiti’s Habitat for Humanity which provided housing for 50,000 Haitians. As you probably know Habitat for Humanity is a not for profit organization that helps communities build homes for low income home ownership. In Haiti’s case the displacement of so many people has caused an on-going desperate need for housing.

Like other Empowerment Trollbeads the center core is made larger so all bead collectors can partake in the cause. Pandora and Chamelia both require the larger opening.  Below are examples of the Haiti Empowerment Trollbeads.

*

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.

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!

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!!

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!