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

I thought Friday night would be a perfect time to have a totally uninformative blog on Trollbeads.  It's been my mission to share information of all things Trollbeads and to spread the artistic and creative history...but not tonight.  Tonight I am going to be very self indulgent and talk about myself and my life with Trollbeads. That was your warning to either stop reading or laugh along with me.

I've recently had a few interactions with professional people who are involved in marketing, event coordinating, and social media. They have asked me how I am able to juggle everything I do on the internet with Trollbeads. The only answer I can give is that I live Trollbeads morning, noon, night and even the middle of the night. Some of you can attest to this as the hours of my email answers are downright embarrassing.  The problem is this is not the answer these professionals are looking for.  They want a concrete answer from me.  Imagine the conversation, if you will.  On one hand you have a marketing expert who really wants to know a qualitative or quantitative answers from me because they view me as being a social marketing success. "How many hours to you do you spend writing your blog?" Or "what percentage of conversions do you have on your Facebook page?"  I should also say that they are probably wondering how I've managed it at all at my age. I will admit the to you thing one thing I can qualify and that is it's a  good thing these interviews have been held over the phone so they can't see me processing bead photos in Photoshop or see me checking my in-box as the conversation continues. I think I know what they want to hear but the only answer I can honestly give them can't explain it in their terms.  I have no secrets, I have no schedule, I have no hidden staff of internet search engine assistants, I have no degree in marketing, I have no superior knowledge of the trends in social marketing and I am not paying for Google ads.

What I do have is a life that is 90% embedded in Trollbeads, just like the news teams on the battle front. The other 10% is for my family, my friends...who have thinned out STE (Since my Trollbeads Era) and for my two orphan stores (did I mention I have 3 Facebook pages?).*

How could I ever explain to these sharp marketers that all this perceived "marketing success" I have... has all been the result of a totally all consuming, totally obsessive and totally authentic love affair I am having with Trollbeads.

Cheers, Louise

P.S.

*the numbers don't lie...help the orphans and "like" them.

1.) Trollbeads Gallery Facebook       9000+ likes

2.) Rogers Gallery Facebook           200+ likes

3.) Surroundings Home Facebook   100+ likes

   When embarking upon a collection of any kind the most important thing you can do for yourself is to learn as much as you can about sources, authenticity and basically anything you can find out about what you are about to invest your time, money and passion in.  I can’t stress it enough, do your research! The Trollbeads history is rich with information and how the collecting world has received them, embraced them and unfortunately copied them is valuable information.

Recently I was invited to join a “Trollbeads Beginners” Facebook Group and while I was flattered to be asked I found it the most frustrating experience.   More than a few of these new Trollbead collectors were making grievous mistakes as they were searching and buying for Trollbeads in all the wrong places.  What was worse was the fact they were telling their fellow members to buy from these sources. I thought if I made a comment to help them reconsider this approach, as they were in fact buying from sellers known to sell fake Trollbeads, but that didn’t work.  People don’t like to be told they have made a mistake and anything I would have said wouldn’t have sunk in.  If I could have guided them to the Trollbeads Gallery Forum they would have learned that it is very difficult to detect fake beads.  People like to find information on their own as on a forum and not be told.

Trollbeads Gallery Forum is the one place on the internet that has valuable information because the information is coming from very seasoned collectors, all of whom watch out for each other as they carefully create and gather their collections.  Many of the Forum’s members have been collecting for decades and can lend an experienced viewpoint when it comes to retired beads or about Trollbeads in general.  A few of the members sell on auction formats around the world and what they sell is legitimate and it is in their best interest to share their knowledge which includes outing the fake Trollbeads Ebay s with warnings.  It is in all of our best interest as the more fake beads sold the more will be out there to re-sell when they discover they’ve been had.

One very interesting thing I discovered on the Forum is the truth about seller ratings. DO NOT GO by this.  There are plenty of disreputable dealers who, once discovered by the buyer, will tell the buyer if they give them a positive rating they will then get their money back.  I started this forum as a place to gather and to get collectors to learn together but I have to say as a dealer (Trollbeads Gallery), I too have learned a great deal here.

Trollbeads Gallery Forum has a very popular section called “Groups”.  Anyone can form any kind of group as long at involves Trollbeads! There are many country groups and state groups as people like to discuss Trollbeads with local collectors and find out the goings on locally.   Below is a list of the most popular groups.  The most popular country groups are the U.K. collectors group and the Danish Collectors group. There is a total of 54 groups below are just 5 examples.

1. Collectors who revere retired Trollbeads.

2. Danish real time chat.

3. What you don’t know about Trollbeads and want to know.

4. Beads swap groups.

5. Collectors who have over 15 bracelets. 

If you haven’t yet joined do yourself a favor and do.  It’s painless and very informative. Did I mention there is over 14,000 photographs from collectors showing their Trollbeads?  There is no better inspiration anywhere. The photo above is from an Australian collector and is indicative of the kind of photos you will find on the Forum.

Now that the USA World Tour Beads have been released we can check out each bead and find its meaning for ourselves.  One thing I have come to understand is with each World Tour release there are at least 1000 unique opinions per bead!  It’s the difference of opinions we all share that make Trollbeads such an interesting collection.  We have shared our differences before and we can be open about how we feel but as I have said before, as Trollbeads fans we all represent collectors of a great line so we should be fair, even when you feel the bead is not for you.  Negativity does not mix with Trollbeads and we’ve proven time and again we are above that.

So how do I feel about the beads?  I think I have to say there is something good in each bead and something great in a couple of them.  I adore the Star Spangled Bead!  It has such personality and has such wonderful patriotic color.  I know from working with customers that there are those of you who love bumps and those of you who don’t sounfortunately I think this won’t be everyone’s favorite. If you are a member of the Trollbeads Gallery Forum (if not you should join!)you can see how people are arranging their Trollbeads using the red, white and blue bead.  To see if this bead will be seasonal, we have yet to know.

The Ol’ West is a work of art to me.  It has that good ol’ Trollbeads quirkiness but shows in one bead two of the west’s icons.  We have a customer that is designing a Ol’ West bracelet around this bead and it’s been fun seeing what the possibilities are.  The retired Cactus, of course! The Sparkling Star, Brown Desert, Stars in silver and gold for Texas, Horses and she is contemplating the ball of yarn to represent tumbleweed!  One of the best meanings for me, because I love the artist, is the symbolism in this bead and how it brings Georgia O’keefe to mind.  O’keefe was and is one the west’s most noted artists.

The White House is well done.  There is a lot of detail and I believe artistic license was used to get as much of the architectural detail as possible on a bead but both the back and front are very recognizable.  I was one who was happy about the choice because of all the history the White House represents, the good times and the bad.

The Pursuit of Happiness is one bead the vote is still out on.  I understand the meaning behind the bead and the shape of the bead as I really like three sided beads.  Whether or not the gold was important to it I’m not sure also but there are many Americans that cannot afford this bead and I’m sad about that and what that means.  The Smiley face has  adisparaging connotation for me because whenever I see one I am reminded of the iconic Walmart smiley face.  As a small business owner I have strong emotions against Walmart and what they have done to the landscape of America and to the demise of small town centers across the country.  In a way how much more perfect can this bead be?  In the Pursuit of Happiness some of have lost the original vision of America.

In closing I think the Aagaards have created a great set of beads for America and as a collector I am proud to own them and wear them!

*To clarify: The "Star Spangled Bead" has the classic size core.  This is not a Universal sized core and will not fit other brand chains.

 This will be a hard article to write.  As a dealer of Trollbeads it is not my desire to offend anyone who feels differently on this subject than I do,  so let me say we all have different ideas and “to each his/her own when it comes to this glorious passion we all share, Trollbeads”.

One thing we all agree on is our love of Trollbeads.  We adore the silver beads in all their amazing and sometimes amusing shapes, forms and meanings and we all love the amazing glass beads in their many colors and textures. We love to talk about them, share them, swap them, photograph them and create our own names for them.  We love to build bracelet after bracelet.  Sometimes I think we are all just reliving our “pop-it” beads memories from our childhoods but with grander style beads.

As much as they are a part of our everyday lives I have come to see that the levels of commitment are so complicated, they confound my comprehension of it.  There is one underlying reality to each one of our relationships to our Trollbeads collections and that is our own conscious and unconscious rules of collecting.  What am I trying to say without meaning to say one approach is any better than another, is that collectors all have a unique position when it comes to Trollbeads. 

To simplify it there I think there are basically 3 kinds of collectors and you’ll see this can apply to any other collections.

 1. This group is made up of purists who know they are and can’t imagine it any other way.  It’s close to being a quasi-spiritual thing.  

2. There are Trollbeads collectors who consider themselves serious Trollbeads collectors but they have other beads on their bracelets. 

3. Then there are collectors that love to collect beads no matter their origin or pedigree and mix it all up.

 The strange thing is I understand the third group better than I understand the second.  As I mentioned one is not better than the other but as a collector I have always collected for the purity of my collection and by purity I’m not talking about cleanliness!  I have thought long and hard about this because I was wondering if I would feel the same if I was not a Trollbeads dealer but when I think about my other collections they have always been within the realms of what I consider “a collection that have a similar provenance and are of one theme”.  Please remember what I said earlier, it isn’t right or wrong, it’s just the way we are wired.    As an example consider my sea glass collection. It’s made up of the sea glass that only my husband and I have found. Whatever has been given to me I keep in a separate place and if I buy sea glass for making jewelry, that stays separate also. This is about the pride I take in my 30 year old collection. If I added pieces from other sources I couldn’t feel it was as much a part of us as I now do.  I would feel inauthentic.  If I had sea glass from other people in my collection I wouldn’t feel the same way towards my collection. The same goes for everything I have ever been passionate about. 

Bringing this back to the variety of Trollbeads collectors, in my position I get to see many, many people collect Trollbeads and I enjoy every one of them. There is however a certain level or way we each relate to our collection and it is so fascinating for me to observe and think about but so difficult to explain.  Some collectors, as absorbed by Trollbeads as they may be, will have artisans copy Trollbeads in order to get the bead design they want. I have never understood this but for these collectors it’s all about attaining the beads they can’t get otherwise. If they want a retired Trollbead and they can’t find or afford it they’ll have it made by an artisan.  It seems so counter-productive because in the end what they get is not a Trollbead at all. One huge problem with this is the chance that these beads will be sold later and then someone will think they have a Trollbead when they don’t so the dealer part of me doesn’t think this is ethical and for the future of the brand I worry.  It goes back to how we personally feel about our own level of collecting and if authenticity has a place.  For some it doesn’t matter and it’s all the differences we all have that make Trollbeads such an interesting passion to share.

Louise Rogers

Just 4 more days until 7-1-11.  World Tour Beads USA!  We will have the whole set available by the bead or by the set! www.trollbeadsgallery.com

Our guest blogger has once again written a personal and engaging article about her Trollbeads. Anna Teresa is from the Netherlands and is an active member of Trollbeads Gallery Forum.

We are thrilled to hear more from her!

Making bracelets that go with my mood and outfit, that is what I do. There are combinations that I have worn only once or twice in the almost two years that I collect Trollbeads. And the thought of having a bracelet that I would not take apart anymore didn’t cross my mind.
Although I have seen many beautiful bracelets from other collector that were gorgeous and meant to stay the way they were. Sometimes with a greyhound lock, so that they could not be taken apart anymore.
But when I got more and more beads and I had more than one bracelet I thought it would be easy to have a lovely ‘permanent’ bracelet with a serene, classy look that I could were every day. So when I was in a hurry in the morning I just had to grab that one and I would be looking great.

And so I made one as pretty as I could and it stayed that way a few weeks. Because permanent is not really permanent for me. So now and then I just have to change a bead or two. Not that I am not satisfied with the combination at the time, but because I buy a great other bead or because the time of the year changes. In the winter I tend to wear other colors than in spring or summer.
And so it happened that my ‘classy’ bracelet which I started in oktober 2010 has had a few different looks until now. The base is the same every time. Deep bubbles, khaki stripe, pink desert and retired Julian. But the other beads can vary: labradorite, peacock pearls, kimono and today I put  gemstones on it.

The past month there were a few other combinations that I didn’t take apart anymore. For practical reasons. But I discovered that being practical kills my creativity. Because I didn’t make new combinations anymore. Keeping a particular bead in a combination means that I cannot use it for something else.
So last night I did something liberating. I took all the beads of my bracelets (three silver and two leather) and my two necklaces and put them in my boxes. Then I sat down on the couch and as a kid in the candy store I just started from scratch making new combinations. That was so much fun that I decided that I do that much more often. In an hour I had made about five new combinations and realized I don’t need new beads every week to make something new. I just need to start everyday with a fresh start.

My love for Trollbeads is everlasting, but my tenability of my bracelets is not!

Ps. Don’t want to forget which combinations you made? Take pictures!!

For a clear and easy lesson on how to photograph your Trollbeads go to Trollbeads Gallery Forum "Groups" and join the Photography group.

How do you see your Trollbeads when you look at your collection?

Do you see a challenge and feel threatened? Do you keep your bracelet the same at all times?

Or, do you see a blank canvas with little tubes of paint bursting at the seams to get utilized?

I will take a wild bet and say that there are equal amount of collectors in each group.  What I would like to do is help those of you feeling challenged to feel more comfortable and get you to see your collection as a collective group of possibilities and not as an insurmountable challenge.

For me it’s all about color, texture and balance.  It’s really that simple.  Take your Trollbeads and arrange them in color families.  Once you have done that the trepidation in your mind will seem more manageable.  It’s actually a lot of fun sorting through the colors and you’ll get to feel closer to the creative place of mind and that will help enormously.  Now take each color group and put them in seperate little containers, I find the Lean Cuisine containers great for this because they are black which is neutral.

Now here is where you may want outside guidance.  If you trust your taste and trust your instincts you may not need this next step but I find it a fun way to get started if I am looking to do something new.  You need to find a color wheel.  For the time being you can Google one to use on line but the colors will only be as true as your monitor. Any art supply store should carry them and at the end of this article I will leave an on line link to a source for them as well.  They are around $5.00 and worthwhile owning. There are 2 different color wheels.  The one most commonly used for art projects is the Primary Color wheel and the other one is the tonal color wheel, the tonal wheel is pictured just below. I find with Trollbeads both the tonal and the primary wheels are very useful because of the wide range of colors in the Trollbeads line.

Simply place your bead or beads under the see through window next to the best matched color. Then you just need to dial the wheel as it instructs you to and get guaranteed successful color combinations.  It may sound involved but it is easy and you’ll feel confident in using your Trollbeads in combinations you never thought of before.  I know there are many collectors who find their own color combinations but for the color challenged this is a fun and easy way to go!  Look at the color on the wheel opposite the color your beads are close to and you'll find a great color combination. Below is the Primary color wheel.

The Primary color wheel takes into account the very strong colors such as purple, bright yellow and the strong pinks you'll find in Trollbeads. Below is a bracelet I made showing the use of the yellows and purples from across the wheel.

When it comes the silver Trollbeads you will need to become familiar with the textured beads and the smooth and shiny beads.   For a good balance I like to see a little of both.  My personal favorites tend to be larger beads as I like to make a statement.  You probably already know what scale your prefer.   For texture I like the Zanzibar Trollbead, Ocean, Treasures and Wine Harvest.  My very favorite for smooth and shiny is the Spot bead and for a spacer feel I like Two Sides to Everything.  Once I noticed the difference between having shine and not having any shine I make sure I always have it on every bracelet.  Imagine a mantel piece in your home.  You may have a wreath over it and maybe a couple of wooden candlesticks.  It’s fine but it doesn’t feel perfect.  Now take away the wooden candlesticks and place a set of glass candlesticks there instead.  You’ll find the effect to be more pleasing to look at because the shine brings attention to the mantel piece.  It is the same principal with your Trollbeadsso make sure you add some shine!

Color Wheel Source: http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?pn=H202073TL

At the end of this past February the distributorship of Trollbeads in the United States changed.  The new distributor is Trollbeads-United States a company based in Princeton, NJ completely owned and managed by the parent company, Trollbeads Headquarters and the Aagaard family.  The past month has been a busy one for the Aagaards and Trollbeads-United States from setting up their ordering and shipping processes and hiring management and support staff.   Many of the U.S. Trollbeads stores have been eagerly waiting to see the changes implemented and to find out what the changes will mean to both retailers and to our customers.  While the drama is still unfolding I can tell you, as a retailer, the changes worth noting are all positive.

One change that is most notable is the availability of Unique Beads and the quality of the Unique Beads.  The original U.S. distributor offered the Unique beads only to the premier dealers and limited them to a certain number each month.  Unique Trollebeads are now available to the retailers wanting to offer them and their quanitities are not limited. The beads themselves are altogether different and in time this change of style will create a time frame for collectors to judge the date of these beads.  To accelerate the sales and clear the stores of the old style Unique beads, Trollbeads-United States has allowed it’s dealers to run a special price event for the month of April.  Both our website, TrollbeadsGallery.com and Rogers Gallery,our actual store, is offering 3 Unique beads for $75.00.   There are many "old" familiar styles going away and they will be missed so check out your local stores and the websites and get them now before they are gone!  A sample set from Trollbeads Gallery is shown on the left.

Replacing the old beads will be the beads we have become familiar with through the European sites but are now available to the U.S. dealers.  The new Unique Trollbeads are extraordinary and are works of art showing more detail and more degrees of difficulty to create.  Isabel Aagaard, who is working in Princeton on a temporary basis, just visited Rogers Gallery during our Special Event* and she spoke about the new Unique beads explaining how some of the designs are executed which of course left us all wanting for more! Our attendees listened with focused attention as Isabel, who is the owners’ daughter, explained how she creates Unique glass beads. Isobel was also the designer for the “Origami” Trollbead.  This leads me to one more important change in the United States.

Based on availability, Trollbeads designers will be visiting the U.S. stores during Special Events and will be sharing how glass beads are made, to the extent of eventually having them make glass beads at the event.  Demystifying this process will only serve to support our love of these beads and will make collectors want more.  I know I do.  We plan on having the glass bead artists at Trollbeads Fest! 2011, in September.

Now in its second month of operation, Trollbeads-United States has shown us the promise of a great future for Trollbeads here in the United States and this discussion will be continuing in another blog soon!

 *Shown above at Rogers Gallery is Isabel Aagaard, Louise Rogers and Kristine (from Denmark Trollbeads).

When it comes to our Trollbeads collections we are always trying to come up with a new way to use our beads and to get the most mileage we can with the beads we have. Ideally you would like to use your Trollbeads with as many colors as you have in clothes in your closet. Am I right?

I think this exercise is particularly useful for new Trollbeads collectors. With a basic group of say 10 glass Trollbeads in black and whites and only 3 larger silver Trollbeads you have the core of many, many very useful bracelets. As you can see from the featured photograph we have used 5 distinct color groups and used only 4 interchangeable beads on each bracelet to create a unique look. There are so many colors within Trollbeads to work with and so many different medium options. From the glass you can branch out and use Amber, Picasso Jasper, the new limited edition Agates and so forth. Then once you have completed this collection you can move on to pulling out the black and replacing them with browns and taking out the white and using the off whites. The core beads still consist of a neutral palette but a warmer one. With this warmer core you can add aqua blues, which are sensational with browns, olive greens and a host of other warm colors.

Glass Trollbeads  

This is a good reminder for all of us to enjoy our Trollbead bracelets  in many different ways. One of our Trollbeads Gallery Forum members noted that this is an ideal way to bring your Trollbeads on vacation!  One Trollbead Bracelet with many looks!

 How I met Trollbeads!

I have always loved jewellery. I am a Leo and like to express myself. With my outfits, my hair, my accessorizes. About eight years ago I started to make my own necklaces and bracelets. I sat in my living room with beads and tools all over the table. Every spare moment I had I was busy with beading and creating. I think I have an eye for color and design: people really liked my items. So I sold them to my sisters, friends, colleagues and even jewellers.

Then I became pregnant with my first son. I adored him and soon my hobby was driven to the background. I was a mother now and with my job as journalist I had no time for other things. Son number two followed quit quickly and in June 2009 I welcomed my third son to the world. In my first years as a mother things had changed in my life. I noticed that I needed a tidy house to keep overview. So all the stuff I collected in my life little by little made room for baby stuff. I didn’t mind. I only kept what was really important to me: photos, diaries, jewellery.  And the box with beads and tools was moved to the attic.

On a Saturday in july 2009 my mother took me to the jeweller to buy me a gift for becoming a mother again. We bought earrings with pearls. The salesgirl wrapped the gift and gave me a little brochure from another brand. At home I took the brochure and I turned over the leaves over and over again. What I saw where beads in sparkling colors and great designs. I was attracted to them, could not believe I did not know about this brand that was called Trollbeads. I did some research on the internet, called for my husband and said: what if I would buy one of these. And I did. One week later I was the proud owner of a silver necklace with an antique flower, dolly (retired), drop black (retired) and a flower lock.

Since that purchase I discovered more and more about Trollbeads. I read on sites and forums about the Aagaard family, retireds, unique, designers and the story behind the beads. I started visiting dealers and soon knew everything about the brand. I don’t need to say that all that research  involved buying more beads. But that was all for a good cause. After years of being a mother, a wife and a journalist I had found a new hobby that I could easy combine in my busy life. It gives me a great new way to express myself. Playing with the beads is relaxing after a long day of work and best of all: my new love doesn’t cry, doesn’t wear diapers and fits in a small box!

Anna Teresa is a journalist and lives in The Netherlands. Anna Teresa is a member of Trollbeads Gallery Forum and a good friend to many of her fellow forum members!

Think about the first collections you were consumed by. If you were lucky, as I was, it was young in life. You had someone in your family or in your group of friends who showed you a collection and you became enthralled with the idea of having something to collect. That is how it happened with me. I can still remember every collection I was ever shown and I can tell you everything I ever collected and I remember with fondness the innocence of my desire to “collect”, not so much to own but to have an interesting group of one thing, a collection. It gave me a sense of pride and it formed a thirst to hunt down whatever it was I was collecting. What better way to teach a child about themselves and about the value of what they choose to collect. The most serious collection I had was collecting stamps. I would take my allowance to the old stamp store and buy a package carefully encased in a wax paper envelope and run home to see if I was lucky enough to find one my stamp book was missing. It gave me the sense of amassing, of working to earn something and I began to understand the value of money. How many young children do you know today have this in their lives? One of the benefits of being a Trollbeads retailer is being able to see children and see their minds working as they pick out their first beads.

     We once had a 3 year old who took shopping with Nana as a very serious endeavor. Cate would get up on our step stool and do her own choosing. No matter what Nana showed her she always had her own idea. Think about the memories both child and grandmother will always have. Cate never takes the bracelet off. She is shown in this photograph with her Trollbeads bracelet.

The idea of earning the beads comes later and girls and boys around the age of 7 to 8 do understand the concept of money and will work for allowances to purchase their own beads. These collectors have their own story books with the beads they want circled and starred. There are so many benefits of having young people collect something they are fascinated with. Beyond the value of the money, they learn what they can do without to add to their collection. They learn to take care of their collection,polish it, protect it and watch it grow. Trollbeads tell a story and who enjoys stories better than anyone?  Children! Are there young children in your life that could benefit from collecting Trollbeads?