In college I went through a whole crafty phase where I was making beaded jewelery. My grandmother, (Mom's Mom) was a major crafter and made beaded flower arrangements. My mom had a whole massive collection of seed beads in the basement and I convinced her to give them to me. There are so many seed beads (and other sizes) in this collection that I could make stuff for ever and never run out. Apparently my grandmother bought from the wholesalers in New York and was an inveterate bargain hunter. My mom jokes that her mom would spend more money in gas driving around to different stores to get a cheaper price on something.
I have carted my bead collection around for years and years. I haven't done any beading in a long time, though. Nowadays beading has developed all kinds of new methods that make the craft better than ever. I love the new elastic stretch beading line for example.
If you are in the market for beading supplies, foxyfindings.com has great prices. I liked the way they sell sets of loose beads that are all coordinated to go together. Someone wanting to get into the craft would not have to spend too much money to get started with enough beads to make a necklace or bracelet without having to buy strands and hanks of beads.
