When I'm looking for beads, I sometimes have a theme in mind to create a style of jewellery, like the beach themed jewellery.  So when I was looking for beads to suit a beach theme, the beads needed to have that look that fitted well with shells, wooden beads and the colours of the beach. Luckily quite a few of the artisans I buy from had been creating beads that were perfect for what I was looking for.

If I don't have a theme in mind, the beads have to appeal to me and need to be of a high standard of creativity and quality.  I also think about what my customers would like, especially those who like specific colours like pinks or blues.

Because glass is such a durable medium, vintage beads can work really well when teamed with more modern beads, so using vintage beads re-purposed from a necklace can make very lovely earrings.