Trollbeads is a family-run Danish company of jewellery artisan/designers who invented the "bead-on-bracelet" concept in 1976, and subsequently inspired all of the other brands that followed over the many years since.
As a Trollbeads retailer since 2003, Suzie Q Studio now specializes in new, never worn, retired and ultra-rare Trollbeads pieces, including the much in demand "Tibet Beads” featured in this article, which is available for purchase on this Suzie Q Studio website.
WHAT ARE “TIBET BEADS” AND WHAT MAKES THEM SO SPECIAL AND RARE?
Trollbeads “Tibet Beads” are a highly-sought-after set of six fabulous glass beads: A colourful selection created from deeply rooted Tibetan culture, spirituality and newly won possibilities. The reason why “Tibet Beads” are so incredibly rare is because not very many sets were created, and they were only in the Trollbeads Collection for a very short time from 2006-2007.
SO, WHY ARE THEY CALLED "TIBET BEADS"?
In the early 2000s, Lise Aagaard, co-founder/designer of Trollbeads, read a few lines in a Danish charitable magazine that would change the direction of the Trollbeads company: “If you really want to help people in third world countries to develop economically, you must teach them what it is that you are successfully doing.”
After reading these lines an idea came to Lise: “We can do that. At Trollbeads we know how to make glass beads. We know how to sell them successfully. We can teach them.”
Lise and her team of glass bead makers took their equipment and supplies to Dharamsala, in northern India, to set up their first glass bead workshop to benefit a group of exiled Tibetan refugees living there. Her vision was to develop skilled artisans who could then be part of a self-sustaining economy, and it is these newly trained glass bead artisans who created the "Tibet Beads” set, infused with their Tibetan culture, colour, style and stories.
Over time, this Trollbeads “charity” project would grow to span three continents, and the beautiful glass beads made by these crafting centres became their own Trollbeads Collection known as: “Uniques”, so in essence, "Tibet Beads" were the very first "Uniques" to be created!
For more info about Lise Aagaard and the Trollbeads “Uniques” story, check out the Suzie Q Diary post: A LOVE AFFAIR WITH UNIQUES."GREEN LILAC ARMADILLO”... This bead left the collection in 2007. The armadillo is a nocturnal animal from the American continent. An old Indian prayer to the armadillo: “Protect my borders, teach me my shield, reflect my pain so I shall not yield”.
“CAPPUCCINO”… This bead left the collection in 2007. This bead conjures up images of a steaming hot cappuccino with a coffee bean on top.
“TIBET”… This bead left the collection in 2007. This dynamic design is a tribute to the colourful and spiritual culture of Tibet.
“TAKMA”… This bead left the collection in 2007. This lilac-based bead, with its twists of brown and ivory under lilac spots, resembles the Indian rhododendron trees, Takma.
SO WHICH “TIBET BEADS” ARE AVAILABLE AT SUZIE Q STUDIO???
FYI, all of the “Rare & Retired” Tollbeads being sold here at Suzie Q Studio are new and never worn.
Amazingly, there are THREE complete sets of six “TIBET BEADS” that are available at Suzie Q Studio (one set has since been sold).
In addition to the complete sets of “TIBET BEADS”, the following single beads are also available:
GREEN LILAC ARMADILLO X1
TAKMA X1
FYI… The sterling silver cores in these “TIBET BEADS” do not have the "LA 925S sterling stamp" because they were made before Trollbeads started stamping the glass bead cores in this way.
TO SEE the intricate process of how glass beads area made, CLICK HERE >>> “Every Bead Is A Miniature Piece of Art”.
Aren’t these “TIBET BEADS” totally fabulous?!
The “Green Lilac Armadillo” beads in both sets are truly exquisite because of the large amount of "ocean blue-green" colour in them. A lot of the Green Lilac Armadillo” beads that were released way back in 2006-07 were more on the lilac side and hardly blue-green at all. The single versions that will be available have a lot of gorgeous blue-green in them too.
While the “Green Lilac Armadillo” has been the most in demand bead of the “TIBET BEADS” set, I think all of six of them are positively enchanting and hope you do too. I’m so excited to be able to offer these ultra-rare Trollbeads to my Suzie Q Troll Fans!
BTW… More rare and retired Trollbeads will be released soon, so please STAY TUNED to upcoming Suzie Q eNewsletters (you can SUBSCRIBE to the right of this post) and on the Suzie Q INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK pages.
If you'd like more information about the Rare and Retired Trollbeads in my stash, see my blog posts (some of the Trollbeads shown in these blog posts may no longer be available) >>> Treasure Vault Unlocked!, TROLLBEADS Rare & Retired ~ China Beads, and TROLLBEADS Rare & Retired Skeleton Necklace.