Behind the Beads

Gingles Handcrafted Jewelry was born out of a love for beads. Virginia started her first bead collection when she was just three, and used that collection for many things, including jewelry. Jewelry became the favorite medium for working with beads, and a BS in design helped bring style, balance, and fun color combinations to the finished pieces. Gingles became a company in 1991 and sold jewelry primarily through craft shows and festivals in the Greater Pittsburgh area. As word of mouth spread, Gingles reputation grew for beautiful jewelry at affordable prices. Gingles now does a few shows, but focuses more on custom orders through word of mouth and the Internet. Gingles designs are inspired by color combinations found in current clothing styles, colors found in nature, beads that happen to fall near each other in the storage boxes, and especially from custom orders.

Materials

BEADS, BEADS, BEADS!! Beads are the number one material and include glass, natural stones, crystals, ceramics, wood, metal, antique beads, and contemporary beads of varying materials.

• Wires used in the jewelry creations are quality gold tone and silver tone. Other materials including gold or sterling silver are available upon request.
  
  
• Necklaces, bracelets, anklets, eyeglass holders and other lengths of beads are strung on nylon filament, tiger tail, or hand turned metal wire loops.

Ear wires available include:

• French Wires or Fishhooks, in gold tone, surgical
  steel, or 14K gold
• Lever back, in gold tone, surgical steel, or 14K gold
• Small ball post, in gold tone, surgical steel, or 14K gold
• Large ball post, in gold tone or silver tone
• Large Kidney Wire, in surgical steel only.
• Clip, in gold tone or silver tone

Findings in 14K gold or sterling silver are available for an up charge.