My partner makes some awesome jelwery with beads, stones, shells, etc... And she often sources the supplies from thrift stores by buying old necklaces, belts & bracelets and then deconstructs them for the individual bits.

Anybody know some suppliers that might have great things in bulk? I bought her some great stuff from sellers on etsy, but wondering if there are any other great places to look.

P.S. She tends to have color themes in her creations, so being able to search a supplier by color would be fantastic.

Are you looking for new or used items? I make jewelry (and even have my own little shop on Shophandmade.com) and know of plenty of places on the internet.

Most of the bigger shops you can search by color. I've had to do that when my hockey loving friends have wanted jewelry to match the colors of their favorite teams. Fire Mountain is one place I've done that, and it has worked quite well. They have quite a big selection and the more you buy the bigger the discount.

Rings N Things also has a way of searching for Swarovski crystal by Color

I hope that helps. If it doesn't I can give you more places.

Different ways to search supplies on this site:
Artbeads.com Miyuki Delica beads by color

Awesome. Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

Firemountain, ee beads and Auntie's Beads are my favorites.

I wholehearted recommend Fire Mountain Gems. I used them to order a bunch of supplies to make the jewelry for a friend of mine and her bridal party.

I was a little nervous at first about ordering online because I was unsure about mm bead and crystal sizes, but the extra effort of converting those to inches (which was easier to understand and therefore plan my designs) was well worth it.

Their prices and selection are wonderful (I used all Swarovski, gold and gold plated components). Plus they save you money because as you add products, you get percentages off, but its all interchangeable so you can have any combination and take advantage. I get their catalog regularly and drool over it every time.

What I did to plan my design- I started by brainstorming at Michael's then I found everything I needed online at Fire Mountain and saved a bunch of $$ while getting a lot more to use. http://www.firemountaingems.com/

Wow. nice..Thanks for the info!

Gosh. Wish I had seen this sooner!

Next time you are in the Olympia area y'all should definitely check out this place:

http://www.shipwreckbeads.com/

It is a bead junkie's heaven.

FIRE MOUNTAIN BLUE MUD AUNTIES BEADS RIO GRANDE FINEDINGS
ALL ARE GOOD THERE ARE MORE AS WELL ... SHOP LOCAL BEAD AND GEM AND MINERAL SHOWS IN YOUR AREA...

COLOURlover wrote:

My partner makes some awesome jelwery with beads, stones, shells, etc... And she often sources the supplies from thrift stores by buying old necklaces, belts & bracelets and then deconstructs them for the individual bits.

Anybody know some suppliers that might have great things in bulk? I bought her some great stuff from sellers on etsy, but wondering if there are any other great places to look.

P.S. She tends to have color themes in her creations, so being able to search a supplier by color would be fantastic.

look on Etsy

On Etsy.com you can find all sorts of jewelry supply items as well as vintage items. Even vintage jewelry in bulk (i mean sometimes by the LBS!)

Hey,
we are starting a new company for craft supplies, beads and gems. We are super interested in the newest trends of beads and try to stay ahead of curve. We try to give our customers the best deals on all supplies. In the first month of business we have made our mark on etsy.com selling tons of pearls, agate, Fimo, Amethyst and turquoise. Our latest top seller has been turquoise skulls, and we pride ourselves on having the best quality and prices on the internet. We deal directly with the factories and pass the saving along to you. Our specialty is Oriental and Asian supplies and our knowledge and ‘guangxi’ in this area is unsurpassed.
Give us a chance and see what we can do for you.
Nirvana Supplies, our aim is making buying craft supplies just heavenly.

Just adding my 2 cents:

I have over $3,000 in beads at home, maybe $4,000 with the price of silver the way it is. The best way to buy alot of beads for good prices is to go to a gem faire, or wholesale fair open to the public. I used Firemountain gems in the early years until I found out there are less expensive suppliers and better quality. Not that Firemountain is bad place. My favorite personal site is a little store out of Seattle Washington. Fusionbeads rocks!

I sometimes will look for older jewelry in my stash, take apart and rework into somthing new.

I like artbeads.com and fusion beads, for the free shipping. Etsy sellers have low priced shipping, and Etsy has tons of different suppliers and great variety. Also try eBay for beads, and for old jewelry sold in lots.

yeah artbeads is good...

I've used all the suppliers mentioned above, and have like them all. I'd also like to give a shout out to Beadaholique.com (great stuff, good prices, and free shipping over $25), and beadedimpressions.com (good products, and good customer service)

Haven't used any of those sites because im from the UK but Crystalandglassbeads.com has a good colour selection tool, not sure which countries they post to though.

Thanks for the tip! I'm always looking for new suppliers.

They don't deliver outside the UK. :'(
Still, I'll check out their color selection tool!