The Czech bead manufacturing industry has a long history and reputation for innovative beads. Best Beads is a Czech based retail and wholesale bead supplier which exports products from not just Preciosa Ornela - perhaps the best known Czech company - but also others.
Red Button Macrame Bracelet with Pellet Beads
Ekaterina Pushkareva, the CEO of Best Beads says they "collaborate with G and B Beads, International Glass, Coralex Beads, PAS Jablonec, Lampglass and Matura Beads. Unfortunately they aren't so famous brends as Preciosa is. For example, Coralex Beads specializes in table cut beads and we buy those beads only at this company. Matura Beads is known as the Super Duo and lentil beads producer. G and B Beads offers various beads shapes, but most famous are piggy."  Please see my past post on piggy bead designs.

Ekaterina added, "You know, there are huge number of manufacturers in Jablonec nad Nisou. Sometimes I have a feeling, that beads are produced in every house in this city :)"  

One new product in Best Beads are the pellet beads.  Best Beads sent me some samples for review and asked what I can do with them. They look like tiny drums to me as they have nipped in waists!  The picture below shows their relative size to 11/0 and 8/0 seed beads. 





Unusually shaped beads are fun to work especially if you can exploit their shapes.  As these beads have waists, I realized round beads could sit very close to them with almost no gaps.


As you can see from my pellet bead fringe earrings, these beads do spin around to present different profiles.  I made the wire support oval rather than round so the fringe flares out, curving in places and showcases these pellet beads.

Pellet Bead Fringe Earrings

I also used their ability to butt closely with other round beads in the next design - a wrapped cord and button bracelet.  Most people use the same size bead all the way around.  I had fun making a much more relaxed version.


A second advantage of pellet beads is to use those "waists" as channels.  I created grouped components each of which involved 2 pellet beads and 2 6/0 seed beads.  The outside linen cords I used in this simple square knotted bracelet with button closure sat in the channels :

Linen cord macrame bracelet - no tightening
As these outside linen cords can slip out of the channels, I tightened the components by wrapping with some contrast red thread between the seed and pellet beads as you can see from the final design.  This bracelet is available in my shop - 100% of net proceeds will go to cancer research.



I am sure there are more creative ways to utilize these pellet beads!  Maybe you can think of others?

Giveaway
If you'd like to win the $50 worth of  Czech beads from Best Beads to create your own awesome designs,  please make a comment below. Make sure you leave contact info if you do not have an online shop or blog.  If you can, also let us know which kind of Czech beads are your favorite!

Subscribers need to click on the post title to come to my actual blog. Scroll down and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank. 

This giveaway is international.

Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments.

It ends in a week's time at 6 pm EST Monday, March 24, 2014. I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!

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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
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