We create lovely little treasures! Artistic jewellery with its quirky prose.
Our Australian artists create lovely pieces of jewellery to treasure. Each is usually inspired by nature and the artists have written prose that reflects their inspiration in making that piece. Shop now.
Each bead has a story nestled mysteriously in their centre – just waiting for the next chapter of their adventures to begin.
There’s something lovely about artwork in the form of jewellery. Simple or exquisitely detailed, each piece is crafted with passion. We love learning the story of a stranger’s jewellery – where it came from, what it means to them. And the idea that each bead in that jewellery came from some unknown source, somewhere out there in the world, with its own memories and tale.
Our absolute favourite ‘guilty pleasure’ is listening as an owner presents her collection of jewellery treasures to an interested onlooker – each piece prompting him or her to warmly retell where and how they acquired such wonderful things. A treasure trove of stories and objects!
At Featherglas, after a lovely life-long journey to evolve into an online store, we’re pleased to have our hands on a sea of beautiful beads bursting to be strung together, ready for you to treasure!
Where did it start? (From the Business Owner)
The first time I remember being hooked on beads was when I was about 9 years old. An old family friend visited with their ‘bowerbird’ hoard of unusual, antique and recently acquired beads.
I was fascinated by how she could remember where she found each bead, which ones had been passed to her by old friends, and for some she conjured up a fantastic story of what their history may have been. Something about them triggered an ‘Enid Blyton’ mystery adventure, simply magical feeling. I was allowed to select one that would start my own collection – I chose Mr Giraffe.
And so started another bead collector! Featherglass originated with my fascination of patterns and bright startling colours that work together. This continues to fuel my search for artists and beads to create all sorts of new Featherglass treasures for our clients to enjoy.
Some Memorable Moments
- An antique dealer’s lounge room, where dining room chairs and curtain rods housed hundreds of strands of amazing sparkling beads
- Many markets and hidden stores nestled into sprawling cities like pirate caves full of sparking treasures
- Finding like minded suppliers on the web
- The realisation of how much space you actually need for a fab stash of beads!
Many more discoveries since have led us to an array of beads that allows all the inspiration gathered during some great experiences to burst forth and create such treasures to own and enjoy!