Ornamentea!

September 17th, 2008 in other crafts, jewelry making

Susan Beal, contributor

no recommendations

Ornamentea is in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

They have an exceptional selection of filigree charms, ornaments, and findings.

This wall of glossy, colorful beads in jars was so inspiring to browse.

Many of the bead jars are adorned with a project idea to try yourself—a nice touch!

Ornamentea is in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

Photo: Susan Beal

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When I was in Raleigh last week, I had the chance to stop by Ornamentea and choose some instant favorites from their lavish selection of beads, charms, and ephemera. The owner, Cynthia Deis, has a marvelous eye for color and texture. Speaking of Cynthia, she has a great new book out, Beading with Filigree—I'll be posting a full review soon!

I snapped a few photos while I was there, and scouted their webshop, too. Here are my picks for some lovely beading and jewelry-making delights.

• The entire bits, bobs, and charms section is fantastic, but I especially like the bold acrylic pendants, vintage-look lockets, and this wonderful octopus—I bought two of him!

• I snapped a picture of one tray of filigree, but the selection online is wonderful—just enjoy browsing the whole page if you have time!

• There's a lot of great chain to look through, but I especially like this oversized rolo chain collection, available in lots of finishes.

• And they have a lovely mix of ribbons to choose from.

A fantastic online-only bonus is their free tutorials page—it's filled with enticing projects to try. Cynthia also keeps a blog that's fun to read and offers lots of sneak previews and peeks!

And if you're in town, here's the info for shopping in person:

Ornamentea; 509 North West St., Raleigh, NC 27603; 919-834-6260

Bead Simple - Signed Edition
by Susan Beal 150 designs for necklaces, earrings. bracelets, embellishments and more $19.95 more info...

posted in: other crafts, jewelry making, charms, shopping, raleigh, bead shop, ornamentea, ephemera, filigree

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Comments (1)

LindaPermann writes: neato! I love how it is arranged in jars! i've ordered from them before but never seen the inside of the store- thanks for sharing!
Posted: 6:26 pm on September 17th

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