There are two important things that Javanese beadmakers can do to keep interest in their art alive and growing:

1) Make frankly-new beads of the artistic level I showed yesterday. Jerry told me he bought a strand of Javanese glass beads, in spite of the price—but he doubted anyone would pay so much. To his surprise they sold very quickly, and he bought more—which is the inventory I saw at Bead Fest a few days ago. These excellent beads were priced at $9. each and $7.50 if you buy a quantity. Instead of artificially aging the beads, the makers would be better-off selling new beads for a reasonable price. Then, it would be only the con-men who artificially age beads for the purpose of passing-them-off as "ancient."

2) Beadmakers must protect and preserve all of the art and craft they have invested in making these beads by ANNEALING THEM (better). The beads are essentially "timebombs" that will self-destruct over time. This is a real shame. The investment in annealing equipment would pay for itself, in saved pieces that didn't break soon after cooling—which can be as high as 40 to 50%.

Jamey