I have to agree with Art. As with most I do in fact collect old beads, with my main interest being ancient stone beads.
Suzi and I have a pretty large collection of Arts beads dating back to his early beads. I am most anxious to see his new series in person as I am sure there will be more than a few we will want to purchase.
One nice thing about collecting beads from a living artist is the interaction you get from them and yourself, many things learned and no guessing.
Below are two examples of stone beads by another old timer bead maker.
All my best .......... Danny
Look at the incredible creativity of (especially) American and Japanese beadmakersand you can't say any longer that "glass bead artist don't create their own new designs".
That artists in developing countries try to make a living (with wonderful beads of the kind you show) is nothing bad.
Not to forget that Millefiori types (for example) are made in simelar designs since 2000 years. Same for Chevrons!
Look at beadmakers in Venice - do you see much development in their designs?
Beadmaking is a very traditional craft, leading to very traditional, repetitive designs.
Should Indonesian beadmakers create new models only to avoid confusion among Western collector novices?
Finally - it is "the market" that creates demand. The beadmaker just follows in an effort to feed his family!
I should have added that in the case of repros depressing the prices of old beads, that just makes collecting old beads more affordable...so maybe there will be renewed interest in collecting the old ones as prices drop.
Additionally, some long-time collectors have been surprised at how little in demand their old beads are for the prices they now "expect". It seems that some old beads have not been an especially good investment.
A recent example - I was told by a long-time bead collector / dealer that phenolic beads shaped into flat diamonds in Mauritania were selling for about $30 each (in the US) around 40 years ago. Today they are still selling for about $30 each, which means they have devalued greatly. So it's a buyers market for at least some sorts of old beads.
Grab all the treasure ye can!
Not that I have the biggest of collections - definitely not - but I have NEVER EVER seen beads as an "investment" and doubt many others have.
Note: Things chance - then change again!
What was costly yesterday and is less costly today, can very well be costly again tomorrow.
Who knows what happens, when North-Corea dominates the world-market and the Ri Sol-ju - the FIRST LADY of King Young-ill - pays "top-Won" for my Muraqat collection?
