I'll put up one more. This one I like because it shows how well amber goes with --actually matches-- some of the phenolic resin beads that were made to imitate amber.

The black gooseberries are from Picards. They are matte in texture from age, not originally that way. The matte black is so intriguing to me, especially combined with coral and old African silver.

The textures and designs harmonize perfectly! Thank you for showing these, Nora!

I show you a necklace I wear often, of the same inspiration!

from Wayne (Beadweyr), another of my favorite sellers.

It's good to have a word for what I look for in beads. I never had a word for it before. "Character" is found more often in old, well worn beads, but some new beads have character and some old ones do not. What is it, I wonder, that gives beads (or people for that matter) character.