She rolls...
Most people think the beads are hand-painted, but in fact She Beads are made entirely from polymer-based clay. Every bead is rolled and strung by hand in our Chicago production studio."
The creative process begins by caneworking. This is the method She Beads artisans use to create the original designs. Caneworking is a technique originally used by glassmakers to create stained glass designs. She Beads artisans have adapted this technique to create canes from a series of rods, wedges or sheets of clay in different colours. The process involves layering different colours and shades to produce a cylinder or cane so the design runs the length of the cane and can seen at the end of each cane. The creative She Beads designers are very skilled in producing intricate designs and geometric patterns and as a result our She Beads skilled artisans are able to create more complex cane designs such as faces, animals and various seasonal motifs.
When the canes are ready, the beadmaking begins. Beadmakers roll a uniform size "core bead" using translucent clay. Then they decorate each individual core bead with razor thin veneer slices of the reduced clay canes (a technique developed by ancient Romans called "millefiori" which means a thousand flowers). Often as many as six slices of cane cover just one core bead. Each millefiori bead is rolled by hand to smooth out any seams. The beads are then pierced with a skewer and baked in a low heat oven. Baking hardens the clay so that the beads become durable and strong.
She Beads are often strung with sterling or Swarovski spacers, and made into necklaces, anklets, bracelets and more. Each individually finished piece is adorned with the trademarked "SB", located next to the knot, signifying an original She Beads creation.
Many complex cane designs are retired daily, so the beads are forever evolving, but are always recognizable for their signature style.