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Maruti Beads
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Recently through the “beading grapevine” we
heard about Maruti Beads, an online
bead store owned by Maruti International (India) that sells high quality hand
crafted Maruti, Kashmiri and Lac beads.
What are Maruti, Kashmiri and Lac
beads? We were wondering the same thing,
all that we knew was that we had never seen anything like it, each bead that we
saw was an exquisite piece of art decorated with embellishments such as mirror chips, seed
beads, silver plating and rhinestone.
We asked Maruti Intl to provide us with
some more information about these unique beads and they were kind enough to
not only provide us with the info, they also sent us a few of their beautiful
beads so we could see for ourselves what all the fuss was about. They sent us samples of their Kasmiri beads,
Maruti beads and Lac beads.
Maruti Intl told us that each individual
bead is handmade on their premises in an artisan’s studio by a select team of
master craftsmen, who learned the skill by generations before them. When we asked them to tell us a bit more
about each type of bead, this is what they told us.
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Pandora style Kashmiri Beads
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Kashmiri
beads are made from a mix of marble powder and
manufactured resin. Also known as “Bollywood” beads, Kashmiri beads are hand decorated
and use a variety of materials for embellishment. I almost want to say that these beads remind
me of the Pandora style beads but the holes are smaller and they are much more
detailed.
Maruti Beads artistically blends the
beauty of Kashmiri beads with silver plated side caps to culminate in a one of
a kind creation exclusive to Maruti International.
Lac
beads are a time-honored Indian bead, handmade in a
traditional manner passed down through generations by expert artisans. Lac is a substance secreted by a tiny insect
called Kerria lacca. Lac beads are made
from a mixture of Lac and marble powder, ornamented with silver plating, seed
beads and rhinestones: detailed with metal elements, mirror chips and various
embellishments.
After spending a couple of days wondering
what I should make with these beautiful beads, I decided to make a bracelet so
I could highlight all of their detailing.
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| Our bracelet made using beads from Maruti International |
Maruti Beads is giving away $60 of their
Kashmiri, Maruti and Lac beads mix (www.marutibeads.com/bead-mixes/maruti-kashmiri-lac-bead-mixes)
every month to a lucky winner of their social media share/follow contest (www.marutibeads.com/blog).
I know I’m going to enter this month!
I know I’m going to enter this month!
