Beads

Beadwork is a common technique all around the world, and here in South America it is most used in Colombia. We weave with beads on a loom, off-loom (freehand), and mixed in with macrame (micro-macrame). We buy most of our beads from members of Ecuador's indigenous community, who use them for embroidery. Our favorite place to purchase them is a city called Riobamba. However, when a color we need is unavailable locally we buy beads from the neighborhing country of Colombia. All of the tiny colored seed beads you see here are glass. All of the wooden beads are aglomerated, or recycled.