My Story

The Bead That's Been Waiting the Longest

The Bead That's Been Waiting the Longest

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 29, 2026

Every maker has a bead they bought on instinct and haven't figured out yet. Mine is a bowl of polished serpentine — stunning, stubborn, and still waiting for the right...

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Designing for You — Not Just Me

Designing for You — Not Just Me

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 26, 2026

The hardest part of making jewelry for a shop isn't the wire or the beads. It's learning to hold your own preferences loosely enough to make room for someone else's.

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Things Jack Jack Has Sat On This Week

Things Jack Jack Has Sat On This Week

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 22, 2026

An ongoing field report from my studio's Chief Quality Assurance Officer, who takes his responsibilities very seriously and his naps even more so.

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Ethnic & Cultural Bead Haul: Beads That Have Been Somewhere

Ethnic & Cultural Bead Haul: Beads That Have Been Somewhere

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 19, 2026

Some beads are pretty. These beads have been somewhere. A look at the chevrons, Peruvian pottery, Tibetan agate, and mala beads in my latest haul — and the history, culture,...

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Charm Haul: A Different Kind of Focal

Charm Haul: A Different Kind of Focal

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 12, 2026

I was unpacking a bin of charms the other day — the kind of task that starts as organizing and ends as an hour of just looking. And it hit...

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Stone or Glass? Why I Love Both

Stone or Glass? Why I Love Both

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 8, 2026

People assume jewelry makers have a preference. I do — it's just not the one they expect. Stone and glass aren't competing. They're collaborating.

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How I Choose Colors

How I Choose Colors

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 5, 2026

Color doesn't start with a color wheel. It starts with a feeling. How color finds me, how I respond to it, and how I build around it.

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The Temptation of AliExpress: Why I Changed How I Source My Beads

The Temptation of AliExpress: Why I Changed How I Source My Beads

By Kelly Mamabug Jun 28, 2026

I've seen the prices. I understand the appeal. When you're a very small business watching every dollar, a strand of beads for $1.50 is not easy to scroll past. What...

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What Color Are You Today?

What Color Are You Today?

By Kelly Mamabug Jun 24, 2026

Not your favorite color. Not your signature color. The color you are right now, today, in this exact moment. Let's find out.

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Journey of the Bead: The Making

Journey of the Bead: The Making

By Kelly Mamabug Jun 21, 2026

The beads are laid out. The design is decided. Now the wire comes out — and everything gets real. The final chapter of the amethyst bracelet journey.

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Jack Jack's Official QA Report

Jack Jack's Official QA Report

By Kelly Mamabug Jun 17, 2026

Every bracelet that leaves this studio has been reviewed by a certified quality assurance professional. Here is his official report.

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Journey of the Bead: The Design

Journey of the Bead: The Design

By Kelly Mamabug Jun 14, 2026

The amethyst made it home. Now came the harder question: what did it want to be? Follow the design process — the failed first attempt, the unexpected find in the...

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Stretch or Clasp? The Great Bracelet Debate

Stretch or Clasp? The Great Bracelet Debate

By Kelly Mamabug Jun 10, 2026

Everyone has a bracelet opinion. Here's how I actually think about closures when I'm designing — and why the answer is never one-size-fits-all.

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My First Market: What Went Wrong, What Went Right, and Why I'm Going Back

My First Market: What Went Wrong, What Went Right, and Why I'm Going Back

By Kelly Mamabug Jun 8, 2026

I almost talked myself out of going. Two days at the Raleigh Market — what went wrong, what went right, and why I'm going back in two weeks.

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Where My Beads Come From: The Vendors Behind the Jewelry

Where My Beads Come From: The Vendors Behind the Jewelry

By Kelly Mamabug Jun 7, 2026

Every bead in my shop came from somewhere. And wherever possible, it came from someone. The vendors behind the jewelry — and why sourcing small always comes first.

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NO Jack Jack NO

NO Jack Jack NO

By Kelly Mamabug May 12, 2026

My new beading table is officially open for business. Jack Jack has other ideas.

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The Bead: Where the Creative Process Starts

The Bead: Where the Creative Process Starts

By Kelly Mamabug May 2, 2026

I don't start with a finished design in mind — I start with the bead. Follow along as a single amethyst stone leads the way to a one-of-a-kind cobalt blue...

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Sourcing Small: A Local Bead Haul Worth Sharing

Sourcing Small: A Local Bead Haul Worth Sharing

By Kelly Mamabug Apr 29, 2026

I'm a very small business, and I like to support other small businesses — to know there's a face behind my purchase and not just a cash register. Today's haul...

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My Work Station - Meet Jack Jack

My Work Station - Meet Jack Jack

By Kelly Mamabug Apr 22, 2026

Meet Jack Jack, my feline work station! Discover the creative (and cozy) realities of making handcrafted jewelry from my living room floor.

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