My Story

Designing for the Fire Signs: What I Researched, What I Chose, & Why

Designing for the Fire Signs: What I Researched, What I Chose, & Why

By Kelly Mamabug Sep 6, 2026

Aries, Leo, Sagittarius — fire signs don't want you to hold back, and neither do the stones I chose for them. Here's the research behind the power colors, elemental stones,...

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Designing for the Earth Signs: What I Researched, What I Chose, & Why

Designing for the Earth Signs: What I Researched, What I Chose, & Why

By Kelly Mamabug Aug 30, 2026

Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn — earth signs don't want flash, they want substance. Here's the research behind the power colors, elemental stones, and gemstones I chose for each sign, and why...

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Designing for the Water Signs: What I Researched, What I Chose, & Why

Designing for the Water Signs: What I Researched, What I Chose, & Why

By Kelly Mamabug Aug 23, 2026

Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces — water signs feel everything deeply, and the beads I chose for them had to match that. Here's the research behind the power colors, elemental stones, and...

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Designing for the Air Signs: What I Researched, What I Chose, & Why

Designing for the Air Signs: What I Researched, What I Chose, & Why

By Kelly Mamabug Aug 16, 2026

I don't usually research before I design. But the zodiac demanded it. Here's how I built the framework for the Air Signs collection — and what I chose for Aquarius.

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The Zodiac Made Me Do It

The Zodiac Made Me Do It

By Kelly Mamabug Aug 12, 2026

I don't design without touching the beads first. Except for this time. Twelve signs, four elements, one very broken rule.

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When the Bead Is Whispering

When the Bead Is Whispering

By Kelly Mamabug Aug 9, 2026

The sage green Dzi agate is on my mat. It has something to say. I just can't hear it yet.

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What Would Your Wrist Say About You?

What Would Your Wrist Say About You?

By Kelly Mamabug Aug 5, 2026

Your wrist is an autobiography. Not the edited version you'd put on a resume — the real one, written in beads and wire and the things you couldn't bring yourself...

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500 Pieces and Counting

500 Pieces and Counting

By Kelly Mamabug Aug 2, 2026

At some point between the first bracelet and this one, something shifted. Not the wire, not the beads — me.

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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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Tell Me Your Birthstone

Tell Me Your Birthstone

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 15, 2026

Birthstones are older than jewelry trends and more personal than any color palette. Tell me yours — and I'll tell you what I think about the stone.

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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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Matching Set or Mix and Match?

Matching Set or Mix and Match?

By Kelly Mamabug Jul 1, 2026

The eternal wrist question. Here's where I land — and why the answer says more about you than you might think.

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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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