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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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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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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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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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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The Bin that Time Forgot

The Bin that Time Forgot

By Kelly Mamabug May 27, 2026

I built it. I loved it. I cut it apart. The jade survives. Follow along.

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Wire You Even Asking? A Tale of Two Bracelets

Wire You Even Asking? A Tale of Two Bracelets

By Kelly Mamabug May 24, 2026

Once the bead starts talking, the next question is always: what kind of bracelet does it want to be? Wire or memory wire? Let's read along.

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