Calika Beads
These Calika beads are handmade in India, by craftsmen working in a cottage industry set-up. The raw materials and supplies needed to produce them are regularly checked for quality assurance and provided to just 9 artisans, all working from home. These artists have learned their skills from family members who have been creating such products for generations. By purchasing these beads, these artists are offered an opportunity to sell their work, thereby providing them with a better standard of living.This family of beads encompasses several techniques - the best known of these are Kashmiri and Lac. The Kashmiri beads are made of polymer clay (generally marble powder) mixed with hardener and resin (semi-liquid adhesive) which is hand-decorated with faceted glass chips, rhinestones, seed beads, small brass/metal components and other various accessories. The Lac beads are made with a hardened resin, which has been secreted by the tiny lac insect belonging to a bug family. Lac insects settle closely on the twigs of certain host trees, suck the plant sap and grow, all the while secreting lac resin from their bodies. Lac is natural resin which is hard, tough and brittle but softens with slow heating. Lac beads are also embellished.Each individual bead is unique!
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
