Seeds not Beads

We are a Company which sells only Arts and Crafts that are hand made, We also believe strongly in Fair trade.

Process

Totumo

A large green oval or rounded shaped Fruit with a wood like exterior shell.

(photo of totumos drying out in the sun)

We work with Totumo a lot, as the Totumo tree sheds fruits all year round and the fruit come in many different shapes and sizes. This makes it not only a great renewable resource, but also an extremely versatile material with endless artistic possibilities. Once picked we leave them to weather and dry a bit in the sun; then we cut them open, scoop the seeds out and then before they are ready to work with, another drying session in the sun for a few days. After this they are ready to sand, cut into the required shapes and sizes, polish etc. and then added to a variety of unique Seeds Not Beeds designs.

(photos of totumo in different stages of work)

Coconut

Coconut is another fruit shell that we work with a lot as like Totumo it is very versatile and can be used in many different types of jewellery and accessories. Similarly, coconut also needs to be cut open and dryed out before removing the hairy exterior and then sanding - cutting into different shapes and sizes and then polishing finely to bring out the beautiful natural grain.

(photos of coconut being worked with)

Tagua

an egg shaped and sized seed with a brown exterior and a solid creamy white centre.

The Tagua Seed is a very unique material and is known as the vegetable version of ivory. It comes from a group of palm trees known as Phytelepas Macrocarpa and Phytelepas Seemanmi, which are found in the rainforests of Northwest South America. Once they have begun to shed fruit (which can take up to 7 years) they usually grow two large seed pods which contain 20-40 smaller pods. Inside each of these pods there is one Tagua nut/seed. Again it is a very versatile material and can be worked with in many different forms -these include carving, dyeing, slicing and drilling to conbine a wide range of styles shapes and sizes in a number of different accsesories.

(photo of Tagua Seeds)

Casia

A long narrow seed with light and dark brown vertical stripes

The Casia seed grows inside long seed pods which grow on a tree known in some places as the "flame tree" because of its vibrant red flowers. Once the pods have been picked from the trees, they need to be prised open which can often be quite tricky, then the seeds can be removed and cleaned ready to begin working with. As the crops vary and the size and quality can be quite different from one tree to the next, we also sort them into different sizes and shades before perforating them and adding them into our designs. Because of their elegant long shape they are great for creating depth in a design and combine beautifully with other seeds in Belts, chokers bracelets and ear rings.

(Photos of Seb gathering seed pods and pods being cracked open etc.)

(Photo of cassia seed belt)

Chocho Small red button shaped or small red bean shaped or slightly larger orange and rounded with a black spot.

(photos of chocho seeds)

The chocho seed comes in a variety of different sizes and shades of reds, and oranges. They grow all over south America although more commonly found in the lower warmer lands. The smaller red chochos are one of the easiest to gather as when it is the right time of year you only have to shake a branch of the tree and the seeds will just fall out. However they are one of the trickier seeds to make holes in due to their size and shape. A lot of practice and skill is required to be able to make decent and centred perforations.

(photo of chocho spiral bracelet)

Chinilla

A tiny rounded black seed.

(photo of chinilla seed)

The Chinilla tree is actually more like a shrub that an actual tree and the seeds are found in thin pea like pods that cover the plant after a good flowering season. They, like chochos are reletavily easy to gather, but very tricky to drill holes in due to their small size. Their smooth shiny black appearance makes them a great combination with many different seeds and designs.

(photo of a chinilla seed bracelet)

Chambimbi

Similar to the chinilla but slightly larger.

(photo of chambimbi seed)

Orejero

a chestnut coloured seed with a dark brown oval in the centrem.

(Photo of orejero seed pod and seeds)

Acai

a small rounded creamy white seed with a brownish fleck on one side.

(photo of acai seed)

Palma Flecha

A thread made from a tropical palm leaf.

(photo of palma flecha thread and a palma flecha bracelet)

Waxed polyester

The thread we use for most of woven bracelets and our unique macramé necklaces. Widely used and available in South America, it is a very strong and durable thread and does not wear or fade when exposed to water or sun. It comes in a wide range of colours.

(photo of all waxed threads and pile of bracelets)

Alpaca silver

Alpaca silver is an alloy of copper, zinc, nickel and iron. It does not rust or tarnish.

Silver

Hand worked silver and Alpaca jewellery - designed and made by Sebastian Cardona

Sebastian studied silver work in Peru, and since then has travelled across South America both learning and passing on skills and techniques. A lot of Sebastian's designs combine traditional methods with new to create some stunning and unique pieces of jewellery. If you are looking for that little something very special but completely original, here's where to look.

Please note that any of the designs you see in the following section can be made to order in Alpaca, Silver or Gold. With this option you have the added benefit of being able to give the exact measurement and to be able to choose the material of your choice to create your very own stylish and individual design. Due to materials varying please contact us to find out exactly what we have available at the time.

The silver we use in Seeds not Beeds designs is 95.2 %. We buy our silver in its crude form and smelt it ourselves. Then once we have silver nuggets we squash and roll each nugget (using a manual wire making machine) into different size wires. The wire is then twisted into many different designs and combined with a variety of different semi precious stones, fossilised sharks teeth and other pendants.

(photos of silver being smelted, made into wire etc.)

Hand woven Macramé jewellery

designed and made by Sebastian Cardona and Tessa Cardona

(Photo of Seb Weaving)

Check out the unique macramé rostro necklaces made out of different coloured waxed threads and combining many different styles of macramé to compliment a wide variety of semi precious stones and seeds.

(Photos of different Rostro necklaces)

Each of the Rostros has their own individual style and due to varied availability of materials and ever changing inspiration, very rarely will we make two the same.

In some of our other designs, we have combined various styles of macramé to compliment a variety of pendants, ranging from Alligators teeth found in the Brazilian Pantanal, to semi precious stones from Bolivia and Peru, fossilised sharks teeth from the Chilean dessert and copal/Amber found in the ancient forests of Colombia

Macramé Bracelets and Anklets

The macramé bracelets are available in many different styles and colours, and vary hugely from simple friendship bands to elaborate combinations of different colours and weaves. If there is a particular design that you like but you don't like the colours (or vice versa) let us know and we will make one exactly how you want it.

Seed and fruit shell jewellery

All the items shown in the following section have been made using a range of South American seeds and fruits. The designs are by Sebastian Cardona and Tessa Cardona and combine both traditional and modern styles to create a variety of jewellery and accessories. (See process to find out how we gather and prepare the materials)

Coral

Known as coral to the local people of the Colombian Caribbean coast where it is gathered from; it is more widely recognised as petrified wood - the branches of plants that have grown on the sea bed for thousands of years.

The best time to find it is when the rainy season begins. If you know where to look, after a strong tropical storm, it is possible to find branches of varying ages and sizes that have been washed up naturally by stormy seas.

To the untrained eye it is tricky to spot as it camouflages well with sea weed and could easily be dismissed as a tangle of weed, branches and storm carnage. Whilst wet it is usually dark brown or black in colour, but occasionally purple and white and even pink coloured branches are found. However once it has been dried out (which usually takes about a week in the sun) and sanded down it is always black or dark brown with a yellowy golden grain. It needs to be sanded down very thoroughly with varying grades of sand paper before it is ready to be added to our designs, and then also polished and waxed to a fine shine.

Due to the many different shapes and sizes of branches - there are endless design possibilities. Please check out some of our coral designs in the products pages.

(photos of coral in it's natural state.)