Bead Storage!

I own a lot of beads. Seed beads, glass beads, gemstone beads, acrylic beads, shell beads, pearl beads, wooden beads, crystal beads... and that doesn't even cover the stuff that doesn't technically count as "beads"! With so many supplies, tools, and materials, I have to keep my beading stuff organized or I wouldn't be able to find anything when I needed it. It's taken me many years to get my bead stash organized to where I'm happy with it, and I've learned some tricks along the way that might be helpful for other beaders who need to control the chaos.

First, let's address seed beads. Seed beads are one of the most frustrating items to store. They're tiny, so they slip through the cracks at the tops of many containers marketed for bead storage. Furthermore, it's difficult to work with seed beads if they're stored side-by-side in a box that doesn't allow for opening and dumping one compartment without dumping all the others as well. Many of you are already thinking, "Ah-ha! That's why I use modular storage." Modular storage refers to a storage system which uses smaller boxes or containers, several of which then fit into a larger container for easy transport. Modular storage is, in my experience, the best possible way to store seed beads. Containers with separated compartments---such as this one by Craft Mates---can work as well, but I've found it difficult to reorganize my seed bead stash when I keep them in containers like these. Modular storage works best, but when marketed to beaders, it's extremely pricey. So here's my trick: I use modular storage that isn't marketed to beaders! This is the storage system I use. I buy it at Harbor Freight Tools. It's under $6 per box, and each box contains 24 modules. The modules close tightly and do not allow seed beads to slip out the sides---not even 14/0 and 15/0 beads! It's not the sturdiest system out there, but I've been using this system for several years and I have never had to replace a box simply because I wore it out from frequent use, so the lifespan of these boxes is longer than you might expect when you first encounter them. The boxes are clear (though not crystal clear), so I can look through the top, bottom, and sides to find the seed beads I'm looking for without even opening the boxes. And if I need to reorganize my seed beads, it's easy, since I can just remove the modules I need and put them in the boxes I desire. The boxes are stackable and lightweight. The 24 modules leave a little bit of space on the side, which can be used to store tubes or boxes of seed beads, tools, baggies, or other materials. There is no better system for seed beads that falls within a reasonable budget.

Once we move away from seed bead storage, organization tends to be more free-form. Everyone will have a system that works best for them, and systems will vary from beader to beader. I'll discuss what I do and what difficulties I've experienced.

Crystals. As in, Swarovski crystals. I don't use Swarovski as extensively in my work as I used to, due to concerns I have over consistency in cuts and how fragile crystal is (that's an inherent quality, of course, but for how expensive Swarovski can be, I just can't justify creating jewelry with crystals in locations that I know are subject to damage, such as on rings and, in some cases, bracelets). But I do still buy a lot of Swarovski bicones, particularly in 3mm and 4mm sizes, and I use large Rivoli chatons from time to time. It's reasonably safe to keep crystals together in a container, but I found that when I kept them in typical organizers (a single lid for a large number of compartments), I had difficulty removing bicones from their wells without scraping them against the plastic sides of the containers. As a result, finishes (such as Aurora Borealis, or "AB") would scrape off slightly over time, and appeared like very fine glitter on the bottoms and edges of the container wells. This typically wasn't visible on the beads themselves, even though I knew what I was looking for, but it irked me that any amount of damage to these expensive beads was occurring as a result of my storage decisions. I just recently moved all of my crystal beads (Swarovski and otherwise) into the same modular storage system I use for my seed beads. I find that this system works much better for me, because I can simply pour the crystals I need onto my bead mat, rather than pulling them out of the wells of a group storage container. It reduces the likelihood of damage and makes it easier to reorganize and access the crystals.

Glass, acrylic, wooden, shell, pearl, gemstone, etc. For all of these other "accent" beads (by which I merely mean beads which aren't seed beads), I use plastic storage containers with multiple compartments. This box is one of my favorites. It has grooves on the lid over every compartment edge, so beads can't hop between wells, and it's sturdier than a lot of plastic storage I've encountered. The plastic is easy to see through and there aren't protrusions on the top or bottom that make the boxes annoying to stack. The wells are large enough to store most commercially-produced beads and pendants, and the plastic is smooth, reducing the likelihood of damage. The locking mechanism locks tightly.

Pendants, focals, vintage pieces, etc. I love pendants and focals and I get very excited about vintage and vintage-inspired pieces that I can use in my work. I regularly comb thrift stores, flea markets, antique malls, yard sales, and holes-in-the-wall consignment shops for these treasures. Unfortunately, some of them are too large to store in typical bead storage containers. I use clear plastic storage with lids (like you'd find at Wal-Mart, Staples, even Publix---anywhere, really) with baggies, tissue paper, etc, to prevent damage. I also have large, stackable hinged boxes intended for craft storage which have a multi-compartment tray which sits above open-top fixed compartments. These boxes are amazing and, unfortunately, out of production. However, other options of similar concept are available, though I don't have a particular brand or product to recommend in this area.

Findings and chain. I use another of those two-layer hinged boxes (see Pendants, above) for findings and chain. In principle, I keep chain in a multi-compartment box. Findings (jump rings, clasps, earwires, headpins, eyepins, etc) I have sorted into baggies and collected together in a box based on type. A rule of thumb that's really helped me cut down on the bulkiness of my stored findings is that I use the smallest size baggie that will hold the findings I need to store. Baggies frequently hold more volume than they appear to, especially with findings such as jump rings. I use 1"x1" baggies for a lot of my findings storage; one of these tiny little guys can hold well over one hundred 4mm jump rings when packed tightly.

Sterling silver. Sterling silver (92.5% pure silver) oxidizes easily and fairly quickly, so it's frequently recommended that tarnish-inhibiting storage be used for sterling silver. However, it's been my experience that keeping sterling silver in normal, airtight baggies pushed down before closing to minimize the air trapped inside will keep silver reasonably shiny for a fairly long time (over a year). If you access your sterling stash frequently or if you are expecting to store it for a long period, utilizing tarnish inhibitors is probably a very good idea. But if you don't mind a little oxidation (which can be quite beautiful and bring out the detail on a charm or chain) or if you're willing to clean the silver before using it, paying more for special storage isn't really necessary. There are other ways to inhibit tarnish as well.

Everything else. I'm sort of obsessed with plastic storage bins, particularly the ones that are small enough to stack two or three tall on a cabinet shelf and small enough to move easily. I have a countless number of these boxes all over my house, which I get at Wal-Mart for under $1 a box. I use these 6-quart boxes store my beading tools, projects-in-progress, wire, adhesives, baggies, business cards, and pretty much everything else that will fit inside them. I have a few other boxes of varying sizes for specific purposes (such as my displays for shows, which need a larger box). Books and other references are kept on shelves below my beading desk.

A note on bead storage boxes: many bead storage boxes are marketed with "adjustable compartments", such as this one. I don't see these boxes for sale as often as I used to (for a while, I had trouble finding boxes that didn't have adjustable compartments), but they're still around, especially in the lower price range of bead storage containers. I do not recommend ever using a container with adjustable compartments for any type of bead storage. I have tried gluing in the dividers and using tape to make their fit tighter, but it never fails: when I store beads in a container with adjustable dividers, I always find myself sorting beads which managed to get mixed when the dividers failed to stay perfectly in place. It's best just to use containers with fixed compartments, even if they're a little more expensive.

I hope this discussion proves helpful in your eternal quest to organize your bead stash. Happy beading!