1. By Tanja Galetti May 2010 Bead Making

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• Did you ever wonder where the beautiful beads for these bracelets and necklaces come from?

Bead Making

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• Glass beads have been produced in Ghana for a very long time.

• Today we are visiting a Ghanaian bead producer on the outskirts of Accra.

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• The bottles are broken and then crushed into small pieces of glass.

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• The small pieces of glass are put into clay moulds.

• There are many different shapes and sizes of moulds, depending on the bead you want to make.

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• The moulds are carefully placed into the kiln.

• Under the heat, the glass begins to melt.

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• The moulds are carefully removed from the kiln.

• The beads are allowed to cool down for a little while.

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• With special tools, the beads are shaped until they are round.

• The beads are allowed to cool down completely.

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• The beads are placed on a grinding stone.

• Water and sand is added.

• The beads are polished.

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• The beads are strung on thread.

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• The beads are ready to go in to the shop for display or to be delivered to customers.

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• Powder glass beads:

• The glass is pulverized before being filled into the moulds. After the cooling process, the beads are hand-painted with ceramic dye and then put into the kiln a second time.

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15.

• To Mrs. Florence Martey Asare for allowing me to take photos of the production process on her premises.

• You can contact Mrs. Asare through [email_address]

Bead Making