A lot of us are either "into beads" or are straight up addicts (certainly one of my struggles.) Over time I've realized a few things about my bead buying habits and how they relate to making things I feel happy with.
One of the main tendencies I see in a lot of bead collectors is impulse buying. There's nothing inherently wrong with this because the fact is any beads you buy can be made into something gorgeous, especially if you love them. I think we all have certain "triggers" that make us more likely to buy jewelry supplies:
Colors--I have way too many green beads. I know another lady who said she couldn't stop buying black beads. Again there's nothing wrong with this but just be aware of your tendencies so you can try to have a good balance of colors to use when designing your pieces.
Price--Sure these beads are cheap, but are they good quality? I'm finding myself culling a lot of my low-quality findings now that I'm trying to take my art more seriously. Ask yourself: Will these supplies stand the test of time if worn many years? Will they stay in style? Some cheap findings from craft stores tend to tarnish after one wear. Be a wary buyer.
Fear--This is something I haven't heard much talk about but a lot of times I think we crafters are afraid of running out of a certain supply. I get this way with jump rings. Just be sensible and remember what you have. The main way to remember what you have is to keep your supplies perfectly organized, but that will have to be a different blog post.
Selection--Don't we want to own all the colors to increase our freedom of design? Count me in! Again, nothing wrong with wanting choice but make sure you have a good way to store all the colors you buy in an organized way, or you won't be able to reap the benefits of the money spent.
Another thing I want to talk about is how I began buying more findings: when I first started collecting beads, I was just trying to catch all the shinies. I wasn't even thinking about what I would make with them most of the time. Eventually I realizes that without more jump rings, clasps, pins, connectors, leverbacks, wire, spacers, and even metal beads, I was completely unable to make the kind of jewelry you see in catalogs and magazines. Make sure you have almost as much metal in your bead collection as you do beads. Think of it: when you buy jewelry, is it made of solid beads? Not usually, beadwork being the exception of course. I actually wish beadwork artists would use more findings instead of trying to make clasps out of seed beads but that's my own personal aesthetic.
To get the best out of your bead collection, make sure you have colors that you love and which go well together, sizes of beads are appropriate to what you make, and lots of variety.
Go forth and shop!
--Pam