Our line of costume metal beads is manufactured in Germany, where Ava hand selects the beads, chain, and findings. Several beads are cast from our Blue Heron, Yayin, and vintage plastic lines.

The beads are cast in tin, while the chain and findings are made of brass. German Metal is plated in one of four distinct finishes: 22k gold, fine silver, antiqued copper, or oxidized fine silver. Each piece is matted and finished with a protective lacquer coating. Any rhinestones are Swarovski Crystal.

Every year we strive to stay ahead of the creative curve by adding innovative new styles to the German Metal line.

We are proud to be the exclusive source for German Metal in the United States and Canada.

Ava Motherwell envisioned a bead that glowed from within, so she went to Europe in 1990 in search of realizing her vision. She had heard a rumor that European bead makers would create custom beads for jewelry designers. After much effort, she found what she had been searching for. Together, with a fourth generation family of artisans, Ava designed the exquisite Yayin beads.

One of the exceptional features of the Yayin line is that they are hand-made from German glass, making each color batch unique. Each bead is lampworked with a silver foil lining and then matted.

These beads are made exclusively for the Ava Motherwell Collection.

The family now lives in Germany, where Ava visits them each year to design new beads.

Ava Motherwell has been dealing in vintage German beads for many years. When rare shapes and colors in her Blue Heron vintage line began to sell out, Ava commissioned a family of glass bead makers in Germany to make new beads in vintage styles and, when possible, from vintage glass. Mr. Wilhelm Kittel, one of the original bead makers, was born in 1939 in Southern Germany. He was employed for many years at Joseph Krous & Sons, making Drücken beads ( push in German), and in 1965 Mr. and Mrs. Kittel started their own firm.

Ava met Mr. Kittle in 1997, and he and his family became her favorite people to visit in Germany. Sitting around the kitchen table eating fresh-baked cakes and cookies, they would discuss what beads to make. Mr. Kittel had an amazing spirit, and is the namesake for the term "Old Man Beads". We are saddened to say that Mr. Kittel has since passed away.

All of our glass buttons are hand-pressed in a family owned and operated factory in Germany that has been making buttons for over 50 years. Any painting, glazing, or adding of Swarovski Crystals is done by hand. Contemporary buttons are available from our online catalog.

For years, during each trip to the factory in Germany, Ava chose new buttons and inquired after vintage stock. Eventually the owner of the factory offered Ava an entire basement of overstock. Vintage buttons are first productions from 1950 through 1975, and have never been sold or used. They are only available from our Whole Bead Vintage stock sold at bead shows.

In the summer of 2009, during a buying trip to southern Germany , Ava Motherwell found a small factory that has been making beads for 120 years and 4 generations. Originally, the family made glass beads, and then in the 1960s they switched to manufacturing exclusively plastic beads to keep up with the fashion of that time. Plastic became very popular with designers because of color, size, weight, and price. 

One of the reasons Ava fell in love with these beautiful injection-molded beads is that they look and feel like they are Vintage. The plastic is still hand-mixed in small batches to keep the unique feel and high-quality that is important to the manufacturer and to us. The beads are molded using many of the same tools that have been used since the 1960’s. We hope you enjoy these inexpensive, stylish, and light beads, pendants and loops. Have fun.