Why General Bead?

All jewelry Artists are faced with the challenge of finding exciting components. These components in combination with the Artist's vision create the finished artwork.

The search for components that are unique, beautiful or carry within them the possibility of becoming exquisite through the Artist's alchemy never ends, but General Bead San Francisco was created precisely to help the Artist with this search.

Our website currently has about a thousand pieces that have not been manufactured in decades. Everyday we will be adding more unique stock. We are the only bead eTailer to carry the must haves of beading- crystal, seedbeads, ear findings etc- while emphasizing the special vintage pieces that can make your work unique. Some will sell out, and we have no ability to replace them. General Bead San Francisco has been acquiring unique merchandise for over 30 years. We have thousands and thousands more waiting to go up. Some are odd, unique unto themselves, others are iconic of their time. We hope you'll let General Bead San Francisco become a station, a place to look for an item that you perhaps didn't know existed but turns out to be the perfect answer to the current aesthetic question. Because of the constant addition of new/old components, no two stops at General Bead San Francisco will ever be exactly the same.