Museum, Copenhagen, October 2014.
- Museum, TB Concept Store, Copenhagen
This bricks-and-mortar museum is well worth a visit; you may well discover something you didn’t know existed (like I did!). It is in the basement of the Concept Store in Copenhagen, so you get a retail opportunity too! A must-see for die-hard trollies.
NB – In the UK, we were lucky enough to see the entire contents of this museum at our first UK Trollbeads Convention in 2010, since Fable Trading (our Distributor) arranged with Trollbeads HQ in Denmark to bring it over for that meeting. In fact, thinking about it, in the UK we were lucky enough to see the beads before the museum even existed in Copenhagen.
- On-Line Museum
The Museum on the official Trollbeads website is very useful, although occasionally patchy and contradictory, and with some significant omissions eg the Greyhound Lock, and certain old Trollbeads which are genuine but haven’t made it into the Museum. (Additionally, at the time of writing in 2014, the UK and US website museums have bits of different information!).
Its hard to believe that when I started collecting in 2009, there wasn’t an on-line museum, and collectors tried to keep each other up-to-date with their personal knowledge.
Update: Unfortunately, the on-line museum was refreshed in 2016 and a lot of useful information went. (The museum catalogue numbers were also changed at this point!) Another reason for writing WikiBeadia!
- Books and Magazines
Trollbeads HQ put out a 30th Anniversary magazine in 2006 which has some great information, and of course there is their coffee-table book, “An Icon in Jewellery Design”, published in 2009. Some of the information in these sources (including the on-line museum) is contradictory, but overall they are very helpful.
There have also been a number of other official books, sometimes sold with LE beads, including another coffee-table book called “Uniques” published in the autumn of 2017.
- Old Catalogues, Brochures and Retailers’ Catalogues
Hard copies are extremely useful, and now often the only source of information as so much has been taken down from the internet.
- Trollbeads Distributors Websites
Always worth a look. The old UK Fable Trading website (sadly deleted) was particularly useful.
- Other Websites
Also worth looking at. For example the retailer Bead Sensation has some excellent reference pages and photographs of Trollbeads. I love their page on the Chinese silvers.
However, it is very difficult to get much detailed information on-line about beads which are earlier than 2009, other than a photo, broad release dates and a catalogue number (eg if you want to know what was the fall collection in 2008, this will be tricky). Most blogs and websites which are still on-line started in 2009 or later.
- Forums
I’m a big fan of the TB Forums. I’ve made one really close friend from each Forum below, so I’ve a lot to thank them for! There is so much information in them. Sadly, a number of major TB Forums have been closed and deleted including the Trollbeads Society, the UK-based Macrows Forum and a German Forum, and all the photos and information was lost. This why I write WikiBeadia!
1. BeadThrilled. An excellent source of information when it started in 2011, and (for me at that time) took over from Trollbeads Uncensored as the main source of scoops and news. Since the rise of the Endangered Trolls blog it stopped getting Trollbeads scoops, but it still has lots of useful information and photos. Covers all bead brands, not just Trollbeads.
2. Trollbeads Gallery Forum. I love this Forum, my first one in 2009, and have made many good friends through it. It has a fantastic collection of photos (it must be the best TB photo archive in the world) and those are so easy to access and search – I use them all the time as an essential reference tool. Trollbeads is the only brand discussed. See also the UK Collectors Group Reference Pages there (curated by me).
3. Trollbeads Society. Update: very sadly, the plug was pulled on this Forum in Spring 2016, but former members have made their own private on-line place to chat and share TB news. Originally hosted by former US retailer the Beadcage, in its heyday around 2009, it was an incredibly busy place with a wealth of photos and information from around the world.
- Troll-beady Blogs/ Blogroll (alphabetical order)
There are now tons of bead blogs out there! (Some of my favourites have been deleted). I don’t get as much time as I’d like to read blogs these days – I spend a lot of time on Instagram instead – but I do try to read some of these below on a regular basis. All of them are well worth looking at:
Beadsaholic. Written by Paula, and currently a very busy blog written about lots of bead brands. Paula updates regularly and also posts regularly on Instagram. Seems to have effectively taken over from Charms Addict. USA-based.
Black Boots Long Legs. Written by Tracy, and covers a number of brands including Trollbeads and X – and more recently her own work! Nice photos too. Tracy also posts regularly on IG. Canada-based.
Cat’s Corner. Written by Cathryn, and the first Trollbeads blog I ever read; it started ages ago, and covers shoes, Filofax and Trollbeads! Cat has slowed down recently but there are lots of good reviews and archives. UK-based.
Charm Bead Blog. Written by April and started in 2017, a true fan blog. April also posts on Instagram as @charmbead. I would guess she is Canada or USA-based.
Charms Addict. A regular and busy blog written by Leann, which now seems to be largely defunct with the last content dating to 2017. Originally a busy blog about Pandora, it expanded to include other brands, including Trollbeads. Some useful information about Limited Editions, retireds and lots of other reviews. USA-based.
Curling Stones for Lego People. Written by the lovely Mars, a fellow-trollie and glass fanatic! Lots of excellent reviews and also covers X. She does fantastic collages which are really useful for comparing collections and working out what you can afford! Mars also posts regularly on IG. UK-based.
Enchanting Trolls. Written by Elsa. Has very usefully documented a lot of the older releases, and has a well-ordered and useful archive section, including material from 2008 (although the blog was started much later than this). Looks great, some super photography, but has slowed down a bit of late. Only covers Trollbeads and X which suits me just fine! UK-based.
Endangered Trolls. Written by Victoria. Started 2011 and deleted summer 2019, sadly much reference material no longer available.
Marthnickbeads. Another great blog, started in Sept 2015 by the lovely Martha, with beautiful photos, often featuring flowers as well as beads. Covers Trollbeads and some other brands. Martha also posts very regularly on Instagram. Canada-based.
My Xpressions. A blog by the lovely bead fanatic, Jahndra, which covers many brands, but mainly Trollbeads, X and Pandora. Some great unboxing videos which showcase Trollbeads really well! Jahndra also posts regularly on Instagram. USA-based.
Troll-beads Uncensored (2018 Relaunch). This blog was previously called Shiny Things, and before that, Trollbeads Uncensored. This was my absolutely essential source of Trollbeads news information for many years when I started collecting in 2009, and got all the scoops, thank you! It has slowed down of late but the archives are still useful. Material dates from 2009. Canada-based.
Tartooful. Written by on-line retailer Tartooful. Amazing photography and inspirational designs of Trollbeads and X which again, suits me just fine! Canada-based.
Trollbeads Akron. Written by major US retailer Akron.
Trollbeads Gallery Blog. Written by perhaps the ultimate trollbeads retailer, Louise Rogers, and a great source of information about new releases and other Trollbeads stuff and X from one of the main dealers of Trollbeads globally. There are a huge number of posts in her archives, relating to material from 2009 onwards. USA-based.
TrollbeadsNow Blog. I’ve recently discovered this retailer blog which has some wonderful archived information from 2009 onwards. Canada-based.
- Other social media
Tons of stuff on the following platforms, too much to document, and much in closed or secret groups:
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