Vintage Bead Box Subscription Review – March 2017

Vintage Bead Box is a monthly subscription box providing you with beads and findings manufactured between about 1930 and 1970.  Choose from a themed box (limited numbers available) or a surprise mix.

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

This review is of the Surprise Mix, $25 a month, box. 

The Subscription Box: Vintage Bead Box

The Cost: $25 a month. Save with 3 and 6-month subscriptions.

The Products: Beads and findings made from a variety of materials (glass, wood, semiprecious stones, metal, acrylic, etc.). Most were manufactured between 1930 and 1970.

Ships to: US (free), Worldwide (additional shipping charges will apply)

Check out the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great craft supply and DIY project boxes and make sure to add Vintage Bead Box to your subscription list or wishlist!

There isn’t a traditional information card with this box because owing to the nature of the contents, every “Surprise Mix” box could be a little different.

A note on prices: Because these beads are vintage, they can’t be purchased separately from any sources. Further, materials, country of manufacture, and more, can be a little difficult to determine precisely. Thus, I have opted not to provide prices in this review.

Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, and findings.

Acrylic Beads

These have the look of stone without all the weight. I think these would look good with some gold-tone or dark-finished wood beads (or both).

Acrylic Beads

Like the beads in the previous picture, these are lightweight. I also think the shape/color combination is fun. I kind of want to collect a bunch of other round acrylic beads in different colors and sizes and put these together with all of those in a necklace.

Bugle Beads

I have recently decided to work with more bugle beads so these are welcome. (You will often get a few seed beads or bugle beads with this subscription.) I don’t have anything quite like them in my collection already, either!

Glass Beads

I think these are lampwork beads with foil. The pink swirls are good for spring or could be incorporated into a Breast Cancer Awareness-themed piece. I am collecting beads in this style long-term for an eventual project I have in mind.

Metal Beads

I seem to get at least one type of metal beads per month in this subscription. They are usually round and I have received a variety of different finishes. These are super lightweight and actually might be a metal-finished acrylic or something similar. They will be good as accent beads.

Crystal Pendant

This is a dark, smoky gray color, similar to smoky quartz. You can see it better in one of the necklace pictures below. This is bigger than I usually like to work with but I had the perfect idea for it this month so I used it. Thankfully the hole was big enough for a jump ring so I was easily able to attach findings to make a necklace!

Quartz Beads

These were an almost perfect match for the crystal pendant so I used them in a necklace with it. They are irregularly-shaped, tumbled (e.g., smooth) nuggets with off-center drill holes.

Glass Beads

These also definitely caught my eye for the month. They really fit in well with my current taste in beads and jewelry so of course, I used them in a necklace. I like how they’re graduated in size.

Wood Beads

I’ve received a fair number of wood beads in Vintage Bead Box in the past. I’ve been meaning to practice my macrame and wood beads go great with macrame since they aren’t too heavy and they usually have large holes. So these will be great for that.

Here is a necklace I made with the glass flower beads and some items from my stash. This is totally an everyday wear kind of piece for me and I have a couple of green dresses it would go pretty well with

Here is a fancier piece I made with the glass pendant and some of the quartz nuggets as well as a few goldtone accents and a ton of freshwater pearls from my stash. Like $30+ worth of freshwater pearls. But they were just sitting there and I wasn’t using them, so why not? Anyway, this is a bit fancy for everyday wear but would be good for a more formal occasion.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for Vintage Bead Box, as explained above, but if you divide the total cost by the number of items, you are paying about $2.78 an item. This seems quite reasonable to me. If you browse Etsy, you can find similar groupings of vintage beads and findings for prices ranging from $2-$7 (and beyond). Because I opted for the surprise mix, it does seem a little random (don’t forget you can also choose a themed box), but due to the fact that I have a massive bead stash, I can almost always find exactly the right components to go with the beads in the box. I happen to love vintage beads and, as you can see, I’ve already made a couple of fun pieces from this month’s box, so this was a total win for me. (Please note: you might not receive the same beads as other subscribers in the same month if you get the surprise mix, due to the nature of the merchandise.)

What did you think of the March 2017 Vintage Bead Box? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?