BeAd Infinitum Kits/Patterns Review

I'm giving an honest opinion-from someone who has designed, written, produced, and sold patterns and kits for both beading and knitting.

As a rule, I don't ordinarily purchase bead kits. In fact, I loathe kits. I want to buy the patterns and use my own beads. Partly because most kits don't come in colors I like, and partly because I have a humongous bead stash and I want to use it. And then there is the over priced factor. Most of them are horribly over priced.

Case in point: these two kits I just received today that I ordered last week. I've been wanting these two patterns for a long time. However, the prices have put me off. The one on the left is the Cuboctahedron Bead by BeAd Infinitum. The one on the right is the Octahedral Cluster Bead, also by BeAd Infinitum.


If you order these direct from BeAd Infinitum, the kit on the left is $32 and the pattern alone is "only $18". For 32 bucks you get 7 pages that are clearly either xerox copies or done on a cheap printer because everything is slightly blurred (printed on one side), stapled together at the corner, 2 beading needles, some thread, and enough beads to make 4 beaded beads. You get 4 plain 10mm clear round glass beads, a small amount of size 8, 11 and 15 seed beads. All in all about 4 bucks worth of materials. I gotta admit, though, the plastic package is cool and probably was pretty pricey.



This one, though, really takes the cake. This kit is priced at $52 from BeAd Infinitum. The pattern is "only $36". You get materials to make one bead. Here is the contents of the kit.


11 pages, again xerox copies (printed on one side)-stapled in the corner (mine has staple marks in the right hand corner where they made a mistake and took the staple out), a couple yards of thread, one beading needle, 12 plain clear round 6mm beads, 30 green size 8 seed beads, 30 size 15 seed beads in metallic gold, 236 green size 15 seed beads, and 83 green size 11 seed beads. Yup. About 4 bucks worth of materials. $52 for this little kit! At $36 for the pattern I'd expect at least a spiral bound book for that price.

The patterns themselves are well written with good illustrations. However, I don't see what makes them so expensive. I know how to do those kinds of illustrations so I know a lot of copy and paste was done to create them. Yes, definitely lots of copy and paste That makes them fairly easy to draw.

Now, I understand that a certain amount of skill and talent is required to design and write patterns for beading. And then you have to put the kits together which requires the beads be put in all those little 1-2 cent ziplock bags, and the time it takes to put the package together. I'm willing to pay reasonable prices for that. But some bead designers clearly think they are way more valuable than they really are. Some folks like to think that because they can create a small beaded project they are Gods gift to mankind. Unfortunately, those same folks haven't noticed the dearth of patterns available on this planet. If it was that hard, and that special, I don't think there'd be so much available.

Now, lest you think I paid that much for these two kits, let me relieve your mind. I am not that stupid. I'm only partially stupid. Last week I stumbled across a web site called Mathartfun.com that had them for sale at $24.95 and $29.95 respectively. Wow, I thought. That's a good deal. I've been wanting these kits really bad. At the prices they come at I figured there must be something really really special about them. Now that I have them, I see they aren't. I'm very disappointed. This is the last time I'll be buying beading kits, or anything created by BeAd Infinitum for that matter.

One little note. I had intended to link the Cuboctahedron beaded bead, however, it is no longer on Mathartfun.com. I must have bought the last one.

Today we are having a 5 minute weather day. The Red Crossbills have been congregated around the Parkarosa Seed Buffet for most of the day. Here's a couple of couples picking up the leavings on the ground.


Lindy saw them and tried to catch one. Ha ha! They're smarter than her.

Hey! Where'd they go?

Have a great day.

~~~~~~~~~~