Empowerment Beads Now On-line

The Ltd Edition Pink Empowerment beads that are being sold in the US and Canada to raise money for Breast Cancer Charities & awareness about the disease are now being sold on-line in the US. Lund had at first specified that these were only to be sold in-store to walk in customers, but have now given the OK to on-line sales for authorized dealers. If you've been wanting one make sure you contact your on-line dealer to see if they are now available. These beads have the larger core size and fit other popular brands like Pandora or Chamilia, so they make a great gift, & are very stunning in real life.

Ltd Edition Black & White Set

Trollbeads in Denmark is about to release a set of 10 black & white glass beads! This too is a Limited Edition, but before you begin having heart palpatations and worrying about your credit card balances, you will be happy to know they will only be available in Denmark shops. The set has the larger core sizes, similar to the Pink set just released here for Breast Cancer. The set also benefits a Danish charity. Rumored release date is Oct. 26th, and only 500 sets said to have been made. So if you are holidaying in Denmark you may see them, otherwise, enjoy this photo!

Unoffical To-Be-Retired List

I've argued in my head whether to post all of this list, some, some cryptic photos, or ? In a way, it's nice to have newbies & ebay prospectors earn their Troll information and keep these lovely secrets for the seasoned trollies. But this list has been widely circulated and it is UNCONFIRMED. Keep that in mind!

So here is the unofficial list of retirements rumored to happen in January 2010. With all of the exciting recent releases (Autumn, Breast Cancer Ltd Edition, China Ltd Edition) and the upcoming Christmas release (usually in November), I'm guessing there won't be much opportunity for anyone to buy up all the maybe retireds for resale. So here's your chance to pick up any must haves on your wishlist before then, or help you budget & prioritize your beadlist.

Glass: Red Bubbles, Twisted Bud, Lilac shadow, Polka dot, Orange armadillo, Red shadow, Lilac Edge, Mardi gras, Green flower, Green eye bead, Blue Flower bud, Stripe of fashion, Summer bud, Circus, Lime, Double flower, Banana, Red Berry, Rod, Elton, Carly, Dolly, Freddie and Abba

Silver & Glass: King & Queen

Locks: Mexico (assuming both silver & gold)

Gold: Ladybug & Scarab

Silver & Stone beads: Pearl Drops (Black, Pink, & White), All of the Zodiac star beads

Silvers: Aztec, Tower, Five Faces, Castle, Pentanque, Angles Tip, Triangles, Frogs, Cactus, Hippopotamus, Duckling, Tupilak Big, Tupilak Mouth, Flounder, Bee on Hive, Sparrow, Neither Fish nor Bird Big, Eight Faces, Chat, Elf Bead, Polar Bear, & Rhinoceros.

Antique Flower Color Change

Dealers in the US sent out a notice about 2 weeks ago that the design (glass colors) of the Antique Flower bead will be changing. The core will be a lighter green, and the flowers less vibrant purple. The original Antique Flower did have quite a bit of variety, but if you prefer the darker mossy green color or want a double to match to one you already have, you may want to go shopping now before the new stock starts to funnel into stores.

Chinese Bracelet Photo

A very kind Trollbeads collector from the Netherlands has let me use her photo of the China Limted Edition release set. All 10 silvers & 10 Jades are on here. (The first and last silver on the chain are not part of the release.) Enjoy! - Photo courtesy of Liana

Ltd Edition China Release & Other news...

Today the Ltd Edition China release officially came out. There is a short description of it on http://trollbeads.com/site/trollbeads_usd/inspiration.asp - (tip: click on the link in the paragraph to see bead names & descriptions) the beads will only be available in local shops or on-line to die-hard trollies who know where to look.

Fable Trading in the UK will only be selling them as an entire bracelet with the 10 silvers and 10 Jaspers. 500 will be sold and will include a silver Scroll bead with the number on it. This will definately push the UK people to shop on-line in countries like Germany & Denmark where they are selling the individual beads. My advice, due to this, is to shop early if you are planning on buying only a few of the silvers or Jades.

You can view the beads on line at http://www.njewel-24.de/TrollbeadsChina-Limited-Edition/. The Jades are brilliant in color while also offering some more muted tones. The silvers names, losely translated from German, are as follows: Silkworm, Dragon, Wall of China, Birds & Flowers, Clouds & Flowers, Dragon & Phoenix, Symbol of Eternity, White Snake, Deer-Rabbit-Bird, Pig-Chick-Badger. The stories & mythological inspiration have not been widely published yet. Some distributors will hopefully have a brochure for us to browse.

Now, for those in the US & Canada, Lund (or Trendy Group) has not released any official info yet, whilst those in Germany & Netherlands are happily shopping in store already, and the UK gals already know they need to look elsewhere unless they want to splurge on the entire set. Lund, hopefully, will release details to the dealers today. Sometimes I wish they would attend TB Kindergarten (instead of TB University) and learn how to expediate release information. True collectors, are already securing the new beads through online options, meaning by the time the beads slowly roll into North America, potential Lund profits have already migrated out of country. UPDATE: Unofficial info is that the North American release of these beads will not be until early November. No word on if they are selling in sets or individually.

Retirements - I will be posting a bit more about this soon. For now I will report that the Retro Kit, and certain beads of the Winter Kit, & Summer Kits are rumoured to be on the chopping block.