Bamba Beads

Being a lover of quirky jewellery, I noticed this shop’s window display of cute food-​shaped earrings and decided to investigate as there were no prices on show. Upon entering the shop, it was busy inside with frenzied bead hunters, however there was no sign of the earrings I had come in for. After several rounds of the shop, nobody acknowledged me in my search nor identified them as staff so I gave up and left. Disappointing.

A bead shop! That has lots and lots of stock! I don’t know if anyone else has problems finding a good bead shop, but I have certainly found is quite difficult to locate a shop that’s brimming with tonnes of choice. The only other one I know of is in Bath, and is good too, but Bamba certainly beats in on the choice scale.
There are absolutely rows and rows of different beads that make me want to dip my fingers in all the little pots and touch every one. They also have pre made jewelery; either made from the beads in the store, or things like glass rings (only £6) and very interesting python bangles (£18!). So if you’re searching for a good range of beads to get on with your jewelery making, come here!

If you fancy getting your creative juices flowing or just getting involved in a new hobby then Bamba Beads could become your new favourite shop. They sell an extensive variety of different beads and all sorts of jewellery making equipment — such as different threads, clasps, tools etc — and this place really does have everything you would née to make some beautiful and unique jewellery.
I have personally never got into jewellery making, but just by going into this shop it made me want to get involved — the amount of different beads on offer is crazy, loads are hand painted too and you could make some completely unique pieces of jewellery that no-​one else has — it would be a lovely thing to get into and make for friends as presents. The beads range in price completely depending on their style, and are priced from about 15 pence to £5, and then for the larger beads or pendant pieces you could pay up to £15 for just the one, so be warned its not necessarily a cheap hobby — but then it’s still got to be cheaper than buying similar ready made jewellery.
The shop is pretty small in size, but it doesn’t need to be any bigger otherwise it really would be overwhelming — it’s very modern too and all the beads are in clearly marked sections with clear prices labelled out too. If you have any questions about what might go together then the staff are always happy to help as well, and there are even some pre made jewellery pieces you can buy too if you don’t want to get making…
Another point to make is that here they also offer a range of bead making classes which are around £20 upwards, so if you are serious about getting into this then this could be the thing to do!

When you first step inside Bamba, it feels a bit like a hushed museum: bowls of gorgeous beads line the room and there is a large wooden table and chairs running down the middle. There are signs inviting you to take a bowl and fill it with beads, but before you get up the courage to start it does feel a bit as though you have to ask if it’s OK to touch.
Once you get stuck in, and invest a bit of time — this is an experience, not a shop — the staff are incredibly helpful, friendly and keen to inform you about the origins of each bead and to help you put together a unique selection. If you’re looking for a special present for someone, you can’t really go wrong with a hand-​made, hand-​selected, hand-​threaded necklace or bracelet put together in Bamba.

For creative types who are handy at making their own jewellery Bamba Beads is a god-​send. Inside dozens of strings of brightly coloured beads dangle down above tray upon tray of individual jewels and baubles. They also have cabinets of ready-​made jewellery for the less adventurous types like me who are totally unable to visualise what a necklace might look like once strung. It’s not really my sort of thinng but if you are interested in honing your creative skills they hold various classes for adults and kids ranging from making tiaras and hairgrips to wire wrapping and necklace stringing. They also offer kids parties if you are at a loose end for what to do with the little blighters.

I used to love making my own necklaces and rings so putting me in a bead shop is a bit the same as putting me in a sweet shop, I revert to a very child like state!
Its pretty much your average bead shop, lots of nice beads and ready made creations available to purchase if you doubt your creative skills.
If you’ve always thought you’d like to make your own jewelery but not sure where to start then Bamba Beads offers classes. I particularly thought their Tiara Class and hair grip accessories class sounded interesting, both things that to buy can be very expensive but relatively cheap to make. The fact that this Bead Shop offers classes means I’m giving it the full 5 stars!

Bamba Beads is tucked away between its larger neighbours and so is easy to miss walking past. There is some funky jewellery in the front window, and inside you will find an Aladdin’s Cave of beads. The beads are quite expensive but the vast array of bead colour, shape, size, material and exotic origin make you forget the price. They have a lot of ready-​made jewellery which is beautiful and the man at the counter can tell you exactly who made the piece and where.

From the outside I hoped that this shop would fulfil my hippy needs for ancient crystals, dream catchers and spiritual beads. Sadly inside it’s not much more than a bit of a generic «make your own necklace» sort of place.
Not the cheapest, or most exciting. A nice place to take children to get their creative juices flowing or for presents for arty friends.

If you are looking for beads then this is the place to go. They have pretty much anything you could ever want but at a steep price. You could easily spend £20 on a few tiny beads and not realise it.
To be honest, I was a little overwhelmed by the volume of beads here and I am not an expert so I’m probably not the person to write this review. Nonetheless, it might be worth a visit if you are on a serious bead mission.

I stumbled upon this bead shop when perusing the Gloucester road shops with a crafty friend. For the first thirty seconds or so, I was impressed by the selection of beads: big ones, small ones, long ones, round ones, colorful ones, shiny ones… things to make beady jewelery with…
I quickly got extremely bored and disillusioned when I realised that they are just tiny beads. Don’t get me wrong, I love jewelery, but really, no one’s going to see the tiny flower detail on an earring bead or the little smiley face on a bead when it’s on your wrist.
Maybe it was just a little lost on me. My friend spent around £7 in there (on a few tiny beads!) so I guess they must be a well stocked bead shop.

Freshwater pearls, semi-​precious stones, ceramics, Peruvian seeds — you can make your own necklaces from all of ‘em right here in the shop. I revelled in the hundreds of baskets and boxes of pretty little beads in every colour, shape, size and texture. It truly is gorgeous and such a unique way of finding a pressie for your girly mates. Make your jewels on site or buy all the kit to set up your business at home — they even sell sterling silver clasps and chains. Weekdays are often devoted to classes where you can learn all the tricks of the trade. You’ll have to be (ahem) beady eyed to spot this (oh dear) gem in amongst the pubs and cafes down Gloucester road, but deffo worth a rummage. Credit card purchases over a fiver.

I have actually seen this shop many times before but it’s only been recently that I ventured inside. I thought that it was just a jewellery shop and having not been overly interested in the beads hanging in the window I never went in. However, a friend of mine wanted a black beaded necklace so we went in and realised that you get to choose exactly which beads you want from little trays all laid out around the edge of the shopthen you sit down and make it yourself!
Friendly shop, easy to do if you want a simple necklace, and reasonably priced. Would definitely go back. You could get really creative if you had the inspiration!

I’ve been annoyed that there didn’t seem to be a bead shop in Bristol, and now I’ve found Bamba Beads, sitting slyly on my doorstep! There’s quite a good range of styles and materials, but within those there’s not much to choose from. But maybe that’s my London Bead Shop obsession talking, because since I’ve been there I’ve felt that if it takes less than an hour to look at all the beads, then it can never be five stars. Sorry Bamba!
They do have semiprecious stones though which is a plus, and they also run jewellery making classes.
But all in all I was disappointed at how unenthusiastic I felt about it after trying to find one for years.