Trollbeads Spring 2023 Release; Fairy Tales, Love Songs and a super strange name choice

It’s been a little while since I looked at a Trollbeads release and was really excited to get right into designs and photos. To be honest, this Spring release seemed at first to not be an exception as it was not quite love at first sight. That is, the stock photos I previewed before my shipment arrived didn’t inspire me the way I had hoped. However, once I got my hands on the actual beads, I completely changed my tune when I saw them all neatly organized in a clean, white Trollbeads tray. Seeing them in real life, I immediately realized the beads harmonize together in a way very few Trollbeads past releases have. To me the only major flaw of this release was… It doesn’t really have a name.

When I first saw this release on our wholesale ordering site, I thought Trollbeads was just using a temporary generic name for the collection and that they would be announcing the “real” name at a future date. Later, when I learned that the release was actually to be presented to the public as Canvas 1 2023, I was like, Um… ok? And then I had the following thoughts: 1.) With all the changes you could make at Trollbeads, why would choosing an awkward name for a release be approved? Is this going to be helpful or exciting to anyone, or just really strange and confusing? 2.) Maybe all the creative juices were exhausted over these gorgeous bead designs and when it came to naming the collection, all the mojo had already been spent. 3.) Why, of all the releases would you choose this one with such a clear theme, to pass on naming?

To those of you thinking – oh I was reading this to see what was happening with the new name format, you can go ahead and stop reading and just enjoy the pretty photos. We haven’t been told anything outside of “someone new is in charge and they are doing things differently”. So, I guess we’re all in the dark together!

Now, enough of my rant and onto the fun stuff! These beads are GORGEOUS in person, and strikingly similar to their stock images. I know many of you no longer have a local store where you can buy Trollbeads, and stock images failing to represent the actual bead is a major point of frustration. Well, rest assured dear reader, this release is VERY true to the stock images.

I also want to say here that TrollbeadsAkron is a very small business, with a very knowledgeable crew. Of the three of us the person with the least experience with Trollbeads has been working with them for 11 years. So if you need to match something, or you need help with a design give us a call! Or email us! We are in the shop Wednesday – Sunday and can always hop on a call.

I love the use of color in these beads, and while I don’t normally gravitate toward pastels, I find these beads incredibly easy to incorporate into my existing color palette of choice. My real love of the collection has to be the Round Facets. Easy to use lovely stones, with a slightly lower price than the normal faceted stone, making it a bit easier to add more than one to any given design. The Round Green Onyx Facet, the Round Feldspar Moonstone facet, the Round Rose Quartz Facet, Siren Song, Magic Bean and Jesters Hat are my must have items from Spring 2023’s release.

While there are no beads or locks that I do not adore in this collection, I do wonder why so many clasps have been recently released. I think it’s great that we have so many clasps to choose from in the Trollbeads lineup, but I’d like to see more locks retiring if new ones are going to continue to be added.

My tastes also do not favor faceted glass and I will probably be passing on these for my personal collection, though they are lovely. When it comes to my own bracelet designs, I prefer my facets to be stone rather than glass.

What about you? Are you a fan of this new release or does it not completely resonate with you? Any favorite pieces? What do you think is going on with this new name format? What rumors have you heard about it? I’m all ears, and can’t wait to hear from you all!