Accessories

The Accessories collection consists of personal adornments that are non-clothing and non-jewelry: items such as hats, gloves, shoes, and purses. The permanent collection housed at the Museum of Beadwork contains examples which represent cultures and people from around the globe, as well as throughout history.

The trade and exchange of beaded accessories flooded European markets prior to 1900 when Dutch needleworkers published the first patterns for beaded purses in 1824, but it was not until after that mass production of beaded accessories became available. Domestic bead embellishment of personal accessories has always been a household practice, but the industrialization of this practice created an influx of beaded fashion production after the turn of the century, and led to many new developments in the techniques of beadwork.