Tika Blog Home

The Flight of the Butterflies... At last new designs are starting to land!
Happy to say that we are adding new Shimmerwing butterfly jewelry to our site.
This is just a sneak peek as more are coming soon - I just couldn't resist sharing a little color!

TIKA in Tucson 2015 - Here we go! It's time for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.
Hope you can join us but if not here is a little snippet to give you a taste of our booth space!

Such a pleasure to photograph these African Trade bead bracelets this afternoon for the website. I love African Trade beads and have to stop and wonder at the stories these beads might tell of their journey that began in the 19th century in Venice, wound through the lives of African men and women, and always being traded and passing hands, came here to America. These unique bracelets are individually hand strung by our in-house Tika designers ~ welcome to the fascinating world of African Trade Beads!

Champagne Breakfast.. We just had to celebrate today, day 1 of new website launch!
Thank you Danielle and Corrine, for being my Trinidad Tika Team and sticking by me every day!
- love Julie

We are live and online!! AMAZING!
After all the hard work of all of our web-developers ~ Garrett, Ben, Matt and Rachel at EvenVision, and all of the Tika crew ~ Britta, Corrine, Danielle, not to forget David and our ardent supervisors Bodhi and Poppy.
Thank you All, Julie

…this is a time for sitting sitting back and contemplating the good things in life ~ the new website will launch tomorrow, everything is in place, and I am ready, I have my pond…

- Bodhi

Thank you Lily, and thank you Danielle (Lily's auntie) for sharing these lovely flower-adornment photos - You are so beautiful Lily, you inspire us all!

_{Last of summer ~ fun adornments!
Take a day off, it'll do your soul good. Whimsical adornment for the flowerchild in us!}

Once a year, thanks to all the people who purchase Dress Flowers, Tika donates to a number of organisations worldwide that support healthcare and education and for women and children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is that time - I am so touched and inspired to learn of the life and work of Malala Yousafzai. On buying trips we spent a little time in Mingora, Swat Valley; where I too met a young girl whom was so brilliant that she could be president if given the chance! Thank you for being a light for women, girls and all citizens of the world! - Julie
Dress Flowers (Guli-Peron or Phul) are traditional beaded amulets designed to be stitched to clothing as emblems of good fortune and beauty. As far back as 400 BC the Pashtun people of Afghanistan used these beaded medallions to symbolize the suns life-giving protection. Tika donates 100% of the proceeds from all Dress Flowers to the Afghan Girls Fund, the Malala Fund, IKAT (the Central Asian Institute), and RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan), Refugee International, and other agencies in support of their valuable work building and sustaining educational schools and orphanages.
Thank you all for supporting our vision!

Up close: Antique Turkoman textures of Tika
Various silver and beaded antique adornments from Central Asian, Africa, and all over the globe.

Up close: Dress Flowers from Afghanistan
Dress Flowers (Guli-Peron or Phul) are traditional beaded amulets designed to be stitched to clothing as emblems of good fortune and beauty. As far back as 400 BC the Pashtun people of Afghanistan used these beaded medallions to symbolize the sun's life-giving protection. Tika donates 100% of the proceeds from all Dress Flowers to The Afghan Girls Fund, IKAT (the Central Asian Institute) and RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afganistan) for their valuable work building and sustaining educational schools and orphanages.

Even our close-out table is a lovely sight to behold!
Wooden Sparkle beads made of natural boxwood and embellished with Austrian Swarovski crystals, and Tika's color-changing Mirage Bead stretch bracelets.

Up close: Afghani tassel details.
Assortments of tassels from the Afghani and Uzbeki regions featuring beads, textiles, silver, even yak hair!

Tika in Tucson!

Up close: African Trade Bead strands from the 1800's.
Glass beads made in Venice and traded to Africa.