Playful yet grounded, these recycled glass earrings bring a bold rhythm to your everyday look. With hand-painted white polka dots over matte black and a vibrant mustard bead drop, they carry a distinctly West African spirit—earthy, artful, and sustainably made.
Design: Dangling earrings with a stacked bead silhouette featuring polka-dotted black and mustard yellow glass beads.
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Material: Recycled glass beads; surgical steel ear wires.
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Size: Approx. 1.9" long (plus hook) x 0.5" wide.
- Country of Origin: Ghana
Handcrafted by Ghanaian artisans, each bead tells a story of transformation—giving discarded glass a second life through age-old techniques. The monochrome dots paired with the golden bead evoke the joy of everyday adornment in Ghanaian culture, where color and pattern carry deep meaning. These earrings are lightweight, eco-conscious, and full of character.
Care & Disclaimer: Each pair is handcrafted using recycled materials, so expect slight variations in shape, color, and pattern. Store in a soft pouch and avoid exposure to water or perfumes to preserve the painted finish.
design: A stacked-bead drop earring pairing a black glass cylinder hand-painted with white dots with a rounded mustard-yellow glass bead below it, finished on a simple ear wire.
size: Approx. 1.9" long (plus hook) x 0.5" wide.
material: Recycled glass beads; surgical steel ear wires.
features: Hand-painted polka-dot pattern, made from recycled glass, stacked-bead silhouette, lightweight drop, surgical steel ear wires
care: Store in a soft pouch and keep away from water and perfume to protect the painted finish.
disclaimer: Each bead is hand-shaped and hand-painted from recycled glass, so slight variation in shape, color, and dot pattern between pairs is normal and part of the craft.
The Story
Ghana has a long-running tradition of turning discarded glass into new beads: bottles and jars are crushed, ground down, and packed into clay molds before being fired, producing what's often called recycled or powder-glass beadwork. The black cylinder bead in this pair, hand-painted with a fine white dot pattern, sits within that tradition of decorating fired glass with hand-applied designs rather than printed or molded ones.
Dot and pattern work like this is common in Ghanaian beadmaking, where color and repetition are used deliberately - beads have long been part of everyday adornment as well as markers worn at specific occasions. The mustard bead paired beneath the dotted cylinder reflects a typical approach in this beadwork: pairing a patterned bead with a solid contrasting color to give the strand rhythm.
Because each bead starts as reused glass, no two are perfectly identical - the color of the glass, the thickness of the paint, and the exact spacing of the dots shift slightly from bead to bead, which is part of what distinguishes hand-formed beads from mass-produced ones.
Beads like these begin as waste glass, which is crushed and ground into a fine powder, then packed into a clay mold and fired in a kiln until it fuses into a solid bead. Once cooled and cleaned, the bead is hand-painted - in this case with a fine brush or tool used to place each white dot individually over the black base - before being sealed and strung with the mustard glass bead and steel ear wire by hand.
Craft & Materials
- Made In: Ghana
- Craft Tradition: Ghanaian recycled glass beadmaking
- Ideal For: Anyone who likes bold, pattern-forward everyday jewelry, or as a gift for someone drawn to handmade, sustainably made pieces
- Wear It With: Let the pattern lead by wearing them with a solid-color top and minimal other jewelry.
- Purpose: Everyday wear, gifting
- Metal: Surgical steel ear wires
Questions & Answers
What are the beads made from?
The beads are made from recycled glass that's crushed, molded, and kiln-fired in Ghana, then hand-painted with the white dot pattern.
Are these earrings hypoallergenic?
The ear wires are surgical steel, which is a common choice for sensitive ears, though individual sensitivity can vary.
Will the paint wear off?
The painted finish is meant to last with normal wear, but it's best to keep the beads away from water and perfume and store them in a soft pouch when not in use.
Will my pair look exactly like the photo?
Not exactly - since each bead is hand-shaped and hand-painted from recycled glass, small differences in color and dot placement are normal from pair to pair.
Are these earrings lightweight?
Yes, the glass beads are hollow and lightweight, making them comfortable for all-day wear.
