Today Beadsaholic brings a Father’s Day inspiration featuring Lundd Denmark and Beauty Beads!

Sunday June 17th, 2018 is Father’s Day here in the United States and many areas around the world. Here on the blog we are celebrating with a lovely Viking theme featuring both Lundd Denmark and Beauty Beads mixed with some Trollbeads ambers and stones. I created this combination along with my husband, and he loved wearing it and was sweet enough to allow a wrist shot. Both of our Ancestors are Northern European and we both have a strong interest in the culture, mythology and traditions.

Though Lundd Denmark and Beauty Beads have differences in their interpretation of the Viking Age, both are beautiful together, as you can see in the following photos. As collectors we each tell our own stories and that is the great thing about beads, we build the stories we want to tell, and we relate to the beads we purchase. It’s not necessarily about the stories the bead tells for the creator, but our own visions and how we relate to the design. Each of these designs are unique and beautiful, both brands did a wonderful job at designing and creating.

I have placed silver beads by Lundd Denmark and Beauty Beads with Trollbeads Black Onyx Stones, Trollbeads Ambers, Beauty Beads Pastel Licorice (each side of Holger Danske) and Beauty Beads Solar Eclipse (right side of Odin’s Ravens).

All photographs belong to Beadsaholic, please give credit when sharing a photograph.

Lundd Denmark Holger Danske Is a wonderfully detailed Viking head with helmet. This bead measures approximately 14.72 mm high x 12.03 mm wide and retails for $54.98 / €46.70 / £41.03

“Denmark’s archetypical viking who still watches over the homeland. He isn’t a lot to look at, but his heart beats for the Danish people.” ~ Lundd Denmark

Holger Danske was a fearsome Viking warrior. According to legends he never died instead he sleeps in the cellar of Kronborg Castle and has since been known as the sleeping hero.

Lundd Denmark Viking Ship is made of sterling silver, the sail is a high quality red and white enamel. This Viking Ship measures approximately 12.65 mm high x 13.65 mm wide and retails for $47.08 / €39.99 / £35.13 vat is included in prices, if outside of Europe be sure to sign in to get the vat free pricing.

“Viking ships formed the backbone of trade as well as war, and were found in all sizes. One thing they all had in common was their clinker building and the long, narrow hull without a keel. The knarr was often pushed forward by the sail alone. When it came to small settlements on the coast, the ships usually went to harbour peacefully. More established cities were a different story!” ~ Lundd Denmark 

This Viking ship was known as a Knarr which is an old Norse term for a type of ship built for long sea voyages during the Viking Age. The primary use of a Knarr was mostly for cargo.

Lundd Denmark Odin’s Ravens is a double headed Raven bead that is oxidized sterling silver with blue zirconia eyes. This bead measures approximately 15.20 mm high x 6.85 mm wide and retails for $47.08 / €39.99 / £35.13 vat is included in prices, if outside of Europe be sure to sign in to get the vat free pricing.

“Huginn and Muninn sat on Odin’s shoulders and flew out to gather news for him from all around the world every morning.” ~ Lundd Denmark

Huginn (which means “thought” in old Norse) and Muninn (which means “memory” in old Norse) are a pair of Ravens that would take flight daily throughout the world and bring back information to the God Odin. In Norse Mythology Odin is the father of all gods and is known to be the god of poetry, war, the dead, runes and magic. He was not a warrior like his son Thor, but was called upon when preparing for war because his wisdom.

Lundd Denmark Viking Horses is a beautiful double headed horse bead, that no matter which way it flips you see a beautifully detailed horse. Viking Horses is made of sterling silver, measuring approximately 17.83 mm high x 5.96 mm wide and retails for $54.98 / €46.70 / £41.03 vat is included in prices, if outside of Europe be sure to sign in to get the vat free pricing.

“The vikings brought their warhorses onto their ships. Their horses were brave, stubborn, and persistent – and completely loyal.” ` Lundd Denmark

The Viking horse is similar to the horses known today as Icelandic horses. Icelandic horses were crossed breed with ponies that were brought to Iceland by Norse settlers. These horses are strong and hardy, able to withstand harsh climates and famine. In my opinion they are truly beautiful horses, if I were given a choice of a horse to acquire, I’d choose one of these beautiful creatures! For now, I just wear one on my bracelet.

Lundd Denmark Midgaard is a stunning work of art, at one end you will find the serpent Midgard and at the other end you will find a dragon. Midgaard is made of sterling silver with zirconia eyes and measures approximately 15.77 mm high x 6.30 wide. This bead retails for $54.51 / €46.30 / £40.68 vat is included in prices, if outside of Europe be sure to sign in to get the vat free pricing.

“The Midgard Serpent guarded an island in the middle of the realm of the giants, locked in battle with a dragon.” ~ Lundd Denmark

Midgard in Norse mythology was an island or a realm, thought to be one of nine worlds. Midgard is surrounded by water with a huge sea serpent by the name of Jörmungandr. It is said that Odin took three children by Angrboða, the wolves Fenrir and Hel along with Jörmungandr. Odin tossed Jörmungandr into the ocean that encircled Midgard, he then grew so large that he was able to surround all of Midgard and can grasp his own tail. The Midgard serpent is the arch-enemy of Thor, so much that during Ragnarok they both caused each other’s demise.

Beauty Beads Longhouse is a long structure made of sterling silver, measuring approximately 9.18 high x 18.08 wide and retails for $43.45 / €36.91 / £32.42 vat is included in prices, if outside of Europe be sure to sign in to get the vat free pricing.

A Longhouse is a long narrow structural building, usually a single-room that were used for gatherings of family and kinship during the Viking age.

Beauty Beads Viking Baby is a cute sleeping baby in a basket wearing a Viking helmet. Viking Baby is sterling silver, measures approximately 13.10 mm high x 9.17 mm wide and retails for $38.71 / €32.88 / £28.89 vat is included in prices, if outside of Europe be sure to sign in to get the vat free pricing.

“With this bead, you will always be reminded of a quieter time when you watched over your newborn child and the motherly compassion growing inside of you.” ~ Beauty Beads

During the Viking Age babies often slept in woven baskets.

Beauty Beads Viking Ship is a long-ship with a beautiful dragon’s head at the bow of the ship. Viking Ship is made of sterling silver, measures approximately 16.06 mm high from the top of the dragon to the hull of the ship x 28.96 mm wide and retails for $55.30 / €46.97 / £41.27 vat is included in prices, if outside of Europe be sure to sign in to get the vat free pricing.

“Find the way forward with your ship using their 1000 year old knowledge of navigation reading the sun and the stars…” ~ Beauty Beads

Viking Long-ships were beautifully made with ornate wood carvings and many had fierce animal head carvings like dragons on stern of the bow. These long-ships were most often used for raids and battles.

Wrist Shot!

Many thanks to my husband for always being there, humoring me with my bead addiction and even taken part in designing and wearing beads from time to time. As you can see these beads have a masculine feel to them, though I think they would each fit into different combinations.

Over all, each of these beads are unisex, today I found that they were perfect for my husband and we often share beads. I usually make him a bracelet during football season to represent his favorite team. I feel that these beads can even be a bit edgy in certain combinations. My favorite is Odin’s Ravens; however, I have a soft spot for ravens in general. One reason is I am a huge fan of poetry and ravens were depicted in writings like The Raven from Edgar Allen Poe, the raven spoke his only word “Nevermore”. Ravens are truly magnificent birds, they are large with shiny black feathers, like parrots these birds can learn to mimic sounds and words. So, as you can see many of these beads can fit into different themes.

If you would like to shop for any of these beads in this article, then you may do so at the following links.

Lundd Denmark offers vat free shopping for those of us outside of Europe.

Perlen offers free shipping world-wide and vat free shopping for those outside of Europe. Lundd Denmark designs and Beauty Beads can both be purchased on their website.

I would like to wish all the Father’s out there a very happy Father’s Day! I personally think the beads in this article are a great gift for a Viking Father, or anyone who just loves the design and craftsmanship! I look forward to creating more designs with these beads for myself, too. I love hearing from you all and would love to know your thoughts on these two brands of beads! Also, what kind of design would you create with them? Leave me a comment below.

XO,

Paula