Today Beadsaholic brings a review of the OHM Beads Alice Collection.

Today is OHM Beads Preview Day and hopefully you have already watched my video with the complete release, if not click here. OHM April release is huge, so I’ve decided to split it up by collections to keep this article from being, too long and well, I don’t want you guys to lose interest. So, I’ve decided to start with the Alice Collection! It’s no secret that I love Alice in Wonderland and I have had my fingers crossed for some time that OHM would do an Alice Collection, especially after seeing several teasers the last couple of year. I’m also, hoping that over time they will add more to this collection.

OHM Beads SAGANISTUTE is a stunning lavender color with specks of silver and iridescent glitter throughout. This is such a dreamy color! The average size of this bead is around 15 mm high x 8 mm wide and retails for $60 / €62, price includes vat.

“Did you know that Humpty Dumpty invented a word that we still use today? In the famous nursery rhyme in which Humpty Dumpty “had a great fall?” and, before he was shattered into scrambled eggs, Mr. Dumpty lived in Wonderland and, perched upon his wall, he proudly explained to Alice the meaning of “portmanteau.”

The portmanteau already existed as a type of suitcase equally divided into two sections, but Humpty Dumpty applied the term linguistically when he said, “You see it’s like a portmanteau — there are two meanings packed into one word.” He gave examples from the Jabberwocky poem: “slimy and lithe” becomes the word “slithy” or “miserable and flimsy” becomes the word “mimsy.” Today, we have many portmanteau words: “brunch” (breakfast/lunch), “smog” (smoke/fog), “sitcom” (situation/comedy), “infomercial” (information/commercial), etc. You could even make up your own.

The word “saganistute” appears to be a portmanteau for “sage” and “astute.” We love that word here at OHM; so, as part of our own “Alice in Wonderland” series, we proudly present our new glass bead entitled SAGANISTUTE. Sage, in classical philosophy, means “someone who has attained wisdom” or someone who lives “according to an ideal that transcends the everyday.” Astute describes one having “mental sharpness and perception.”

Brilliantly this creation transcends the everyday, and if you look astutely, you will find sage advice in the sprinkle of sparkling magic wafting through the twilight sky and alluring depths of the wonderland around you. Saganistute: “a wise person of poetry and vision.” That’s you!”

OHM Beads GALLYMOGGERS is another beautiful bead with shades of cornflower blue that has a lavender shift at certain angles and the way the light catches it. There is lots of silvery glitter throughout and white blobs randomly throughout. This bead runs an average size of around 15 mm high x 8 mm wide and retails for $60 / €62, price includes vat.

“There are many references to madness or craziness in the surreal and wildly nonsensical Alice in the Wonderland. There is, of course, the mad tea party and the wacky Mad Hatter who claims that his watch is two days slow. Alice also meets a Cheshire Cat who can fade away to invisible leaving only his smile. The Cat tells Alice, “We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” Alice asks, “How do you know I’m mad?” The Cat answers, “You must be, or you wouldn’t have come here.”

But was the Cheshire Cat correct? Was Alice GALLYMOGGERS, bonkers, crazy, loopy, nuts, cuckoo, or mad for stumbling into a place as bizarre as Wonderland? Was it only in her head? Alice tells the White Queen, “One can’t believe impossible things.” But the Queen replies, “I daresay you haven’t had much practice. Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

OHM’s GALLYMOGGERS is a part of our Alice in Wonderland series. Look closely at and you’ll see splashes of euphoric cream in bubbles of delirious blue tea or perhaps you’ll see only the white teeth of the Cheshire Cat as the rest him fades into a transparent dream. Maybe you’ll see Alice’s blue-and-white dress as she tumbles down the rabbit hole into a realm of wonder. Once you wear our GALLYMOGGERS bead, you’ll believe six impossible things before breakfast!”

OHM Beads WHITE RABBIT is a fantastic white bead with specks of sliver glitter throughout. You will find that this bead matches all of the previously released white beads from OHM, which is always great to have beads to mix and match. This bead runs an average of 15 mm high x 8 mm wide and retails for $60 / €62, price include vat.

“Follow the White Rabbit.” So says the message on Neo’s computer screen which harkens us back to Lewis Carroll’s Alice and her own fantastic pursuit of the WHITE RABBIT into Wonderland.

Indeed, “follow the white rabbit down the rabbit hole” has become a ubiquitous metaphor for anyone who follows an unlikely clue into extraordinary, amazing circumstances that challenge or transform one’s perspective, reality, or personal beliefs. It could also reference mind-expanding journeys of a chemical nature.

Grace Slick of the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane wrote and sang a song called “White Rabbit” which mentioned Alice in Wonderland, the Red Queen, the White Knight, the Dormouse, and the hookah-smoking caterpillar. “One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small” Grace sang. She said the song was about more than just strange trips; it was about following your curiosity and seeing where it leads.

As part of our Alice in Wonderland series, OHM proudly presents our own WHITE RABBIT glass bead. As you turn the bead in the light, you see how it sparkles with marvelous inspiration, glitters with extraordinary magic, and lures you into fantastical dimensions that challenge your perceptions and surprise you with wonders that defy belief. Go ahead. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads.”

OHM Beads PAINTING THE ROSES RED is stunning! The heart is for the Queen of Hearts and I love that only a few roses looks like they have been freshly painted just as they were in the story. This bead has three holes, so that it can be worn on a Ball Necklace or on a bracelet. Painting the Roses Red measures approximately 14.04 mm high x 14.77 mm wide and retails for $65 / €67, price include vat.

“Alice found herself in a beautiful garden, among bright flower beds, cool fountains, and a bush of brilliant white roses. Yet three gardeners, shaped like playing cards –the two, five, and seven of spades– were busily painting the white roses red. They were quite sloppy painters too, dripping and splashing paint everywhere.

From the story of Alice in Wonderland OHM offers this rose bush heart of overlapping blooms colorfully, ahem, accented with red enamel paint as part of OHM’s Alice in Wonderland collection.

“Would you tell me,” asked Alice timidly, “why you are painting those roses?”

“You see, Miss,” said the Two of Spades, “this here ought to have been a RED rose bush, and we put a white one in by mistake; and if the Queen was to find it out, we should all have our heads cut off, you know!” Sure enough, a trumpet sounded, and a great procession of playing card soldiers (clubs), playing card courtiers (diamonds), royal family playing cards (hearts), and the King and Queen of Hearts all marched into the garden. The Queen immediately noticed the half-painted rose bush and cried, “Off with their heads!”

Happily, Alice hid the offending gardeners in a flower pot and they escaped execution. Every time you wear this lovely OHM Heart on your bracelet, you’ll be reminded that even as we all screw up sometimes it’s how we bounce back that defines our character. If you plant white roses by mistake; don’t lose your head, just paint ‘em red!”

OHM Beads WHO ARE YOU is Absolem, one of the coolest characters in Alice in Wonderland! he sits upon a delightfully detailed mushroom toking on his hookah. The detailing in this bead is simply amazing. You will find that this bead measures approximately 13.26 mm high x 10.85 mm wide and retails for $60 / €62, price include vat.

“This charming friend is part of OHM’s Alice in Wonderland collection: the famous smoking Caterpillar. Alice was hunting through the flowers and foliage of Wonderland looking for something edible, when she came upon a giant mushroom. Standing on tiptoe, she peered over the top of the massive shroom and came face-to-face with a sleepy Caterpillar smoking a hookah pipe.

“Who are you?” asked the Caterpillar. “I hardly know, sir, just at present,” replied Alice. “At least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning; but I think I must have been changed several times since then.” The Caterpillar puffed away on his hookah for a while and then said, “So you think you’re changed, do you?” “I’m afraid I am, sir,” said Alice. “I can’t remember things as I used to, and I don’t keep the same size for ten minutes.”

Perhaps the Caterpillar should have told Alice that such bewilderment, forgetfulness, and frequent changes in size were actually the first signs of aging. They happen to us all the time!

But even though we now forget why we entered a room — or that our eyeglasses are still perched upon our own foreheads — we are reminded daily of the Caterpillar’s most important question, “Who are you?” It’s not the gray hairs that matter, nor the changes in size; it’s the YOU inside, that you wake up to every morning, that determines if your life is an adventure of wonders. Wear our OHM WHO ARE YOU proudly. You KNOW who YOU ARE and you’re OHMazing!”

OHM Beads MAD TIME is such a cool and fun pocket watch with Cheshire the cat from Alice in Wonderland and clock hands and numbers on the same side and on the other side you will see “We’re All Mad Here” one of my favorite quotes from Alice. This bead can be worn on a bracelet by the hole in the center of the bead or on a bracelet or necklace by the ring at the top of the watch. Mad Time measures approximately from the top of the watch (not the ring) 13.83 mm high x 11.30 mm wide and retails for $65 / €67, price include vat.

“As art of OHM’s Alice in Wonderland collection, this OHM design combines two ideas from Lewis Carroll’s magical masterpiece: the Cheshire Cat’s grin with the White Rabbit’s pocket watch.

Alice is dozing lazily on a riverbank, when suddenly a white rabbit with pink eyes scurries by. That’s not so unusual, thought Alice; but then, the worried rabbit pulled a brass watch from the pocket of his vest and muttered to himself, “Oh dear, oh dear, I shall be late!” Now that IS unusual, and Alice couldn’t resist following the rabbit until she tumbled head over heels down a long, deep hole.

It just got stranger from there. Alice had entered Wonderland. She was soon startled to see a smiling Cheshire Cat, with long claws and many sharp teeth, perched on a tree branch just above the forked path.

“What sort of people live about here?” Alice asked politely.

The Cat pointed down each path as he spoke, “In that direction lives a Hatter; and in that direction lives a March Hare. Visit either you like; they’re both mad.”

Alice frowned, “But I don’t want to go among mad people!”

The Cat shrugged and slowly began to disappear, starting with his tail and ending with only his smile still visible as he remarked, “Oh, you can’t help that; we’re all mad here.”

OHM Beads MAD HAT is a must! I love that it looks so much like the one in Alice in Wonderland with the 10/6 and flowers on the front and a peacock feather in the back, you will find stitching on the top. This bead measures approximately 11.86 mm high x 12.62 mm wide and retails for $60 / €62, price include vat.

“OHM’s Alice in Wonderland collection includes, perhaps, from the most famous character in all of Lewis Carroll’s stories, the Mad Hatter’s MAD HAT!

Mercury was used in the manufacturing of felt hats in the Victorian era, and many hatters of Carroll’s day did indeed go slowly mad from mercury poisoning. In Wonderland, however, the Hatter is forever taking tea with the March Hare and the Dormouse. Why forever? The Hatter tells Alice that he was singing a song for the Queen of Hearts and she screamed, “He’s murdering the time!” And ever since, time has been stuck at Tea Time!

There were other oddities about this Hatter, as you’ll recall. For one thing, he asks Alice a very peculiar riddle, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

OHM’s MAD HAT is something wonderful and magical. It’s not just the peacock feather on one side, or the hat pins and sugar spoon on the other, or even this lovely old hat’s tattered appearance with years of patches, stitches, and hopes holding it together. No, there’s something more. Try this magic old hat on your bracelet and see for yourself. Maybe our MAD HAT truly IS a portal to Wonderland where adventures abound. Or maybe you’ll just go a little mad…and we could all use a little craziness sometimes!”

OHM Beads DRINK ME is such fun little dangling tag that has a hammered texture with the words “drink me” on the front side and only the hammered design and hallmark on the back. I love the font used on these dangles. Tag alone without ring measures approximately 12.57 mm high x 6.83 mm wide and retails for $30 / €31, price include vat.

“A hanging tag with the inscription “Drink Me.” You’ll recall, at the very beginning of Alice’s adventure, she chases a mysterious WHITE RABBIT and tumbles down a deep, deep hole. Oddly, Alice is not hurt by her long fall, and finds herself in a lamp-lit hallway with many locked doors. Alice notices a golden key on a glass table, but the key does not fit any of the doors. Finally, behind a curtain, Alice discovers a tiny doorway that the golden key can open, but poor Alice is far too large to fit through that miniature door.

That’s when she makes another discovery upon the glass table: a small bottle with a tag hanging from around its neck that reads “Drink Me”.

Alice hesitates, fearing the liquid may be poison; but there are no warnings or signs of danger on the bottle, so Alice dares to drink its contents. It’s delicious! The strange drink seems to be a mix of flavors including cherry tart, custard, pineapple, toffee, roast turkey, and hot buttered toast. Immediately, Alice shrank to only ten inches in height. But you remember the story: Alice had forgotten to hang onto the key and now it was out of reach on the tabletop. It’s easy to forget stuff when you’re drinking.

Our OHM DRINK ME hanging tag goes perfectly with our entire series of Alice in Wonderland designs.”

OHM Beads EAT ME matches the Drink Me perfectly, the only difference is that this dangle says, “Eat Me”. Again, I love the font, and these are so perfect and a must to add to an Alice themed bracelet. This bead also measures approximately 12.57 mm high x 6.83 mm wide and retails for $30 / €31, price include vat.

“A hanging tag with the inscription “Eat Me.” You’ll recall, at the very beginning of Alice’s adventure, she chases a mysterious White Rabbit and tumbles down a deep, deep hole. In a room with many doors there is a golden key that fits only the smallest of doors. After drinking a strange liquid and shrinking down able to fit though the door, Alice realizes she had forgotten to hang onto the key when she shrunk. Now it was out of reach on the tabletop.

Alice sees a little glass box under the table which contains a tiny cake and the words “Eat Me”. Apparently someone had foreseen her dilemma and supplied a potential reverse course. Sure enough, Alice gobbles the cake and begins to grow and grow until her head touches the ceiling. She can now grab the precious gold key. With both bottle and cake box empty, thankfully the effects of the cake are only temporary and to Alice’s surprise, she begins to shrink again until she can escape through the miniature unlocked door into a beautiful garden.

We celebrate this adventure with our OHM hanging tag EAT ME. It goes perfectly with the Alice in Wonderland collection. OR where else would you want a bead to scream EAT ME!? Oh the choices are endless!”

I have mixed a few older OHM Beads alongside the new Alice beads and I’ve finished this bracelet off with a Niwabeads Lock.

I’m including tons of photos of this bracelet at different angles. I didn’t make any bangles, as I felt that this collection is perfect together.

Overall, I am over the moon in love with Alice, but we all knew that was going to happen! This is the perfect collection and I love every single bead which is why I wanted to share this collection first out of the April release.

This collection is available for preorder today at any of the following links and will be available on the OHM Beads website on release day April 1, 2020.

Featured Ohm Beads Retailers

(Alphabetical order – click on retailers name)

Edone – Ships Globally from Italy

Perlen – Ships Globally from Denmark

Pianeta Beads – Ships Globally from Italy

Sperky S Pribehem -Ships Globally from Czech Republic

Star Bijou – Ships Globally from Germany

Story in the Bead – ships from Czech Republic

As always, I enjoy hearing from you all and would love to know if you love this collection as much as I do? Are you an Alice Fan? Do you have an Alice bracelet? Leave me a comment below ❤

XO,

Paula