FAQs

We are located in Midland, Ontario, Canada.

Our mailing address is The Northern Bead Company, PO Box 12, Station Main, Midland, Ontario, Canada, L4R 4K6 and our phone number is 416-223-3716.

Our pricing is in Canadian Dollars.

We accept both VISA and MasterCard, as well as PayPal. Please note that some Visa or MasterCard Gift Cards are accepted (mostly Canadian), but not all. If you are trying to complete your payment using a Visa or MasterCard Gift Card, the checkout process will notify you if your transaction cannot be completed. We do not accept either cash or cheque.

No, we operate solely online. We ship from Midland, Ontario, Canada. Unfortunately, we do not allow customers to pick up an order.

September to May
Monday to Friday 9am-5pm EST

June to August
Monday to Thursday 9am - 5pm EST

Holiday Closures are always listed on our homepage

Simply click here. A link to our FBC program can also be found at the top of the homepage.

Simply enroll here. You will be issued a FBC account number and you can start accumulating points right away.

Simple! Just click on the "My Account" link at the top right on each page. If you have already created an account, you can login to your existing account. If you are a new customer, you can create an account. We recommend any new customer create their accountpriorto adding items into their cart for the first time.Please note that for shipping insurance and security purposes, we require full first and last name, a valid email address and a full valid telephone number. Then simply login to your account on your next visit!
Incomplete registrations or registrations with fraudulent information will be automatically removed.

We require a copy of your valid exemption card (scanned or an image attached in a email.) We then update your customer profile to note your exemption. When an order is placed, you will be charged the appropriate tax for your location, but we then refund the tax at the time the order is sent for processing. A copy of the refund is sent for your records prior to your order shipping. Please contact us with your informationpriorto placing your first order.

We would only use your email address and phone number if we had to contact you directly. We do not share any of our information with any marketing or third-party company. Both For more information regarding our Privacy Policy, click here .

Customers can subscribe or unsubscribe from our mailing list at anytime by simply clicking on the "Unsubscribe" link that is on every promotional email we send out.
Then either check or uncheck "Keep informed on new products and promotions". We abide by the Canadian Can Spam Act by doing one or all of the following: 1) all emails we send out have instructions on how to unsubscribe; 2) we have a "existing business or non-business relationship"; and 3) consent was obtained when the customer signed up for our promotional emails.
Ontario Privacy Laws prohibit us from registering a customer for either our mailing list or FBC program.

As a customer, you have the right to unregister yourself from our website at anytime. While we are sorry to see you go, we understand that you may want to remove your information from our website and close your account for a variety of reasons. Simply login to your account and on your customer profile page select "Close and Remove my Account".
Please note that we are required by law to keep paper records of any transactions placed with us for seven years. After seven years, all records are shredded and destroyed.

Easy! You can either email us at info@northernbead.com or call us at 416-223-3716. We would be happy to update your information for you. Please have your previous invoice with you so we may confirm your account details. Please do not create a new account! Our shipping program will only recognize one account per customer and will not update to a new address automatically.

Our Customer Service is available September to May, 9:00AM to 5:00PM, Monday to Friday. Our summer hours (June to August) are Monday to Thursday, 9:00AM to 5:00PM. If you need to contact us outside of our regular hours, please email us atinfo@northernbead.com, or if you are contacting us regarding a specific order, please contact us through the Help Desk (located on the Order Details page.)

No. Due to our frequently changing stock it would be impossible to have an accurate print catalogue.

Anywhere in the world! Please note that shipping outside of Canada and the USA will require additional postage.

Update November 1st, 2025

As of August 29th, 2025, the de minimis exemption designation for all goods entering the United States has been removed and full taxes, duties, and tariffs now apply to all items previously covered under the exemption. We understand that the fees, duties, and tariffs applied to US bound orders to be severe, and will unfortunately fall upon you, the customer, to pay them. In most cases, the value of the final order once the fees are applied, is triple the initial value of the order.

We therefore have made the decision to suspend all US orders and shipments. We will not be accepting any new US bound orders. Any new US bound order will be cancelled and refunded.

We hope to restore shipments to our US customers in the near future.

If you have any questions, please let us know at info@northernbead.com .

For approximate rates please click here.

Please ensure to choose the correct shipping option for your US destination. If the International Shipping option is selected for a US address, the order will be cancelled. 

Unfortunately due to issues with lost packages, we no longer offer standard shipping to the US. All orders to the US are now sent UPS Expedited with full insurance and tracking information or with USPS Expedited, full insurance and tracking.

Just let us know! We ship our orders using both Canada Post (for domestic and International shipments) and UPS. UPS covers almost 85% of our delivery area, but if you prefer to use Canada Post for your shipments, please let us know.

Unfortunately, no. Clearance and bargain beads items are sold as final sale and are not returnable.

You will be contacted directly by our customer service department with all the information.

Please note that beads and other products sold here are not a toys and small components could represent a choking hazard. Caregivers should be made aware of the risks resulting from children wearing or handling handmade or adult metal jewelry, even if items are manufactured or purchased in the United States or Canada, because infants have natural mouthing behaviors; these items can also pose a choking hazard for small children.

Please use appropriate safety precautions when using wire or metal stamping material, or glues, epoxy products, and adhesives.  For more information on eye protection please visit the Canadian Centre for Occupational Heal and Safety.

While we have a large selection on our website, this is only a small fraction of beads and beading accessories that we have access to. E-mail our Special Request team and we'll try to find it for you. You must be registered on our website as a customer before we can process a special request order. No phone orders for Special Orders - please email us with your request. Special Order products are not returnable.

Yes. If you need to see another angle of a bead write us and we will e-mail you the picture.

Yes! We try to take our images under the best lighting conditions but we know that colour can vary due to monitor settings so please feel free to contact us before ordering. We encourage our customers to reach out to us prior to placing an order as to avoid costly rerturn fees.

Yes! We are happy to provide information on country of origin for any of our products.

Yes! If your project requires a specific bead and you wish to ensure you receive enough for your project, please feel free to contact us prior to placing your order. This especially applies to Swarovski, clearance, and bargain beads, which usually have limited stock available.

We suggest using a vernier gauge or calipers to measure the diameter of a bead. It is the most accurate and precise way to obtain a measurement.

Click here to see our page of definitions.

Yes. Click here to see our conversion table.

Approximately 18.

Gross=144 pieces, mass=1200 pieces.

Transparent means that you should be able to see light and text through the bead. Translucent (sometimes also referred to as milky or opal) means that light can pass through the bead but you would not be able to read text. Opaque refers to a solid color; light cannot pass through the bead.

January: Garnet or Rose Quartz February: Amethyst or Onyx March: Aquamarine or Bloodstone April: Diamond or Rock Crystal (Quartz) May: Emerald or Chrysoprase June: Alexadrite or Moonstone or Pearl July: Ruby or Carnelion August: Peridot or Sardonyx September: Sapphire or Lapis October: Opal or Tourmaline November: Topaz or Citrine December: Zircon or Turquoise

AB is short form for Aurora Borealis, or more commonly called The Northern Lights. In beading terms, it refers to an rainbow coating applied to usually half or one side of a bead.

Originally created for the Aerospace industry, Dichroic chips are incorporated in many of the Unicorne Beads that is offered to the buying public.
The brilliant dichroic optical properties of dichroic glass are the result of multiple micro-layers of metal oxides. These thin layers of oxides have a total thickness of three to five millionths of an inch.

Yes, to qualified buyers on bulk purchases only. Please note that wholesale orders are subject to quantity minimums. As an example, wholesale pricing for Czech round Druk beads start at 1 Mass (1200 pieces) and Czech 11/0 and 10/0 seed beads on 500g bags. We require a minimum purchase of $300.00 on the first order and $150.00 on each subsequent order. Please contact us at info@northernbead.com for more information (we cannot provide wholesale pricing by phone). Please remember to include the description and SKU of any products you are interested in. We are sorry, but wholesale orders do not qualify for our free shipping program and will be subject to a minimal shipping charge based upon weight and destination. Retail and wholesale orders cannot be combined for shipping. If you cannot meet our wholesale terms please consider joining our Frequent Beaders Club.

Wholesale pricing is available to registered customers only so if you are interested in wholesale pricing, please register before contacting us.