The Right Earrings for Your FaceGreat Video! Thank you for all your FREE advice, tips, projects and general information. I always refer people to Fire Mountain Gems and Beads.

Just wanted to tell you -- you guys are awesome! As usual, everything in my order was well packed, well marked, and of good quality. And putting a bonus gift in there, the lanyard this time, made it extra-special. Thank you Fire Mountain Gems staff!

For a first time beader, the right supplies and suppliers are both a challenge and a good lesson to learn. Unfortunately, the handmade market in Romania is still very young, so high quality, high diversity suppliers are very few, if almost none at all. I began my hobby with almost 3 kilos of beads bought from Etsy. They were quite different and good looking, enough to get me started on a couple of projects. It was the beginning of December when, looking for the true Delica beads, I stumbled upon Fire Mountain Gems. Like always in my online shopping sprees -- the shipping terms. No point in browsing, selecting, filling up a cart, when there are shipment restriction for Romania. It was not the case, and this was a very nice surprise, indeed. Another very big surprise was the delivery time. The order was placed on a Saturday evening, and I had my beads no later than the next Wednesday. This is something not even all Romanian companies manage to achieve. Since this is supposed to be a review anyone could use for reference, it's time to let the small talk aside and get to the real business: pros and cons.

On the plus side:

• wide selection of beads (Swarovski, acrylic, bone, celestial, Czech, metal, porcelain, seed and shell, pearls)
• wide selection of jewelry supplies (cabochons, findings, clasps, charms, chains, headpins, jewelry displays, organizers, stringing material of all sorts, wire, beading tools)
• Jewelry maker's library (articles, charts, beading dictionary, EncycloBEADia®, beading projects and contests, tutorials, artist presentations)
• Jewelry maker's catalog
• Mix and match -- quantity discounts and assortable pricing
• Gift certificates
• Live help
• Favorite lists
• Jewelry and gifts, ready to buy, if handmaking is not your thing
• No minimum order

On the minus side:

• I felt the need for some more accurate filtering while searching beads by type, color, size

Can't say much about the prices, since I don't have a large enough comparison base, but at first sight, they are pretty ok. Taking into account the discounting system and the regular promotions, the prices become quite affordable (from a personal point of view, in relations to the possible pricing of a final product, in an emerging market like Romania's handmade). Should you need beading supplies of any kind, quick and professional services and a large variety to choose from, I definitely recommend Firemountain Gems.

''I wanted to be sure to thank you for one of your employees. Her name is Joanna and she helped me with a special customer order on June 30th when I was out of town without a catalog or internet access. All of your employees are very helpful, but this was an unusual situation and she went above and beyond what she needed to do. You now have one very happy customer due to her efforts. This is one of the biggest reasons why I keep coming back to your company.''

''Just a comment. You have done very well in the few years I've ordered from you. Now that I have the things I wanted to make for my daughters-in-law, my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren, I'm now making for me. Thanks for the pearls. They are my birthstone and I love them.''

''Aggie was just so nice to me that I will never buy from anyone but you. This is my second great experience in one day. I usually place larger orders but this was $5 because I forgot to add something to a previous order. She was just wonderful about it and you don't forget that kind of service. Thank you.''

''Hi! Please tell the customer service supervisor that I worked with Shalee today and she was wonderful. My experiences with all of you have been great and you have a really fine company. It is a pleasure to shop with you!''

''I received my order a couple of weeks ago... everything was great! Thanks. I am awaiting my larger catalog... will it be arriving soon? I'm looking forward to it!''

''Are you ever going to get Apple Jasper in stock? It is a gorgeous stone and I prefer to shop with Fire Mountain but haven't seen it on your site, yet.''

"I'm sorry for the delay in thanking you for your helpful response. I followed your suggestions, and printed the step-by-step instructions, and also ordered the book you recommended. Your response was extremely helpful, prompt, and friendly and if I can extend kudos to you by relaying this to the appropriate department/person at fire mountain, I'd be happy to do that. It's so refreshing to receive good customer service in a world that seems to have lost the art, and it's important to recognize the rare people who excel in it. Thanks again! You've reinforced my loyalty as a customer to Fire Mountain Gems!"