About Us

beautiful beads    bespoke jewellery    creative workshops

Etelage (French for adornment) was established in 2002 by Christine Smalley. Since then it has gained a reputation for quality, innovative, and beautiful beads and bespoke jewellery from the collectable, vintage and contemporary, personally sourced globally.

Christine is a fourth generation designer who like her great grandmother travels the world to source beautiful products for her Sydney store located in the cosmopolitan King St strip in Newtown south. She appreciates bespoke pieces, values the tradition of time honored techniques and respects the artisan. Her great grandmother imported European handmade laces and fabrics for her store in the iconic Strand Arcade in Sydney. Christine believes that her passion for adornment has been nurtured through generations of exotic travel fashion stories and growing up with a treasure chest of beads, laces and buttons. The beginning of her exploration of jewellery making was as a child.

With a background in fashion and jewellery design her beads echo trends. She releases innovative bead and jewellery ranges every season. This year has also seen the launch of a button range from hand painted Czech glass deco pieces to African community trade ceramics and eco nuts. “You will be amazed at how many ways you can use buttons … as clasps, charms, centre pieces, embellishments on bags, and decorative canvas.” Christine says.

When Christine is not traveling the world, she is sharing her passion for jewellery design. Christine teaches at in store workshops, in high schools and is the tutor on their “how to jewellery design” DVD series. The DVDs and workshops aim to give every beader the confidence, inspiration and enthusiasm as a jewellery designer.

Not only do students learn about design but Christine also sees the importance of teaching the cultural significance of beads and how they are made.

“After all we are all part of the global community. It is an amazing bead journey from artisan to jewellery,” Christine says.

If you've got any feedback about our new store please send us an email We stock over 5000 lines so it is impossible to display everything. Email your requests. We would love to help you find the perfect piece.

Our Vision

Is to share our passion for adornment by offering you an appreciation for beautiful aesthetics that have meaning and value in culture, a story with each innovative piece, and fair trade, eco and sustainable products.

New Stock

Along with our fabulous basics we offer new stock regularly

1. Beads - From chunky glass and organics to delicate stampings and sterling silver we aim to stay abreast of the latest trends.
2. Jewellery - Every season we produce new quirky jewellery designs of enduring style and individuality which are designed and made in the studio. Some designs are globally sourced and are usually highly collectable pieces.

Wholesale

1. Beads – Most beads are available to registered businesses within the trade. Let us know if you own a bead store. We offer great value and variety on Czech pressed, fire polished, seed, bugle and two cut beads. See terms and conditions. Trade policy.
2. Jewellery - Limited ranges of seasonal jewellery are available. We sell to selected fashion and bridal boutiques along with specialist galleries.

Workshops and DVDs

At Etelage we offer workshops for both adults and kids at the Etelage store. From bead stringing, linking, weaving, crochet and design our workshops aim to give every beader the confidence, inspiration and enthusiasm as a jewellery designer. See workshop schedule.

Where are we located?

Visit us in the cosmopolitan hub of King St (South) Newtown, Australia. We are located next to Caramba South American Gallery and opposite All Buttons Great and Small, just a few minutes walk from Newtown railway station.

Upstairs the Etelage Vintage Store “Olga and Millies” offers European and locally sourced jewellery, hand bags and frocks from the 1920s to 1980s.