We are upon the preview of the OHM August release and we are getting some gorgeous collections this month! Release date is August 6!

This months OHMistry project is Campfire designed by OHMist Maya Uhryniuk! This gorgeous glass bead is released on August 6 at 10 am Vancouver BC time.

Driving down a winding and bumpy road in the woods searching for the perfect spot to camp. Sitting at night by the campfire with your closest friends, telling stories, and watching the flames. Tracking the sparks as they fly off the fire and up into the sky. Looking at the stars and then you see it! A shooting star? A UFO? What could it be? Maybe aliens… or maybe, just maybe, the beer you’ve been sipping has created something special for you, something that isn’t even there?

The limited-edition release of CAMPFIRE is part of Project OHMistry and is limited to 111 signed and serialized pieces. A certificate of authenticity is included. Simultaneously there is a non limited edition released.

From the OHM Lab comes Mandala, OHM Lab assistent is Catherine Portela.

The MANDALA is a spiritual and ritual symbol in the Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jain Dharma, which can represent the universe. Mandalas are often used as a focus in meditation. The mandala becomes the realm of Pure Thought, and the meditator contemplates the mandala until the image becomes fully internalized in the minutest detail; thus, making the meditating mind a “microcosm of the divine powers at work in the universe.”

Ancient Mayans made their calendars in a mandala form. To teach the impermanence of life, Buddhists spend hours making intricate mandalas of sand and then, in an instant, brush them aside or wash them away with water. Mandalas were reintroduced to Western thought by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, who explored the idea that mandalas represented the unconscious mind seeking balance and order in moments of intense personal growth.

OHM MANDALA is a complete sphere, with the intricate Mandala pattern shifting from the Flower of Life on one side into a literal flower on the opposite side. The Flower of Life also has ancient spiritual significance. It consists of overlapping six-sided flower designs that are regarded by many throughout history as a visual expression of the interconnectedness of all living things. From ancient Egypt to the Middle East to Asia, carefully carved Flowers of Life can be found on temples dating back thousands of years.

Enjoy OHM MANDALA on your bracelet for its delicate, fascinating beauty, but also a daily reminder to yourself that you are not alone. You are an integral petal in the flower of life’s interconnection, and your mind carries the divine creative powers of the universe itself. Go ahead, release your potential.

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CAMPING COLLECTION

OHM is releasing a summer fun seasonal collection called Camping!

The OHM BALL is a mini version of the OHM BALL NECKLACE so that you can wear your beads in new and exciting ways. Add all kinds of dangles to your bracelet by converting them using the OHM BALL. The ball of the OHM BALL NECKLACE was explicitly designed to catch on the openings in many OHM designs to wear as a pendant. Now you have the option to wear it as a dangle on your bracelet as well!

This deep melody of red and orange desert sunset is full of dancing ash leaping over an evening bonfire. Grab a buddy and a blanket and park your butt for some passionate storytelling after a long day of hard work.

Be heard. Be that in the woods, on the playground, or swimming pool. Whistles have been around since early humans first carved a gourd, branch, or piece of bone and found that they could make a sound with it. The ancient Egyptians used small shells as whistles. In Greece, whistles kept the rowing stroke of the galley crew. The English used whistles during the Crusades to signal archers, or aboard naval vessels to issue commands or salute dignitaries.

The inventor of the whistle we know today was Joseph Hudson. In 1870, he created the Acme City brass whistle, which became the first referee whistle used in football matches. In 1883, Joseph began experimenting with pea-whistle designs that could produce an intense sound heard over a mile away. Police officers at the time used ineffective ratchet rattles to communicate. Hudson’s pea-whistle invention, called the Acme Thunderer, was adopted by Scotland Yard in 1884, and it remains the most used whistle in the world to this day.

Whistles have many practical uses, from sports to traffic control to lifeguard to dog training. Whistles are also important symbols of warning. Maybe you choose to wear our shiny OHM whistle on your bracelet to symbolize your own role as a teacher and a guide in a chaotic world. Maybe our OHM whistle reminds you of sunny summers at the beach or sporting event. CALL OUT to OHM and let us know why you are wearing it.

Is this the ultimate? A manifestation of firewood embers burning low and slow. Perfect for roasting marshmallows for s’ mores, just don’t let them turn black.

Don’t be afraid, just get in the water. Sometimes you just need a bit of quiet time splashing at the lake edge or canoeing down a lazy river to collect your thoughts. Watch as the weird moon’s light dances across the water. You never really know what’s going to happen next.

The sky is bigger out here. Find a happier version of yourself, and let your heart grow hella big under the bright blue canopy. Find the grace to let yourself be yourself. You’ll be ok.

Find bliss in the light of the Summer Sun. When you feel low, hand yourself a glass of ice-cold lemonade and just chill out. You’ll find your alter-ego may need to come out to play for a little while—no need to be serious ALL the time.

Crawl into your favorite hammock, wherever it is, and just chill. Let things be. Swing left, swing right, let the swing take you away in the dreamland of here and now. When you stop thinking, suddenly, without any thoughts in your head, you become worry-less, for no reason. Breathe in, breathe out, it doesn’t take any effort. It happens by itself. You simply go on breathing. Conscious, unconscious, awake, asleep — just breathe, let the breath happen, let the hammock swing, let the life float by. Happiness is when you can be without trying to become. Enjoy your hammock time, really enjoy it. In those few moments of pure chill, the past and future disappear, and you find yourself here and now. Chill!

The OHMies gathered in Seattle for an OHMSEA meet-up and collectively designed this bead, which was sketched by the talented Maya Uhryniuk, who was in attendance. The design is themed around camping & traveling and inspired by wilderness and exploring the great outdoors. It represents happiness, excitement, contentment, and a feeling of coziness when we are surrounded by family adventuring out into the world and the great unknown.

As a Panorama style bead, you can add a glass of any color to create the sky of your choosing. Wear EXPLORE stacked on a bracelet, OHM BALL NECKLACE, or on the OHM BALL to bring a dangle to your wrist. See if you can find the secret treasure marked with an X on the map engraved on the bottom.

When ancient humans discovered fire, they soon after invented the lantern to protect that fire from wind and rain, or to prevent that fire from accidentally spreading beyond its confines. A fire on a wooden ship, for example, would be a catastrophe. The pirate code of Captain John Phillips, therefore, demanded that all flames below deck be protected by a lantern. Lamps were also used as signaling devices, as guiding lights, or as warnings (such as in a lighthouse).

The ancient Chinese captured fireflies in semi-transparent containers for use as ceremonial lanterns. Many Asian festivals feature lanterns, such as the Ghost Festival, where lanterns are set afloat in a river or the sea to guide the lost souls of ancestors to the afterlife. Before the development of glass, lantern windows were made of flattened animal horn scraped paper-thin.

Lanterns are a universal symbol of illumination, transcendence, and guiding light. Lanterns help light the way forward by pushing aside the surrounding darkness. One individual can hold a lantern for the benefit of many. This lamp can also symbolize your own inner light that guides your soul through periods of darkness to the promise of a new day. Lanterns cast a beautiful, comforting, welcoming glow that calls to the spiritual, the meditative, or to a gathering of friends within its circle of light.

Wear this OHM LANTERN proudly on your bracelet as a symbol of your unique light that guides you, and others, through life’s cycles of night and shadow.

Because it was often used with a lifeline tossed from a boat, the Monkey Fist knot became a symbol of solidarity and friendship. Each knot is different in some way and never perfectly round, just as each friendship is unique and imperfect. The Monkey Fist knot grows tighter and rounder with repeated use, just as a friendship grows firmer and smoother with time and attention. Tradition holds that a Monkey Fist should be given to a friend, old or new, with the story of that friendship and the knot’s symbolism shared.

Whether you keep or share this OHM Monkey Fist bead, you will love its many uses and the cleverness of its design. Our Monkey Fist can dangle from a mini-chain to simulate the weighted lines of the sailors and fishermen, and our intricate little knot can be worn as a pendant or a hanging bead swinging gently from your bracelet.

The Monkey Fist knot is used by sailors to serve as a weight, making a rope easier to throw. This knot was tied at the end of a heaving line that could be hurled from ship to dock. This knot was also used by fishermen to cast a net between two boats and trawl for a larger catch of fish. The weighted Monkey Fist knot was sometimes utilized as a hand-to-hand weapon, which the sailors called a “slungshot”.

Any way you wear it, the Monkey Fist is a beautiful symbol of friendship. Give them as gifts, share them with your friends, wear them as reminders of the relationships you cherish.

Long ago, in ancient Rome, the philosopher, and playwright Seneca the Younger wisely observed, “Many things have fallen only to rise higher.” Centuries later, England’s legendary prime minister Winston Churchill used a childhood toy as an example when he said, “Kites rise highest against the wind not with it.”

How many times have you too fallen or been seriously setback, only to rise higher than before? How many times have you discovered that the more you pushed and persevered against difficulties, the more you rose above the challenge, just like that kite soaring higher and higher into the wind?

So we at OHM created a beautiful glass bead to celebrate this concept in RISE HIGHER. Against a background of vibrant, glorious blue, we set a dash of aspiring white. Is it a bird taking wing against the invisible resistance of a brisk summer breeze? Or, is it a snowy mountain peak rising high into the frosty firmament?

Either way, this brilliant blue bead will add depth and nuance to your bracelet and give your imagination flight as you contemplate this inspiring concept of RISE HIGHER. As good ol’ Seneca also said, “It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.” Soar, my friend. The sky is the limit!

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GEEK 2.0 COLLECTION

OHM made another neardy and brilliant collection, Geek 2.0!

OHM also salutes the fact that so many creative people help create our beads and each input, each variation, each new idea moves us forward adding each variation in the chain in order to find balance.

DNA is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid and is the molecule that contains the genetic code of all organisms, including animals, plants, even bacteria. DNA is within each cell of that organism and tells that cell what proteins to make. With a double helix shape — like a ladder twisted into a spiral — DNA was discovered in the 1950’s.

Each rung, or STEP UP on the ladder, is a pair of nucleotides: A (adenine) only pairs with T (thymine), and C (cytosine) only pairs with G (guanine). The pairs are held together by hydrogen bonds. Although the pairs are always fixed, they can come in any order up and down the ladder and this sequence writes the code of life that tell our cells what to do.

Each time DNA replicates, the hydrogen bonds are broken and the ladder separates into two single strands. As a new DNA strand is created for each half of the ladder, matching up A to T and C to G until the molecule is complete again. However, when DNA is copied, variations are created. These mutations can harm or help the organism as it evolves.

OHM’s double helix ANOTHER VARIANT celebrates this evolution forward through changes and improvements of chance. The double helix spirals in a circle which makes a lovely spacer on your bracelet and calls to mind the delicate match-up of codes that make each one of us unique and special. You are part of OHM’s DNA! Thank you for your contribution to our evolution.

BE COUNTED as part of OHMily. Each bead on the ring articulates in order for you to find solace is being someone who can be counted on. More than ever it is important to stand up for yourself and your beliefs and be counted. It’s equally important to have something or someone that you can count on — a trusted friend, your family, or your own savvy self-reliance — and, in turn, to be the abacus that others can count on as well.

The abacus, or counting frame, was a calculating tool — or ancient computer — used from about 2700 BC in Egypt, China, Babylon, Persia, India, Russia, and Africa. Beads or pebbles were moved on wires or in grooves on tablets for mathematical calculations too difficult to do in your head.

This OHM counting frame is circle shaped, which works perfectly as a spacer on your bracelet; in fact, it actually LOOKS like a miniature bracelet with its own tiny beads! We call this OHM abacus BE COUNTED because When it comes to all things geeky, we say count us in!

In life, as in D&D, there is always another roll to change your luck. A critical hit is coming. The Kraken glanced you with a critical miss. Your quick response and wits will serve you in your response. Cast again and see what you hit.

Dice date back to Ancient Egypt, there various types of dice for telling fortunes, playing games, or gambling. Recorded in ancient Biblical and Buddist texts, among many, there are references to casting lots.

In 1974, the Medieval fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons was created and the Icosahedron, 20-sided die, was an essential element of gameplay. As wizards, rogues, paladins, and druids who have battled in D&D already know, the D20 determines who strikes first and how accurate is that strike. You live and die by the whims of chance.

CRITICAL HIT by OHM pays homage to that best of lucky rolls — with sacred geOHMetry comes a sacred blessing — may you find your adversaries most vulnerable points and deal double damage. Wear CRITICAL HIT on your bracelet and look forward every day to every roll of life.

What did you get?

When you love something, you love it intensely; you love to explore every nuance and to delve deep to the very core, to the microscopic level.

The compound microscope — with a lens near the specimen and an eyepiece to view the image — was invented in 1620. Some folks give Galileo the credit (he called his device the occhiolino or little eye). Biologists began to use the microscope to discover and study cells, and micro-organisms too tiny for the naked eye. Today, we have electron microscopes with even higher resolution and digital microscopes connected to computers; we can explore the microscopic world with our amazing little eyes! And we love that!

Wear our OHM microscope bead, EYE LOVE, because we know you really DO love examining all of your passions in spectacular detail. Especially these tiny works of art called beads. That’s how you love — that’s how you see things. We have an eye for detail too.

Breathe. That’s it. Stay calm. Do you feel the bubbles inside?

This special laboratory flask — with a flat bottom, conical body, and cylindrical neck — is called an Erlenmeyer flask after the German chemist who created it in 1860. The slanted sides and narrow neck allow its contents to be mixed by swirling without the risk of spillage, making this flask perfect for boiling liquids and adding solvents. Some combinations of chemicals, however, can create a combustible chain reaction that explodes or boils over. We know some people who are like that too.

OHM created this bubbling, overflowing Erlenmeyer flask. As we know every day we have to deal with irritating things, exasperating people, annoying traffic or coworkers, toxic mixes of circumstances that make you want to explode or boil over with frustration. Let the bubbles settle inside you. And perhaps let the OVERREACTING on your bracelet do the boiling over for you.

Now you’ve got good chemistry!

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OHM EXCLUSIVES

Exclusive for OHM Australia is Didgeridoo! The didgeridoo is played with continuously vibrating lips and a special breathing technique called circular breathing: drawing air in through the nose while maintaining a sustained, virtuoso kaleidoscope of timbres. Playing the didgeridoo and singing during ceremonial occasions is traditional and the precise rhythms of the didgeridoo are passed down over many generations.

The didgeridoo is a simple wooden wind instrument developed by the Indigenous Aboriginal peoples of Northern Australia. This hollow wooden trumpet, or drone pipe, can measure from 3 ft to 10 ft long — the longer the instrument the deeper the sound — and is usually made from the trunk of the native eucalyptus tree. Traditional didgeridoo makers seek a live tree that has substantial termite activity. The termites eat the heartwood of the tree, and the didgeridoo maker peels back the bark and taps on the tree to see if the hollow sound is suitable for making it into an instrument.

In celebration of this Australian heritage, OHM is proud to present our new DIDGERIDOO design.

And exclusive for OHM Thailand is WAT WALL บีดกำแพงสีขาวปิดทองคำเปลวบนซุ้มประตูสีแดง เป็น Thailand Exclusive ที่ OHM สร้างสรรค์โดยได้รับแรงบันดาลใจมาจากกำแพงวัดพระแก้ว และพระบรมมหาราชวัง สัญลักษณ์สำคัญของประเทศไทย ซึ่งก่อตั้งขึ้นพร้อมกับการสถาปนาเมืองหลวง กรุงเทพมหานคร ตั้งแต่ปี พ.ศ. 2325 เป็นสถานที่ประกอบพระราชพิธีสำหรับพระมหากษัตริย์ และพิธีทางพระพุทธศาสนา มาเป็นเวลายาวนานกว่า 200 ปี

แนวกำแพงสีขาวสูงตระหง่านงดงาม รวมความยาวตลอดทั้ง 4 ด้าน 1,910 เมตร มีซุ้มประตูโดยรอบ 12 ประตู ที่มีชื่อไพเราะคล้องจองกัน รวมทั้งมีความหมายที่ดีอีกด้วย ทุกครั้งเมื่อเดินผ่านกำแพงวัดพระแก้ว มักจะอดจินตนาการไม่ได้ว่า ถ้ามิติแห่งกาลเวลาสามารถเปิดให้ย้อนกลับไปในอดีต คงจะมีโอกาสได้เห็นความเจริญรุ่งเรือง และชีวิตของคนในวังที่อยู่เบื้องหลังกำแพง

Inspired by the white wall with gold-leaf covered red arches at Wat Phra Kaew’s wall in Bangkok. This temple is an Important symbol of Thailand as it was enshrined at the time the capital became Bangkok in 1782. It has been used as a royal ceremonial venue for the King. Religious ceremonies have been held here for over 200 years.

The towering white walls along all four sides reach 1,910 meters. There are 12 arches, each with a beautiful name that together make a beautiful sound, poetry, in the Thai language. One may receive a specific blessing or mantra every time you walk through the walls of Wat Phra Kaew. Often we can’t help but imagine that if the dimension of time can open for us to travel back, we would see the opportunity for prosperity and the spiritual life of the palace and people behind the wall.

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And there they all are, all OHM beads released in August! I know there will be something for you there, such a fun and versatile release!