Perler Beadsprites
History
Plastic toy beads originated in Sweden and were originally used to make necklaces and bracelets. In the early 1960's Gunnar Knutsson invented a pegboard onto which the beads could be glued to create designs and patterns and marketed it as a form of therapy for elderly homes. Later, polyethylene beads were introduced that could be melted together using a household iron, allowing the pegboards to be reused. In 1981 the Perler brand was founded by Peter and Dee Dee Schneck in California. Throughout the 1980's "melty" or "fuse" beads would become a popular children's craft in the United States. The mid-2000's saw a revival in interest due to growing online communities using the beads to make video game sprites. Since then the use of beads in making both small and large scale images has only increased and beadsprites are a regular craft at conventions and online marketplaces.
Plastic toy beads originated in Sweden and were originally used to make necklaces and bracelets. In the early 1960's Gunnar Knutsson invented a pegboard onto which the beads could be glued to create designs and patterns and marketed it as a form of therapy for elderly homes. Later, polyethylene beads were introduced that could be melted together using a household iron, allowing the pegboards to be reused. In 1981 the Perler brand was founded by Peter and Dee Dee Schneck in California. Throughout the 1980's "melty" or "fuse" beads would become a popular children's craft in the United States. The mid-2000's saw a revival in interest due to growing online communities using the beads to make video game sprites. Since then the use of beads in making both small and large scale images has only increased and beadsprites are a regular craft at conventions and online marketplaces.
Fusion beads generally come in 5 mm 'midi' and 2.5 mm 'mini' sizes. The major brands are Perler (USA), Hama (UK), and Artkal (China) although other brands exist like Nabbi, Pylssa, Melty and FunFusion. Most people who make beadsprites prefer Artkal due to their quality and wide variety of colors, however Perler is still popular due to its availability in the United States. Most work is done on connectable square pegboards although other designs like hearts and hexagons exist. Perler has also introduced other fusable products including their Shapes and Caps lines.
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I began making beadsprites back in 2008 when a friend sold me his supplies. Like many people I started by making pixel sprites from video games, specifically Super Robot Wars.