I was organising my mailbox and dug up this reply I wrote to a fellow craftster, and thought I'd adapt and share... (excuse my English
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[Google map] 24 Oct 2015 Edit: I am updating this map sporadically, although the shop names are in Chinese I hope this will give a rough idea:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zXAB3U_roroQ.k6jQe6fiBoaE&usp=sharing
There is a district obscure to most visitors to the city where one could find lots of bead shops - Shamshuipo. The easiest way to get there would probably be taking the MTR (railway). Hop off at
Shamshuipo station and look for
Exit A2 (Pei Ho Street) - beads galore 5-10 minute's walk ahead. I would recommend two streets:
Yu Chau Street (the section between #109 - #271) has more traffic, featuring stores specialising in plastic beads (often pretty neat stuff at low prices), crystals (Swarovskis and the like) and glass beads (mostly manufactured in Asia like India or China). Seed beads are also available. There are a couple of stores specialising in findings, and those could be easily recognised by walls of tiny drawers. Most of the stores allow purchase in any quantity (a lot of shops sell by the weight), but do be aware that one or two impose a minimum.
Ki Lung Street (the section between #218 - #280) is right next to Yu Chau Street. Although a couple of stores on Yu Chau Street carry semi-precious stone beads, imo Ki Lung Street wins in terms of the number of stores specialising on this and the variety of material and shapes. However, I feel obligated to remark that some stores do not clearly label their manmade or enhanced stuff. And the discount offered varies a lot. To me the prices are quite cheap so I would not mind if they turn out to be beautiful pieces of glass, but that is just me...
Bead stores on both streets tend to cluster around the crossings with Pei Ho Street. Here is a website where you could search by address to get a map and info on public transport nearby:
http://www.centamap.com/gc/home.aspxOne more final word, Shamshuipo is an older part of the city so the environment may be not as pleasant as Causeway Bay or Tsimshatsui. However most of the shopkeepers can speak some English, and it is not uncommon to see foreigners shopping for beads there.
Other than beads, there are also a bunch of shops stocking other craft supplies like feathers, ribbons and lace scattered in that area. Seamstresses may also be interested in the fabric market nearby, on Lai Chi Kok Road (5 min walk from Ki Lung Street) facing the police station. If I remember correctly there are 4 alleys of stores selling all sorts of fabric and trims, the bad news is that the place is not air-conditioned and could get rather hot in summer.
