I'm writing this in the customer service forum as I'd quite like to highlight to the Cookies team the issue I had with a recent purchase from Cooksons. I'm looking for some advice from other users too.

I recently bought some glass beads from Cooksons to make some long knotted necklaces.
I bought eight packs, some of the 100g intricate bead mixes and some of the 50g glass bead selections. When I fist saw them in their packets I was a little disappointed as they didn't look at all shiny, but then i realised that they were covered in dust. When I came to thread them I realised that there was a thick layer of a chalky substance inside each hole. Now I'm guessing that this is how they stop the beads form sticking when they manufacture them...?

I've not bought large glass beads before, maybe it is normal for them to come dusty, but it just seems to me that it would be far easier for the manufacturers to clean the beads up than the end user. I spent nearly as long reaming and cleaning the beads as i did knotting them together.

Has anyone else had this issue with glass beads? If it is normal for them to come dusty? Is there a really quick way of cleaning them before I thread them?

If I hadn't been so keen to get on and make my necklaces I probably would have returned the beads for a refund. As it was I'd made a couple of necklaces before I even thought to clean the beads first. I ended up having to wash those necklaces afterwards as they black cord i had used to thread them had turned a dusty grey.

I'm obviously not looking to return the beads now as I've used them all, and I'm actually quite pleased with how the necklaces came out in the end.
I guess I just wasn't expecting to have to prepare the beads before use and I'd quite like to hear what the Cookies team and other forum members think.