i wanted to make a bracelet out of thicker jewelry wire but i can't seem to find beads with a big enough opening to fit through the wire. where can i find beads with a larger opening and how do i even search online? the wire i want to use is 16 gauge if anyone can give me any direction. thanks!

If you're searching on eBay, Etsy, or both, I'd try doing the search title and description thing, and include the word "hole" in your search string.

People are more likely to include the size of the hole when it is larger.

You could do the same thing with searches in the larger bead stores like Fire Mountain, Aunties, Artbeads, Brightling, etc, and if you can't find it, you could always email and ask which ones have larger holes.

Generally, anything that is called a "pony" or a "donut" will have a larger hole.

I would say just go to a bead store or craft store so you can see the bead in person. There lots of beads with a larger opening so you should have some pretty good luck. I'm not a huge fan of buying beads online because I can't get a sense of the size (even if the size is listed).

The online bead stores are usually pretty helpful when you ask if X bead can fit X size wire.

Fire Mountain Gems usually replies with very helpful advice and give you information such as the bead hole size if you ask them about a particular bead. I've had the same problem before and they responded in about 2-3 days which is super fast for bead stores lol.

Usually larger beads will have larger sized holes. Larger acrylic beads almost always have larger holes of around 2mm. HTH!

Also try Shipwreck beads. http://www.shipwreckbeads.com/