You can also get plain steel wire in the flower section of a craft store, which you can also use, but it doesn't look as nice, so it really depends on how fancy you want to be. I would say if someone was a beginner and just trying stuff out maybe they should try some of the cheap wire and see if they like doing the craft. If they are interested in trying to sell this stuff then they want to look at the higher quality colored wires.
You have to know what you are making because the size of the beads will determine the size of the wire. Wire comes in gauges and the higher the number the thinner the wire so 32 gauge wire is almost like thread, 24 gauge wire is a pretty good stiff wire that can hold up a panel of beads, and 18 gauge is what we typically use for stem wire to hold up a whole lot of leaves and petals. If you're going to get into this seriously then you do want several gauges and colors. I have a whole table full of wire, but if you are just making one or two things there's no need to spend a fortune on wire.
Yes, you do need needles, and again it depends on the size of the beads. If you're using a standard seed bead size, your average sewing needle won't pass through them. So you could get very thin beading needles and those would be easy to find in a craft store and are pretty cheap. You get about five in a package for a buck or two. And you lose them all the time. I lose mine all the time. The hard part is directing them so unless someone got really good visual ability I would recommend getting threaders, which you can also buy at craft store in the sewing section and they are pretty cheap. They are little plastic or metal things that have a wire to pull the thread through. If you are stitching bigger beads, what they call pony size that's the kind of thing you can put on yarn and you may not even need a needle.
There are several catalog that you can order beads from. Some of them will charge you for the catalog and I am not a big fan of that. I think if you are trying to sell to me, you should let me see what you have. Fire Mountain Gems has a huge free catalog and whenever I've bought from that store I have been very happy in terms of their customer service and their prices and everything else. So I would say if someone wants a giant catalog of millions of types of beads they should go to Firemountaingems.com and request their catalogs. It's also a good idea to see if your town has an independent bead store, where you are more likely to find a wider variety and better prices than at a chain craft store.
