I'm in a book!

How much fun is this?!! The publishers of Bead Style magazine just published their book "Making Elegant Jewelry for Special Occasions" and I'm in it! I received my copy the other day and have it proudly displayed at the front counter. It's full of all sorts of great projects including a special pearl section where my piece is. If you are looking for some new inspiration for your jewelry designs this book would be a great addition to your collection.

Bead Inspired
Kellie

Guest Teacher

I was lucky enough to have the fabulous Emilie Jefferson teach at the store last week. Emilie is an expert at creating gorgeous wire wrapped bezels and she was happy to share her expertise with my students. Each student created a unique masterpiece and they were all surprised at how easy it was to create something that looked so complex. I can hardly wait until my next batch of classes as Emilie will be back to teach her wrapped bezels and also a new class of viking knit weave! Watch the class list in January for Emilie's class plus a bunch of great new techniques!

Bead of the Month

Every month we will feature a new bead. We'll give a brief description of it's properties and give some examples of how it would work well with other beads. The best thing is that for the entire month all featured beads will be 25% off. Discount is only available on bead strands, not individual beads or already marked down items.

October Bead of the Month - Labradorite
*all strands 25% off for the month of October!*

Labradorite, also known as Spectrolite, is a Feldspar mineral. It is typically blue, pale green, grey-white with iridescent blue or gold flashes. It's metaphysical properties include: strengthening psychic abilities, stimulates the imagination and calms the mind. Labradorite has been used to help heal colds, gout, lower blood pressure and aids in digestion.

Labradorite is a gorgeous stone that pairs well with many different stone. A favorite combination is to mix with smokey quartz and carnelian for a rich and warm feeling. Try mixing it with cool toned stones for an unusual look.

Thanks Ania for getting me started

Seven years ago I was on a vacation with some friends and one of my friends mentioned that for some fun the girls would be making jewelry that evening. To be perfectly honest I had no idea that you could make your own jewelry! Being a plus sized gal I seldom if ever found bracelets that fit me so I just wore basic earrings and hardly ever changed them. That evening, I found that I not only caught on to the art of making simple wire loops but I actually had fun doing it. I had caught the bug for sure. After that vacation I could hardly wait to find out if there was anyone teaching more jewelry techniques. I scoured the net looking for teachers and found Ania Kyte. I took her wire wrapped loops class, loved making my pretty little blue glass bracelet and the rest is history.

Over the years I've kept in touch with Ania through other jewelry friends and have admired her lovely lampwork artistry. This week she brought me a box full of her beautiful beads which are now proudly displayed in my lampwork case. Ania has made up some great little bead sets which are very moderately priced and color coordinated for you. Ania has a few different styles with my favorite being her adorable little glass turtles - hence her business name "Turtle Beads"!

Kimchi's New Jewels

The great owners of the business upstairs - Warrior Spirit Martial Arts - have the sweetest little dog, Kimchi. Kimchi is a tiny tea cup Chihuahua and spends her days at their studio while all the kids are busy with their martial arts classes. Kimchi is seen modelling her brand new crystal dog collar with a Kellie's Bead Boutique tag. Too cute!

Fraser Valley Bead Show

So, one of my goals when opening the store was to write weekly, if not daily, musings about being a bead store owner. As I've quickly found out, my intentions are always good, but time is my enemy! I almost forgot that I actually had a blog until today!!

I just finished my first trade show as a bead store owner. I spent the last 3 days at the Fraser Valley Bead show in it's first Spring show. It was a great show, in a beautiful venue and I had an awesome time. Many of my awesome customers came out to shop the show and they all popped over to see me. I am very lucky to have such a great group of customers! The show was fun, I sold a lot and of course I too purchased a lot. I met some great new friends, met some local store owners and picked up some new lines for the store. I'm exhausted, but in that can't wait to to it again way. The Fraser Valley Bead show has it's annual Fall show in October and I am looking forward to doing it all over again.

ps.....I had hoped to take a picture of my super booth that my sweet husband made for me but again, intentions are always there but reality often sets in and things are not done. Next time for sure.

New Lampwork Artist

Given that some of my close friends are talented lampwork artists I've grown to appreciate this extraordinary art form. I am lucky to have some fabulous artists pieces in my store - Kerri Fuhr, Stephanie Dieleman and Michelle Lusk. I had the great fortune of having a very talented young man come in to my store to show me his wares and I was blown away by how beautiful they are! Chris Kauhane is a local Maple Ridge lampwork artist with a unique style that I think will prove to be very popular! After having his work in my store for only 1 hour I sold my favorite piece! Pop by the store to see all the gorgeous lampwork.

Back From Tucson!

After 5 exhausting but exhilarating days I'm back from my buying trip in Tucson! So many pretty and sparkly new treasures that I can't wait to put in my store. The big buzz in bead land this year is the gorgeous new Chinese crystal that pretty much every vendor had! It was really hard trying to choose from all the beautiful colors and cuts but I managed to come home with a huge bag of them. I can't wait to put them up in the store and to start coming up with some designs for everyone to see! I also managed to find some incredible new stones that I've not seen anywhere else - of course in all the confusion I forgot the name of them but they are a trendy mix of black and blue - a form of lava with something blue running through it. Unusual and striking! Four large boxes have been shipped and they should arrive by next week some time. Lots of work to get them all priced but I am looking forward to showing them all to you!

New Website!

I am thrilled to finally have my new website up and running. I think it looks fabulous and really reflects the feeling I was hoping to have. I'm really excited to update it now and to add all the new things as they come available.

If you are looking for a great website designer I highly recommend http://www.boutiquemama.com/!