Getting things done!

We have been pretty busy here in beadland!  Kelly G. is sprucing up the back hallway and the washroom with a new coat of paint, some nice pictures and a few other nice touches.  My sweet husband spent the last 2 days in the store adding some much needed lights above the beads.  We can finally see things when it starts to get dark outside!!!  It took 2 years to get to this point but it was well worth the wait.  We have decided to stay put in this location for a while so it was time to get to those things done we've been putting off.  I will get some new pictures posted as soon as we clean up all the dust!

If you haven't been in the store you will notice loads of changes.  New bead displays and furniture, a great new Kazuri bead display that looks awesome and too many things to list.  We are expanding our bulk sections and we now have loads of great base metal findings in bulk packs.  We have increased our tool wall at the back of the store with the addition of a new table.  Now I can fill  it up to my hearts content! 

Kelly G. has been helping out with the new classes this Fall and we have just about finished the first round of them.  Many will have a second and/or third date but make sure to sign up if you have some favorites.  The classes tend to sell out close to the posted dates so make sure you don't lose out.

I am still here!

From now on when someone asks me what I want for my birthday, Christmas etc. I am going to say "a clone of myself"!!  I've always been a hard worker and thrive on having deadlines to meet, but owning a store has pushed me to my limits in every way possible!  Pretty much every day that goes by I think to myself "I should update my blog".  Somehow that just never seems to happen.  I am hopeful that things will improve as I now having a staff member working 7 days a week - wahoo!!  I was told when I first opened that I shouldn't hire staff for at least 2 years due to the financial burden on a small business.  Well, to heck with that!  I love my staff!  They are awesome in every way imaginable and I don't know what I'd do without them.  From pitching in when I'm out of town, to reorganizing my store to coming up with new designs for both classes and inspiration.  Kelly, Lisa and Kathy are a huge part of why I'm smiling again!  I have to admit that I was burning out with 14 hour days, 7 days a week, and now I can breathe a bit.  I have had time to take pictures again, to come up with some fun stuff for classes and to just take a moment to get my creative juices flowing.

 I had a bit of time today and made myself this fabulous version of my new "Not Your Granny's Crochet" necklace class.  I used the great new Para wire color "Titanium" with a few colors of Czech glass and a stunning Swarovski Crystal pear in Crystal Night. How about that for gorgeous colors?!  I was hoping for a bit better picture but with the beautiful day we are having the shade is hiding from me.  I hope you still hang around to read my blog.  I'm hoping to be here a bit more often now. 

Back from Tucson

Well, I'm back from yet another succesful trip to Tucson. I had the best time scouring the shows for the best deals and the coolest new beads. A bit of a shock was the weather! It was bright and sunny but they had the worst cold snap they'd had since the late 1800's! Having only packed t-shirts and flip flops it was a bit of a nightmare but thankfully we all took along at least one pair of jeans - boy did they get a work out! The first 2 days were so bitterly cold I could barely handle it. I can now say I suffered for my beads!! Six solid days of shopping for beads is hard work but how much fun it is too. If you ever have the chance to travel to Tucson during show time you will be overwhelmed and amazed at the amount of beads in one place. Big this year is the crackled agates. I think I purchased them in just about every color under the rainbow! My favorite are the ones that resemble carnelian and they are already out in the bead trays. I also purchased around 1000 strands of that fabulous chinese crystal I have on the grid walls. The new color this season is a fabulous soft green with a hint of gold in it. I snapped it up in every size and shape I could find - love it and can't wait to put together a sample for you! I'll be working hard on getting things out for you to see but please be patient as I dragged home 225 pounds of beads and it will take quite some time to get them on the floor. Out this week - loads of sterling silver and Thai silver charms, pretty sterling silver larger style earwires and some pretty new hammered silver oval and diamond links.

Have a look at the fountain at the Hilton Hotel.  This was on day 2 of my trip and this was a common site around town!  Water pipes bursting all over the place.  The poor cactus were dying and their arms were breaking off.  At least it was bright and sunny - freezing cold but gorgeous!

Inspiration

I guess walking in to a bead store can be a bit overwhelming. I see the glazed over looks on my customers faces all the time. I easily come up with pieces to make but then again I have an entire store at my disposal. My customers really enjoy it when I make up samples that they can use for inspiration or to out right copy - it's ok, really it is! One thing I'm trying to show is how easy it is to come up with pieces with what I've got on hand. Every month I will be taking a copy of a bead magazine or a fashion magazine, finding a cool piece in it and trying to come up with a similar version with what I've got in the store. This month you'll find these cool earrings.  I found this picture of a pair of beautiful earrings from a recent US magazine.  Nice if you have an extra $525 kicking around!  I did my own take on them and I think they look pretty good!  I used Tierra cast frames, glued in some Swarovski crystal rivoli's in Crystal Golden Shadow and added a pair of earwires.  The best part it that they cost less than $20 to make! Use this as inspiration for your own piece or just to spark a bit of imagination. Have fun and bead inspired!

We are growing!

It's official - I've run out of room in my cute little store! While away on my little mini get away at Christmas I of course had to buy beads along the way. I found this AMAZING new vendor and I spent a ridiculous amount of money on new beads, pewter charms and loads and loads of copper beads. I dragged them in to the store and thought "where do I put them". The sad thing is that I have no more room. So, time to add more room! I was off shopping all this week and bought a bunch of stuff to make room for all the new goodies I will have coming in over the next 2 months....Tucson is just 3 weeks away! Wahoo!! Sorry, travels to Tucson bring out the silly shopper in me. Here are the photo's of the loads of new fixtures. I'll post what it looks like when it's all done. I can't wait for the new look and all the new display room.

Cancer Fundraiser

One of the best parts of owning a bead store has been all the wonderful people I've met. I love getting to know more about everyone, their lives, families etc. I've had the pleasure of getting to know a very special lady by the name of Alaine. Alaine has been battling a rare form of lung cancer and during her recovery she was looking for something to keep her busy. She came across an idea for making bracelets out of old silver spoons and thought "I can to that". Well, she did! With the help of her husband Kelly (great name huh?)she bends and shapes the spoons she's collected in to the most fabulous bracelets. She adds a sterling silver charm, maybe a bead or a cancer ribbon charm, a magnetic clasp and a beautiful bracelet is born! The most amazing part is that Alaine donates 100% of the money she makes from the sale of the bracelet to cancer research. How fantastic is that? Alaine popped by the store yesterday and dropped off 4 gorgeous bracelets for me to sell to my customers. They are $40 each and every dime will go to cancer research. Pop by the store, try one on - you'll love them! Also, if you are digging through your China cabinet, or perhaps your Grandmas, and come across any silver or silver plated spoons you'd like to donate I will happily take them off your hands and pass them along to Alaine. The only thing required is that they come in a pair of two and are not stainless steel. Forks, large spoons, small spoons, even demitasse spoons would work.

Giving Back

I've has always felt it was important to give to those in need. Sometimes we can give in small ways that we had never thought of! One of those ways is in donating your small toiletry samples you receive while staying in hotels. These samples are collected and then distributed in a few different ways. Some are given to womens shelters where women in distress seek refuge, others are given to those living on the streets of Vancouver - everyone deserves to feel clean don't they? The rest are packaged up and sent to foreign countries for those less fortunate than us. If you travel, simply take along your own bar of soap, shampoo and conditioners. Remove the toiletries left by the hotel on a daily basis - a few nights at a hotel can fill up a small bag! Bring the bag of toiletries to Kellie's Bead Boutique where they will be passed along by me. A small gesture that can mean so much to those that need them.

New Year - more posts?

I made a vow last year to try and write more but I think I was a bit delusional! Starting up a bead store is a daunting task and it was all consumming for me. I think I've finally found my groove so I'm hoping that this will be the start of more posts......don't hold me to it though!!

My hubby and I decided to take a bit of a break over the Christmas holidays and we headed south to California to visit my Father. On our return trip home I asked my husband to indulge me and let me see as many bead stores along the way that I could. I found some very nice stores in towns that were so small they only had one gas station - who would have thought they'd have a bead store!! I found some rather disorganized and cluttered stores but mostly I found pleasant owners, cheery staff and loads and loads of cool beads! I popped by two stores where I know the owners. Carole from String Bead in Chico, California and Dusti from Beads at Dusti Creek in Portland, Oregan. Both these ladies have done a fabulous job with their stores. Carole has a workshop that made me green with envy and Dusti has used every bit of space to it's full potential - an organizers dream! It gave me some great ideas on how to improve my store and the first thing I did yesterday was rearrange my chain. Thanks Carole for the great idea. Lots more to come, now if I can only find time to do everything I want!

Class teaser

One of the more challenging parts of owning a store is coming up with projects for my classes. I have tons of ideas swirling around my head but with silver costs being so high these days I've had to tone down some of my designs. This has me using copper for just about everything! I had no idea what I was going to make today but after playing around a bit this is what I came up with. My version of an "urban dog tag". Hope you like it!