I took my daughter (age 10) and her friend here yesterday. It was my first time in the shop. Where to begin with the praise...We were warmly greeted by two friendly women, Deb and Barb. My daughter and her friend began exploring the many containers of beads. They took genuine delight in watching the girls rummage and I never got the impression (that you often get in stores when you let your kids explore on their own) that the owners were anything but delighted to watch the girls creating. Barb pulled out a large wood bin of "scrap" beads and encouraged the girls to rummage through these beads because they would be so inexpensive. (The beads in this bin were great, everything from seed beads to hematite hearts.) It was very thoughtful of her to pull out the clearance bin for the girls.
I have never done beading before, so I decided to sit back and watch, which is very comfortable to do at the large table in the lower room, a table, I might add that is sitting in front of a real fireplace...perfect ambiance! My daughter came to the table and showed me what she had. I became intrigued by some beads she had chosen and wondered if I could make something from these wonderful beads. Deb came over to check if the girls needed anything, and I asked where I would begin if I wanted to make some earrings from the beads my daughter found.
Deb immediately got her tools, grabbed a few head pins laying around, and helped me add other beads (all from this discount bin) and showed me how to make a pair of earrings. In about 20 minutes, I had a pair of hand designed earrings that looked nicer than anything I've seen in your average earring shop and even nicer than what you often find at One World Goods (which has gorgeous earrings!). I was so excited and immediately felt them to be the perfect gift to give for a friend's birthday. And the cost for these custom made earrings? About $4.30!!! But they look like $25 earrings easily!
Also, when we were checking out, my daughter's friend had chosen a $2 lobster claw clasp, but Barb put that one back in a bin, chose a less expensive one for her that was even better quality. The girls had each filled a small plastic bag with beads from the clearance bin; she charged them maybe .25 for the whole bag.
I entered this store as a dutiful mother letting her daughter get some beads. I left the store totally hooked on making my own custom jewelry, and feeling confident that I can do it!
Five stars is not enough to rate this store. With their appealing merchandising in an absolutely comfortable atmosphere, combined with their warmth and expertise, the owners of Bead Breakout deserve all the success in the world! Congrats ladies on a stunning example of the best that small businesses have to offer!!
Postscript: We returned the next day for a special "trunk" sale. The place was packed, and Deb and Barb were there and treated us just as nicely as they did when we were the only ones in the store. And the owner, Andrea, came up to me, introduced herself, and was equally as approachable and helpful. Even when the store was packed, I felt just as welcome and found everyone to be just as helpful. read more