KAREN NAN DESIGNS

Ok, so i know it's been way too long since my last posting but it's been busy in the world of beads. Thank you to all who joined us at the recent Costa Mesa Gem Faire. It was a nice turn out and as always a lot of fun. Did anyone visit our beady friend Karen Nan outside in the patio area? She had her beautiful groovey wire wrapped hearts along with some really cute holiday kits. Which by the way are now in our shop :) Pumpkins and Christmas Trees! Oh my!

We are also proud to welcome a new class instructor...Karen Nan will be teaching in the shop. We love Karen. She is a genuinely heart felt nice person and also very very talented. She has quite a few classes coming up but it looks like "Animal Crackers" will be her most popular class. It's an adorable animal print themed wire wrapped charm bracelet. Her work is impecable and her techinque is amazing. Truly a gifted and talented bead artist. Her glass fused cabochons have been a huge hit in the shop and we can't seem to keep them in stock. We also love all of her other beautiful hearts and donuts and grooved pendants. They are all unique in color and texture and make beautiful gifts. Next time your in the shop take a look at them, they are really exquitsite. Ok, enough of my rambling...happy beading!

THANK YOU KELLY!

Well, its been a while since my last posting and since then so- much has happened. Beadology had it's first guest instructor in February, Kelly Angeley from Florence, Oregon. Kelly is such an awesome instructor and although she was temporarily "wheel chair" bound (from tripping over her beloved dog), she was able to spend quality time with each of us to give us nifty little beading tricks and treats. We were also honored to be able to see her amazing beaded collar up close and personal that toured Japan and was in an art collection with PABLO PICASSO, pretty impressive! I have to say, I'm totally addicted to bead embroidery and and I haven't been able to stop since she left four weeks ago. Cabachons are my new best friends! Next time you're in the store check out the cool new "Vintage" Japanese cabs that I found...so cool! They're pre WWII...that means they're freakin' OLD!
Thanks Kelly, we had so much fun and we, I was so honored to have you teach at Beadology....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEADOLOGY!

Well, Beadology celebrated it's first birthday last Saturday, November 10th. It was such an exciting fete! I can't believe it's already been ONE year! It went by so fast...I can't believe how quickly the time went by. Every day that the store has been opened has been such a joy. I feel so blessed to be doing what I love. Since the store opened it has never felt like it's been a job. I feel like everyday is a play day! Ok, so now I'm just bragging, LOL. But seriously, it truly has been a joy to come to work everyday and to see everyone's projects and be a part of my customer's lives. The store has also changed so much and we've added so many new things. Our seed bead collection is slowly growing and so has our selection of findings. I've also been busy trying to make new samples with some of our new glass and crystal beads. It's been hard trying to keep up, but it's always fun! I'm also working on the next class schedule for the next quarter as well as update our website. It's a pretty sorry site at the moment but I've been working hard getting a lot of new things posted. I think this next year will be even better than this last one and I can hardly wait to see what the future holds. Oh, last week we also found out that we got into the Costa Mesa Gem Faire. I'm really excited about that. I just think it's going to be so~ much fun and such a different experience than just selling beads in the store. I'm so grateful to have such supportive parents, as they will probably be the ones lugging all my stuff to and from the show! My poor Dad...he thought he would be spending his golden years on the golf course, probably traveling and just being a man of leisure...instead he's my dedicated worker bee, counting and packing until he's blue in the face! And my poor Mom! She already has a full time job and being the dedicated mom that she is, she never complains, actually I don't think she's had a day off for the past year. I'm so grateful... Well, I can't think of anything else to say (that's a first, haha)...so stay tuned...happy beading and good night!

OHANA FOREVER

Ok, so I've been trying to update the blog with pictures of the store from before we opened, a sort of before and after type deal but I don't know what my problem was but I just couldn't figure it out! And after a funny conversation with my cousin, VOILA! Geez, it only took me TWO WEEKS! Haha, anyway, we've come a long way since last year...the store looks SO DIFFERENT! We're already starting to run out of counter space...can you imagine? Anyway, I'm so glad that I know how to post pictures now! YAY!

Well, on my last posting I wrote about how blessed that I feel to have met so many creative and interesting people. Well there is one lady in particular that I met last year right after we opened that has made a special place in my heart. Her name is Gladys. She is a cheerful woman who is wise in her years that has really made an imprint on my soul. She just happened upon the shop one day and wandered in looking for beads to use in her needlepoint and knitting projects. She told me from the get-go that she is not a beader and didn't really have a desire to become a beader so, I would help her from time to time with choosing beads for her needlepoint and knitting. As time progressed I would see her more often and I could tell that she was taking more of an interest in some of the projects we were doing in our classes so I offered to get her started on a spiral necklace that she really liked. And so it goes, FIVE spiral necklaces later....she's now a beader and more importantly she has become "ohana"...family. She comes in three to four times a week just to sit and bead with me. I feel like I have known her for years. We have so much in common...she was born and raised in Kauai, my grandmother was born in Hawaii. Her husband is Okinawan, my grandparents are Okinawan. She is one of the most compassionate people that I have ever met and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful beading partner and friend. So when you happen to come by the shop and you see a cheerful Hawaiian lady sitting across from me, you'll know that this is Gladys and she is my dearest friend....

RETROSPECTIVE

Well, tonight John went to bed early so I decided to stay up and mess around on the computer and I found myself Google-ing Beadology. Nothing too interesting came up except my cousin Devon's blogspot and so here I am, somewhat inspired to- write something. Looking back now it's almost been a year since I started this crazy journey of being retail store owner, of a bead shop...I've always wanted my own shop, I don't know why...I don't even think I ever really thought too much about it and really didn't give it a second thought when I finally decided to just go for it. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but here I am. It's really a crazy thing, this whole bead shop thing. It's been SO MUCH FUN! I'm living my dream...I never thought I'd be here. Looking back I remember thinking to myself that this would never happen and I couldn't have imagined where I am today. I'm so grateful for all of the interesting and diverse people that I've met. I'm also so thankful for having such wonderful and supportive parents and family. My Dad is just AMAZING! Who would have guessed that he would retire from the printing industry (after 40 years of distinguished service) and be working with his daughter counting and selling BEADS! It's all pretty amazing.