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Written by Dara Spiotto
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Monday, 22 October 2007 |
 The Bead Store Life
Recently someone said to me, “Wouldn’t it be great to work in a bead store?” I said YES, having been blessed to work in 3 bead stores in my life so far. Then she said, “Imagine, it must be so great to sit and bead all day, and get paid for it!” Yeah, right.
More than a decade ago I managed a book store in a small city in Maine. I was always aghast when people came in and said how great it must be to work there, since you must sit around and read all day. I would take a moment to revel in the bliss of what that must be like, with my feet on my desk and a glass of raspberry iced tea in my hand and my nose buried in the latest Janet Evanovich. And then I would jolt back into reality and set them straight. Book store people wear sneakers for a reason. In fact, their heels rarely touch the floor. They’re jogging in place so they can dash off at a moments notice to shelve  books, organize sections, put out new releases, help customers, pull returns, clean, and SELL, SELL, SELL among a million other things. I remember going home in the middle of the day because I was so dirty and sweaty that I needed to shower and change my clothes before tackling more work, especially for holiday set-ups or in house events. Read, my butt.
Bead, My Butt
Oh, and bead, my butt, too. I can’t tell you how many bead store owners look at me with eyes glazed over when I’ve asked them when the last time was that they beaded. They don’t have time to tie their shoes, forget about designing a bracelet. But oh, how they wish they did have time. I think they live vicariously through their customers, who sit and lounge at the bead table and put together a pretty anklet they’re planning to wear with the new sandals they just got on sale. Even thought they’re helping customers crimp their necklaces and wire wrap a pendant, it just doesn’t mean the same as working on a project that YOU want to work on. I guess technically you’re beading, but it’s not exactly the same. Hey, at least your beading, right?
 My friend Irene used to be a telephone operator for over 20 years. She liked her job a lot, because they allowed her to work on her beading while she waited for calls to come in. She even sold her beadwork to her co-workers occasionally. Then they moved her job to somewhere near Santa Monica. In California freeway translation, that’s hours of driving time, instead of beading time! So she said no. And she and her husband decided to open a store. In the beginning it was a little Mom & Pop shop. Now it’s a big Mom & Pop shop with tons of customers. And Irene is the exception, she makes time for beading by taking classes offered in her store, and other stores (gasp!). She brings her beads with her for the weekend, camping trips, etc. She makes jewelry for her store and encourages her staff to do the same. She manages to take time to bead, and yet her store is full of hand picked things that fill her cases and walls. Her store has personality. Each day she wears her latest beadwork as she helps customers, and they revel in it.
 Just a Job?
One bead store employee in another store once said, “I don’t really care about beads. This is just my job.” and I thought, well, get out then. Move along so someone who’s passionate about beads can come to work every day and LOVE it. Why work anywhere you don’t jump out of bed with joy in your heart because you can’t wait to get there? If you’ve got a choice, then work where your heart will pitter pat faster. It's not enough to just exist in your job. If you’re just existing, then it's obvious to the world, just as if you’re in love with what you do it shows. For those people who are occupying a bead store position and don’t really care about it… move along, sistah!
Dozens of people have approached me at trunk shows to offer their help to me. They want to do what I do, and make it clear that they’re available. When I decided to stop doing trunk shows I had so many phone calls and offers from people willing to take my place. I would see their eyes blaze with excitement at the thought of selling beads, being in bead stores and hanging with bead people. I know how they feel, since I lived that life for so long, and it’s the best there is. For me anyway. I wonder if those people really know how labor intensive it is to do shows like this. The work behind the scenes is all consuming in preparation, and then on top of that the stuff is HEAVY! My little bead car chugs along the California highways at a mega-slow pace. My car is a lethal weapon, and if I ever hit anyone we could both be gonners. My husband Jim always says (as he helps me load my car), “Why can’t you sell vintage COTTON BALLS?? How about vintage FEATHERS??” :-)
 Beady Atmosphere
Have you ever gone to a bead store because you just want to be there? No shopping intended, really. Many do. They just want to soak up some beady atmosphere and linger a while. Take a break from life and run their hands down the stone strands. Plunge their fingers into the bead soup. Understandable. It's like a retreat. Try it. Stick your hands into beads and close your eyes. Soon you start wiggling your fingers and feeling them. You forget about your worries and you start thinking about beads. Then take a look around. Soon you’ll be inspired by color, texture, size, shape, design, composition, and more stuff, and then you’ll feel your creative juices flowing like rapids. So have a seat at the work table and make something. And if you ask a bead store employee to help you, remember that it may be the only beading they get done that day!
High five to all you bead industry employees out there who work so hard to supply us all with our bead needs. You guys rock!
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