SHOP TALK
Thursday, August 21, 2008 3:01 AM
A weekly chat with a store owner or clerk in central Ohio
Lisa Busch
Thursday, August 21, 2008 3:01 AM
A weekly chat with a store owner or clerk in central Ohio
Lisa Busch
41
owner
1 Stop Bead Shop
2752 Festival Lane, on the Northwest Side
(614-573-6452)
Q: What's the vision behind your store?
A: My concept was that it would be the Cheers of beading -- the place where everybody knows your name. It has become a community of beaders.
Q: When did you begin beading?
A: Six years ago. The sparkle is probably what gets you first, but the thing that has kept me going is beadwork.
Q: When did you decide to start the store?
A: I had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years. I decided it was time for me to go back to work, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. My husband and I were talking one night, and he said, "What do you want to do?" I said, "Open a bead store." That was in December (2004), and I signed the contract in March.
Q: What's the vision behind your store?
A: My concept was that it would be the Cheers of beading -- the place where everybody knows your name. It has become a community of beaders.
Q: When did you begin beading?
A: Six years ago. The sparkle is probably what gets you first, but the thing that has kept me going is beadwork.
Q: When did you decide to start the store?
A: I had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years. I decided it was time for me to go back to work, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. My husband and I were talking one night, and he said, "What do you want to do?" I said, "Open a bead store." That was in December (2004), and I signed the contract in March.
Q: What does your store look like inside?
A: Our motto is "Come sit and bead with us." I've given up a lot of retail space for two big tables with everything you need. All the walls are draped in beads -- it's pretty and it's sparkly. It's not a bad place to hang out all day.
Q: Are most of the people who come in women?
A: Our demographic is women 30 to 60, but, you know, we do get some boys who are really into it. We have one boy, about 12 years old, who comes in with his mom, makes his own designs and sells them.
Q: What kind of beads are the most popular?
A: Our customers like bling. If it's sparkly and it's shiny, they like it. We don't do a lot of business in wood because customers don't buy it.
Q: You have beads with a Buckeye theme. Are they a big seller?
A: We really stock up for the season.
Q: What kind of classes do you offer?
A: For . . . September through December, we have 109 classes. It's not just putting beads on a string -- but that's fun, too.
Q: Do you need to take a class to bead?
A: For basic bead stringing, we can show you on the spot in a few minutes. You can . . . take a 10-minute lesson and walk out the door with something.
Q: What's your favorite part of the job?
A: People say, "I'm not creative." I encourage them to take a class. I love seeing women find something within themselves they didn't know existed.
-- Jill Laster jlaster@dispatch.com
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