“For jewelry on a budget, go beading” |
| For jewelry on a budget, go beading Posted: 09 Jan 2011 08:47 PM PST RALEIGH -- The recession that has brought new cachet to frugality has boosted beading as a hobby and source of a little extra cash. Interest in jewelry-making is on the upswing, said local bead store owners and organizers of a two-day bead show that ended Sunday. "It always takes off in the recession years," said Jeri Mitsch, marketing director for the Intergalactic Bead & Jewelry Show, which holds about 40 shows along the East Coast and in the Midwest. "People stay home more and they look for other ways to earn income - they look for something they love doing." On Sunday, hundreds of hobbyists browsed a room at the Brownstone Hotel, where beads of shiny metal and colored stone and glass beckoned. Linda Minor, who teaches classes at the show and has a shop in Charlotte, said beading has expanded as a hobby as people find pleasure in making jewelry for themselves and to give as gifts. "People believe they can get a quality item," she said. Attendance at Intergalactic shows jumped about 30 percent in the past year, Mitsch said. The show's Triangle stop attracted 1,000 visitors last year, up from 750 the year before. Bead show shoppers said the show has a variety of beads the chain craft shops and big discount stores don't offer. Some enthusiasts, including Catherine Pope of Cary, were thinking of selling their creations online. Pope was at the show with her sisters, who gushed about how easy it was to create their own designs to keep and give away. "If it comes from your heart, it gives people such happiness," Pope said. Moving through the displays, LaMae Balser of Raleigh said she picks up three or four of an item if she finds something she likes: Chances are a friend will ask her to copy something she made for herself. Balser said she has sold a few items since picking up the hobby in earnest a few years ago, and she has given away more. "It's fun to have made it yourself," she said. "You can have a piece that's unique." Local bead store owners said class enrollment and holiday sales were up. The Bead Store in Carrboro saw a 25 percent jump in holiday sales, manager Evan Smith said. "A lot of people can't go out and buy fine jewelry," she said, "and they find out they can make it themselves for a fraction of the cost." April Cain, co-owner of Beadazzled, said the Cary store is offering 12 beading classes this year, twice as many as a couple of years ago. "The beauty of beads is that people can continue to make unique pieces for their tastes but also for their budgets," she said. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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