When Katie Freeland of Southgate was getting married last fall, she spent hours choosing just the right wedding dress and perfect attire for her five bridesmaids. The chocolate brown dresses that she found for the bridesmaids were perfect, but finding jewelry to fit the style and color proved to be difficult.
She found just the thing with the help of some experts.
A fri/files/storyimages/told her about a bead shop, After Glow Lapidary and Beads, and she designed the necklaces and earrings herself, with the assistance of experienced jewelry crafters at the store. She selected beads to match the bridesmaids' dresses and her wedding gown, and from there it was easy.
"They laid out three or four different patterns that included different styles and different colors of beads and I just selected which one I liked," Freeland said. "Cost-wise, it was very comparable to what you'd pay for pre-made jewelry at the mall, if not cheaper."
According to store owners and beaders, Derby and Christmas also are high-demand times for custom jewelry.
The ability to customize jewelry is one of the reasons that beading has had a surge of growth in recent years - and not just for crafters; many men and women are learning the art of creating jewelry and are making money from it.
One of those jewelry-makers, Pam Turnbull, saw the rising interest and began selling beads on eBay.
In October 2004, the Oldham County resident opened a bead shop, Beadlings, in Dorsey Plaza on Shelbyville Road.
"Before opening Beadlings, I sold beaded jewelry at local art and craft shows," she said. "After noticing that there were more and more beaders at each show, I began selling the beads and materials for this growing industry."
Barbara Felker, who co-owns After Glow Lapidary & Beads with Sandy Bass, said that more than 50 percent of her customers are producing jewelry for resale.
This isn't costume jewelry made of plastic beads either.
Read more at ://www.voice-tribune.com/BeadJewelry.html
