Happy New Year's Eve!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!
Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the turn of the century and here we are entering the last year of the first decade - how did that happen? It seems the older I get the faster time passes - maybe I am just having more fun! I keep adding to my "bucket list" more things I want to be sure to try out in life! Owning a shop was one of those things and now I am about to enter my third year in that endeavor - so far we are managing to weather the storm (i.e. the economic one!) and I want to thank all of our faithful customers that have helped to support us in many ways throughout. We had a busy holiday season and great response to our new local arts and gift shop - thanks!

The bead shop continues to survive and I am getting quite a few requests for a class or two in the new year. I am working on an idea for a seed bead class. I just got a cool new book on 3-D shapes using the Peyote Stitch - lots of inspiration! I will be letting you know soon about a class. Keep checking the blog or come by the shop for more info in the new year.

As most know, the shop is closed until next Tuesday, December 5th. We have enjoyed the holiday hoopla, spending time with family and visiting out-of-town folks. I plan to spend these next few days crafting, reading, practicing guitar, exercising (my New Year's resolution!), and just relaxing at home - but I look forward to coming back to the shop next week refreshed and ready for a NEW YEAR!

Cheers, Susan

OK - finally a new post -it has busy since the reopening - I am having a lot of fun and we are constantly adding new things to the gift shop. Also, we haven't forgotten the bead shop! I have been busy buying lots of new beads and you can see some of our latest editions below in the pictures - we have tons of new Czech glass, stone, and pendants. I also added a great new line of Raku pottery beads by a couple from the northeast. The colors are wonderful and I love all of their designs including beads and pendants. I included pictures below. So come by and see what is new at Side Street Beads and All Good Arts and Gifts where you can find or make the perfect gift!

See you soon!
Susan

Socks for kids by Sabine Gannon

Hello all!
We are starting to see those beautiful vivid blue skies (in between all those rainy days) which means that Fall is here! Fall Festival in Watkinsville is Saturday, October 17th from 9:00-4:00. We will have several of our artists here that day as well as a few others showing (and selling) their work. We will be well-stocked with lots of unique gifts. Come by and say hello and get an early start on your holiday shopping.

During the first few weeks since the opening of All Good Arts & Gifts we have had lots of visitors and great first reactions to the new addition to Side Street Beads! People really seem to like the store. I have tried to find a variety of new and different kinds of gifts and artists. We have jewelry (of course) by Kenneth Kase, Wendy Wiggins, Leslie Patterson, Sara Kesler and Susan Cooper as well as vintage and repurposed jewelry by JoAnn Daniel. We have wonderful bags by Angela Ielasi and knitted baby sweaters and socks by Sabine Gannon. Virginia Daniel is creating wonderful old-fashioned baby blankets, jackets and booties. And Barbara Johnston has some wonderful functional pottery. And I have in my spare time been creating a few felted, hats, bowls and flowers for the shop. Below are a few photos from the shop. This is just a sampling and we are adding all the time.

Bags by Angela Ielasi

Pottery by Barbara Johnston

Pin by Kenneth Kase

Earrings by Leslie Patterson

So if you haven't been by yet to see the new shop I will be looking for you at Fall Festival - we will be decked out! It should be lots of fun! Also, not to forget Side Street Beads, everyone loves the new layout in the back room. Several have commented that it is easier to navigate and see everything in the new bead room.

So hope to see you soon! Susan

OPEN HOUSE, Saturday, September 19th

We will be celebrating the reopening of Side Street Beads and All Good Arts and Gifts this Saturday, September 19th all day long. Come by for some tasty treats from the Granary in Watkinsville, door prizes and fun! Hope to see you.

Susan

Welcome to Side Street Beads and All Good Arts and Gifts

I am excited and proud to announce that we have officially reopened as Side Street Beads and All Good Arts and Gifts. The beads are still here and we have added many new strands of stone and have restocked findings and supplies. More beads will be coming soon. The bead shop is in the back room with a big center table for working and designing surrounded by bins and walls of beads. We have a wide range of beautiful local handcrafts and Fair Trade (and fairly traded) gifts of adornment for you and your home. We are continuing to search for new artists from around Georgia and the world that you may not have discovered yet. Come by and see what we have found so far. We have new and vintage jewelry, hats, scarves, bags, pottery, and more. Although we are already open for business, our official OPEN HOUSE is this Saturday all day long. We will have snacks from The Granary in Watkinsville (yum!) and door prizes. Hope you can make it by to see us and the newly renovated shop.

Sincerely, Susan

Change of Date for Grand Reopening

Hello All,
I have been working day and night trying to get ready to reopen as Side Street Beads and All Good Gifts. But now the reality of how big this project is has hit me hard! I have decided to give myself a few extra days and hence I am changing the date of the Reopening.

We will reopen next Tuesday, September 15th at 11:00 and we will have our Grand Reopening Celebration on Saturday, September 19th all day long. Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Susan

ALL GOOD GIFTS coming September 12th to SIDE STREET BEADS

Hello everybody. Sorry it has been so long since my last post! I have been very busy because in less than two weeks we will be reopening as Side Street Beads and All Good Gifts. I am so excited and am looking forward to our Grand Opening on Saturday, September 12th. Also, I want to let everyone know that we will be closed Tuesday (Sept 8th) thru Friday (Sept 11th), the week before, to make the transition.

I have been buying and making and finding really cool locally made, fair trade and recycled items for the gift shop. The main focus of the shop will be to connect you with your community, the world and even the past while providing you with gifts that will make you feel good about what you are buying and what you are giving. The theme of the shop is adornment for both you and your home. I look forward to sharing this new addition to Side Street Beads. Oh, and don't worry - I will also be adding lots of new beads in the bead shop. We will continue to be a full service bead shop.

So make sure you mark your calendar for Saturday, September 12th from 11:00-6:00. We will have refreshments, a drawing for gift certificates and more and lots of fun on Saturday so come by and check out the new shop! Hope to see you then. I better get back to work - lots to do!!!!!!

Sincerely, Susan

CLOSINGS, TEACHER DISCOUNTS & BEADY BUNCH

Hello, again and I hope everyone is staying cool! I imagine many are getting ready for back to school. My youngest starts college this year - where did all the time go! Am I really that old? I feel like I am just getting going!

CLOSING! I will be closing the store Friday, August 14th and Saturday, August 15th to take my son to college but will be back on Tuesday.

With the start of school we will have our annual teacher discount week from August 4th-8th. Just let us know that you are a school teacher and you will receive a 20% discount on your entire purchase.

Also, don't forget Beady Bunch the 1st Wednesday of August - that is August 5th beginning around 5:00 and everyone, as always, is welcome. Bring some beading to show-off or a project to work on or just come for a chat. I will supply something cool to drink - you can bring a snack to share but it is not required.

More information about new items in the store coming soon!

Hope to see you soon, Susan

That was easy!

Okay, that was easy!
So here are a couple of more
pictures of some of our new beads.

New Sliced Aagate Pendants

Lots of New Beads

Hello Everyone,
It will take me awhile to get used to blogging. The learning curve keeps getting steeper the older I get and I am just not in tune with the cyber world. That aside, we have lots of new beads in at Side Street Beads including new Czech glass, stone and pearls and lots of interesting beads and pendants from around the world. I hope you can get by to see what we have - some items are going fast. I will be ordering a few more stones in the next week (strands in particular) and will get in more beaded jewelry from a line that has been quite popular in the past.

On a different note, Beady Bunch will be meeting on August 5th starting around 5:00 and as always everyone is welcome. We will have snacks, do some beading and talking and just have fun so we hope you can make it.

We are continuing with our basic beading classes, crimping and finishing and basic wirewrap on an as-needed basis. These are private classes at just $10 each and all the money goes to charity. I am considering offering a few other classes including peyote stitch and a wire-work class. If you are interested in seeing more classes offered at Side Street Beads, please let me know which days/times are good and what kinds of classes you are interested in. I would like to test the water and see if the economy is ready yet!

That is it for now. I will try to post pictures of new merchandise when I figure out how. Come see us before the school rush starts - I will being taking my youngest to college in August. That reminds me - I will be closed on Friday, August 14th to do that!

See you soon! Susan

Welcome to Our New Blog!

Hi Everyone and welcome to our new blog page (sidestreetbeads@blogspot.com). This is a work in progress so thank you in advance for your patience. We will be replacing our website with a blog page. This will allow us to update what is happening at Side Street Beads on a more regular basis. We will post when we receive new inventory, when we offer new classes as well as information about upcoming events at the shop and locally. Thanks and I hope you will visit often to find out about what is going on at Side Street Beads!
Sincerely, Susan