Friday 2 October 2015

It Started With One Little Bead, Actually One Little Idea


How My Business Started
As some of you might know my business had 3 beginnings, I know, you are asking, how can you have 3 beginnings, hang on and I will explain, so I will break it down into 3 chapters for you.
It Actually Didn't, start with one bead,but it was one little Idea,
And so the Saga begins
One Summer, I had visited my Friend's shop in Ballymena, she owned a shop that sold food, drink and other stuff from her own country, which was Romania.
Her husband would travel to Romania, once every 6 weeks to get supplies for to sell in the shop. On one such expedition, he had to stop in Paris, as he had to stop over, as his ferry back to Northern Ireland was not till the next day, while he was there, he bought her a beautiful Amethyst Bracelet, which had been made using Memory Wire and Amethyst Chips .

She showed me this and we talked about how beautiful it was, Then she wondered if we could buy stuff to make jewellery, ( Now at this stage, I would like to explain to you, Firstly I had no idea how to make jewellery, or what memory wire or Amethyst chips were, or where i would even get any of this stuff.) So i agreed to have a look and see what I could find. ( Also remember I was no Spring Chicken, so this was a complete new and unknown Field for me)
And so, Sitting down in front of my Computer, I began to search eBay, I was smitten almost right away. There was so much, beautiful Beads & stuff , I was like a child in a toy shop. Eventually, I picked some beads and stuff and ordered them.
The next 2 days, were like forever, meanwhile, I discovered online Bead shops, that only made matters worse, More stuff was ordered, all I saw was Shiny Things, Different Colours, So much choice. Days after beads & supplies began to arrive, I had now one Box of beads, which then turned into 2 and then it snowballed into 8.
So I had got myself beads, now what was I do with them. another 3 days of sifting through Websites for ideas & tutorials, then discovered that a shop in town sold Beading magazines.
I first learned how to use a head pin with beads, then how to crimp, then how to open jump rings and on and on till I had made some Bracelets & some Necklaces, looking back now, my work was really not the best made, but I sold a few things , which brought some money back in. I bought some Chain and began to make Charm bracelets.
That first Year from November to Christmas week, I made over 300 of those bracelets. I was working full time in a Hotel and coming home at night and making them till the early hours of the next morning.
The Next year,with the money that I had lifted from the charm bracelets, I bought wood and so on and my Brother in Law, David, build a stud wall in the Garage and a Word Bench. Now I had a Workshop, simply because my one box of beads, now had expanded from a box to being in the Box Room, The Kitchen & The Living Room. Now it was all under one roof and I began to work in Earnest at my jewellery making. My sister became interested and I taught her, how to make jewellery. I was turning out pieces and selling them and having a great time. I had a friend who was staying with me at the time and she too, began to make stuff. At this time she met an american guy and they became good friends and then, she moved out to live with her sister and I was back to my own making.
Eventually they became engaged and she moved out to Las Vegas and that is where the Second Chapter begins

More to come

www.wickedprincessbeads.co.uk
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