In July of 2000 I decided to share my collection of beads with friends who didn't have anywhere else in the area to shop for beading supplies. What began as a "room full of beads" in the parlor of my home grew so much that after about 2 years I moved the "store" to downtown Normal, IL (it WAS downtown then!). After about 2 years we outgrew our space and my good friend Shelley Nybakke found a gorgeous storefront in Bloomington, IL, our current location. About 2 years later (see a pattern here?) I grew weary of the accounting and business aspects of the store and was happy to sell the store to Shelley, an up and coming celebrity in the world of beading. She designed several awesome projects that are published in Bead and Button and Beadwork magazines and got too busy with designing and traveling across the nation for classes to keep up with the store - so guess what? Two years later she sold the store back to me! My husband (The Bead Dude) conveniently retired to help me with the store's accounting! SO.... I get to play with beads, Shelley gets to design and travel, The Bead Dude does the accounting and everybody's happy!
