I had a visit from a new supplier yesterday who carries several very cool lines, from which I bought a lot of new stuff, including...
Chains: Some with large links, some small links, some elaborate chains with lots of dangly bits - all of it brass, but in different finishes including antique brass, antique copper, antique silver, shiny silver, gold and copper. I asked about tarnish resistance and he said it should ALL be extremely tarnish resistant - even the silver-plated stuff. I'm not sure when I'll get what I ordered - probably in a week or so.
Charms, focal pieces, etc.: He has a small assortment of this so far, but I got some really good stuff. Much of it is very similar in design to Vintaj brass but in addition to brass, I'll have antique copper and silver plated pieces as well. The brass is not as dark as Vintaj, just as gorgeous, AND less expensive! Hopefully I'll have this stuff in a week or so.
Shell and Wood beads and pendants: This is what I was most excited about. The supplier was referred to me by a bead shop I visited in Connecticut recently. I was really impressed with their wood pendants, so I'm very excited to be able to offer some to my peeps! He told me I was barely "scratching the surface" of what he can supply in this area, which is REALLY exciting! I bought a good bit of stuff - especially pendants and large beads. Some of the Black-Lip shell pendants will be engrave-able too. It's produced in the Philippines, and by custom order only, so it will go into production right away but not be here for about 6 weeks. I'll surely let you know when it arrives!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Hours of Operation
Here are our standard hours of operation:
Sunday 1 - 5 p.m.
Mon. - Wed. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Thurs. - 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Fri. - 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sat. - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
We are closed on New Year's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and open a "short day" (11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) on New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve and Boxing Day
We can also arrange "Private shopping time" for groups by appointment.
Call us for more information at 770-667-1233.
Thanks!
Sunday 1 - 5 p.m.
Mon. - Wed. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Thurs. - 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Fri. - 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sat. - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
We are closed on New Year's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and open a "short day" (11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) on New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve and Boxing Day
We can also arrange "Private shopping time" for groups by appointment.
Call us for more information at 770-667-1233.
Thanks!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
return to bead bayou website
http://www.bead-bayou.com/ Click here to return to bead bayou's website.
bead bayou will be closed tomorrow to celebrate Easter. Celebrate we will, but no cellophane will be sacrificed.
I'll never forget the first time I heard someone say: "What are you getting your kids for Easter?" WHAT?! Thank goodness my kids were already grown at that point, so I didn't have to wonder if I should be getting them something for Easter. When I was a kid, we barely even got an Easter basket! We dyed eggs, my parents hid them in the yard, and on Easter morning - after church - we rounded up some baskets and searched for the eggs. We NEVER had cellophane wrapped baskets with the grass and chocolate bunnies and such. And I always WANTED that grass! I so envied the kids that had the fancy baskets with the grass and chocolate bunnies just like I envied the kids that ate "dinner" instead of "supper" and had "couches" instead of "sofas".
So when MY kids were little, they got baskets with grass and bunnies AND we dyed eggs and hunted for them (that really is fun, I have to admit). But it took me many years to understand that my parents really had it right - Easter is about the man, not the stuff. When you get right down to it, it should really be more important to Christians than Christmas, since it's the day Jesus was REborn after making the ultimate sacrifice for us - a sacrifice for which I am grateful.
I must admit at this point that I do not currently have a "church home" although I'd like to. Throughout my life I've struggled with this. I think I NEED a church home to help me learn and serve and stay focused; at the same time, I think I can and should worship and witness and serve every single day, wherever I am, and - as a Christian - feel that I should be doing my best to emulate Christ or at least try to understand and embrace his message. If I were a Buddhist, Jew, Muslim, Hindu or whatever, I'd be doing my best to emulate/understand the teachings of a different leader. (Shockingly enough, I don't believe there's only one true religion.)
Here's another scene from the past:
Nick: "Nanny (note: my mom) wants to know why we don't go to church."
Me: "Because, Nick, churches are so full of hypocrites."
Cut to three days later:
Nick: "I told Nanny what you said about hypocrites and she said 'and every time your mother walks through the door, there's one more.'"
Whoa! The truth sure hurts, eh? She was (is) so right! I know it's wrong to look for perfection in a church, or any body of people, for that matter. I'm not really looking for perfection, just: 1) a riveting sermon that will stay with me for at least a few days, 2) beautiful, traditional music, well-played and well-sung, 3) meaningful ceremony, and 4) at least a few people who really seem to embody what Jesus was all about, which in my mind can be summed up: "Love one another". I've had that before, and it was so great, it's just been hard to replicate. But I'm still working on it. Maybe I'll find it tomorrow.
So when MY kids were little, they got baskets with grass and bunnies AND we dyed eggs and hunted for them (that really is fun, I have to admit). But it took me many years to understand that my parents really had it right - Easter is about the man, not the stuff. When you get right down to it, it should really be more important to Christians than Christmas, since it's the day Jesus was REborn after making the ultimate sacrifice for us - a sacrifice for which I am grateful.
I must admit at this point that I do not currently have a "church home" although I'd like to. Throughout my life I've struggled with this. I think I NEED a church home to help me learn and serve and stay focused; at the same time, I think I can and should worship and witness and serve every single day, wherever I am, and - as a Christian - feel that I should be doing my best to emulate Christ or at least try to understand and embrace his message. If I were a Buddhist, Jew, Muslim, Hindu or whatever, I'd be doing my best to emulate/understand the teachings of a different leader. (Shockingly enough, I don't believe there's only one true religion.)
Here's another scene from the past:
Nick: "Nanny (note: my mom) wants to know why we don't go to church."
Me: "Because, Nick, churches are so full of hypocrites."
Cut to three days later:
Nick: "I told Nanny what you said about hypocrites and she said 'and every time your mother walks through the door, there's one more.'"
Whoa! The truth sure hurts, eh? She was (is) so right! I know it's wrong to look for perfection in a church, or any body of people, for that matter. I'm not really looking for perfection, just: 1) a riveting sermon that will stay with me for at least a few days, 2) beautiful, traditional music, well-played and well-sung, 3) meaningful ceremony, and 4) at least a few people who really seem to embody what Jesus was all about, which in my mind can be summed up: "Love one another". I've had that before, and it was so great, it's just been hard to replicate. But I'm still working on it. Maybe I'll find it tomorrow.
Can you get here from there?
Yes - you CAN get here from there! If you have GPS, enter our address as 5155 Atlanta Rd., Alpharetta, GA 30004. That should work. If you don't, here's how to get to us from Ga 400:
If you're coming from south of us, take exit 12B, McFarland Rd. West. You'll go 2.5 miles along McFarland until it T's into Atlanta Rd. Turn right and we're about 1.8 miles from there, on the right, in Mardi Gras Plaza shopping center.
If you're coming from north of us, take exit 13, then take the first left, which is Hwy 9 (Atlanta Hwy). We're about 5 miles down the road. You'll know you're almost there when you see a Publix shopping center on your right and Ace Hardware on the left. At the next traffic light, you can turn left, take the little street between the bank and the daycare center and that will bring you up behind the shopping center. You'll figure it out from there!
If you're coming from south of us, take exit 12B, McFarland Rd. West. You'll go 2.5 miles along McFarland until it T's into Atlanta Rd. Turn right and we're about 1.8 miles from there, on the right, in Mardi Gras Plaza shopping center.
If you're coming from north of us, take exit 13, then take the first left, which is Hwy 9 (Atlanta Hwy). We're about 5 miles down the road. You'll know you're almost there when you see a Publix shopping center on your right and Ace Hardware on the left. At the next traffic light, you can turn left, take the little street between the bank and the daycare center and that will bring you up behind the shopping center. You'll figure it out from there!
Lily's first blog
I do not have a facebook page, I refuse to text, I don't even know what twitter is - but now I have my own BLOG. By the way, could they have come up with an UGLIER name for this? BLOG. I decided it was time to blog because it's the first thing on my mind each morning - I often wake up thinking BLOG... or maybe it's BLAH? Oh well, it's done now and gives me just one more thing to keep up with! I should be able to keep up with this, though, and if I organize it well, it will be a good way for you to see what's up with us easily. I'm interested in your thoughts about that...
So, here's what's new at the bayou:
- Seed beads are on sale in April - 25% off! That includes charlottes, bugles, cubes, Delicas, hanks, etc. - all of 'em. And we recently received 100 pounds of new ones, so there are lots of choices!
- ZUMBA! Yes, Zumba is coming! No, we're not going to be doing it in the shop - but right next door! Our friend Margit has been teaching this incredibly fun Latin-dance-esque form of exercise for a while and we think we can round up enough folks to get her out to teach a weekly class for us. Unfortunately, the space is not available right now in the evening, so she's working on getting a daytime class going. She's offering a free class next Thursday, April 8th at 10 a.m. If you want to know a little more about ZUMBA, just google it and you'll see lots of places you can look at videos and such. The main thing is, it's upbeat, great Latin music, easy steps (and I guess it doesn't even matter if you get the steps just right as long as you're moving your body to the music but don't tell Margit I said so) and Margit says the more people there are, the more fun it is. So try to join us for this free class next week. Rachel and I are going to do it for sure - we're just wondering how well it's going to work out for us to work up a sweat, then open the shop at 11! Maybe I'll just get the landlord to install a shower for us...
- We're having a "box show" the last week in April - starting April 25th. One of my suppliers often sends me boxes of new stuff "on approval", and I buy what I want and send the rest back. Sometimes I love it all and want to keep it all and maybe you all don't love it as much as I do, so it sits around until I finally put it on clearance. And even though I try to buy stuff I DON'T like, thinking not everyone shares my taste, I still fail to anticipate everyone's desires and the coming trends sometimes. So THIS time, I'm going to spread out all the stuff on my big table and let you take your pick BEFORE I make my picks and return the rest. Doesn't that sound great?!
- Be sure to go to the website and check out the classes coming up this month. (http://www.bead-bayou.com/) There are some good old standbys, some exciting new ones, and I'm actually planning to teach that microme toursade class that so many of you have asked for. I'm making kits for it, and am working on my second sample right now - I have just one little "issue" to resolve then it will go on the calendar.
- Speaking of the website... I love our new site and I'm having lots of fun messing around with it. I started with a template recommended to me by a professional photographer. I went to her site and it was so beautiful - clean, spare, refreshing, easy to navigate, uncluttered - everything I wanted mine to be - so I bought the template. I soon learned that it really DOESN'T fit my needs to a T, but I still love the look, so I'm working at making it work. So in the meantime, I think I can use this blog to respond to problems you might have with it, and provide some pointers on making it work. For example - the only way I can make the full written descriptions appear on the class samples is to put them in a "sale" gallery, so on each one there's a "BUY" button. It doesn't do anything, though, so don't try to register using the BUY button. Maybe we will be able to do that at some point, but not yet. If you have problems with the site, let me know and I'll see if I can figure out how to make it work better for you.
I could go on and on, but it's after 9 a.m. and I'm still sitting here in my jammies when I should be on my way to the shop, so that's all for now!
In closing, just let me tell you how very much we appreciate you guys! When I thank God for everything he's done for me Rachel is at the top of my list (second only to my wonderful husband, Jim, who supports me in too many ways to mention!) and our wonderful "peeps" (that's you - our customers who have become friends for whom we care deeply) are way up there too. Truly. It's a delight to see you walk through the door.
Bead well!
So, here's what's new at the bayou:
- Seed beads are on sale in April - 25% off! That includes charlottes, bugles, cubes, Delicas, hanks, etc. - all of 'em. And we recently received 100 pounds of new ones, so there are lots of choices!
- ZUMBA! Yes, Zumba is coming! No, we're not going to be doing it in the shop - but right next door! Our friend Margit has been teaching this incredibly fun Latin-dance-esque form of exercise for a while and we think we can round up enough folks to get her out to teach a weekly class for us. Unfortunately, the space is not available right now in the evening, so she's working on getting a daytime class going. She's offering a free class next Thursday, April 8th at 10 a.m. If you want to know a little more about ZUMBA, just google it and you'll see lots of places you can look at videos and such. The main thing is, it's upbeat, great Latin music, easy steps (and I guess it doesn't even matter if you get the steps just right as long as you're moving your body to the music but don't tell Margit I said so) and Margit says the more people there are, the more fun it is. So try to join us for this free class next week. Rachel and I are going to do it for sure - we're just wondering how well it's going to work out for us to work up a sweat, then open the shop at 11! Maybe I'll just get the landlord to install a shower for us...
- We're having a "box show" the last week in April - starting April 25th. One of my suppliers often sends me boxes of new stuff "on approval", and I buy what I want and send the rest back. Sometimes I love it all and want to keep it all and maybe you all don't love it as much as I do, so it sits around until I finally put it on clearance. And even though I try to buy stuff I DON'T like, thinking not everyone shares my taste, I still fail to anticipate everyone's desires and the coming trends sometimes. So THIS time, I'm going to spread out all the stuff on my big table and let you take your pick BEFORE I make my picks and return the rest. Doesn't that sound great?!
- Be sure to go to the website and check out the classes coming up this month. (http://www.bead-bayou.com/) There are some good old standbys, some exciting new ones, and I'm actually planning to teach that microme toursade class that so many of you have asked for. I'm making kits for it, and am working on my second sample right now - I have just one little "issue" to resolve then it will go on the calendar.
- Speaking of the website... I love our new site and I'm having lots of fun messing around with it. I started with a template recommended to me by a professional photographer. I went to her site and it was so beautiful - clean, spare, refreshing, easy to navigate, uncluttered - everything I wanted mine to be - so I bought the template. I soon learned that it really DOESN'T fit my needs to a T, but I still love the look, so I'm working at making it work. So in the meantime, I think I can use this blog to respond to problems you might have with it, and provide some pointers on making it work. For example - the only way I can make the full written descriptions appear on the class samples is to put them in a "sale" gallery, so on each one there's a "BUY" button. It doesn't do anything, though, so don't try to register using the BUY button. Maybe we will be able to do that at some point, but not yet. If you have problems with the site, let me know and I'll see if I can figure out how to make it work better for you.
I could go on and on, but it's after 9 a.m. and I'm still sitting here in my jammies when I should be on my way to the shop, so that's all for now!
In closing, just let me tell you how very much we appreciate you guys! When I thank God for everything he's done for me Rachel is at the top of my list (second only to my wonderful husband, Jim, who supports me in too many ways to mention!) and our wonderful "peeps" (that's you - our customers who have become friends for whom we care deeply) are way up there too. Truly. It's a delight to see you walk through the door.
Bead well!
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