Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Support Your local Bead Store
Welcome to Susan's Musings - a bead blog for all
I'm Susan Sherman and I own the Gahanna Bead Studio in Gahanna, Ohio. I believe our business is built on not only quality, variety and competitive prices but creativity and personalized attention. This blog is my way of encouraging a dialogue about our shop, the bead business, fashion trends, questions, techniques - anything your little heart feels like sharing.
I'm sitting at a Panera's in Lakeland, Florida. (My daughter, Eryn goes to college here). Directly across the parking lot from me is a very large bead store.
Unfortunately, their lease expires in June. They are not renewing it and are moving to an on-line store only. There is currently one bead store still open in Lakeland, FL. I think there were three in August when I was here. The remaining bead store, Yia Yia Beads (Eryn works there) moved from a larger location to a smaller one to cut expenses in an attempt to keep a retail presence. While they had no way of knowing they would be the only retail store in town eventually, they have lucked out(and hopefully will soon need that larger space).
BTW - even though I own a shop I always buy from other shops when I am in their area. I can safely say I have bought from every bead shop in Columbus, as well. Why??? Because I want to not only "talk the talk" but "walk the walk". How can I encourage friends of the GBS to support us and other local shops if I don't set an example?
I understand why shop owners might want to move to an online presence only - it's a heck of a lot cheaper and way less hassle. Except for the most important factor - beads are a tactile experience and bead artists are tactile and visual. Two things that are difficult to achieve on-line.
Don't get me wrong, there's definitely a place for online bead shopping. My point is - we need to support our local bead shops. Without them, we won't be able to see, feel, touch, caress, the beads.
Love to hear your comments. And remember -
BEADS . . . the legal addiction©
Susan
I'm Susan Sherman and I own the Gahanna Bead Studio in Gahanna, Ohio. I believe our business is built on not only quality, variety and competitive prices but creativity and personalized attention. This blog is my way of encouraging a dialogue about our shop, the bead business, fashion trends, questions, techniques - anything your little heart feels like sharing.
I'm sitting at a Panera's in Lakeland, Florida. (My daughter, Eryn goes to college here). Directly across the parking lot from me is a very large bead store.
Unfortunately, their lease expires in June. They are not renewing it and are moving to an on-line store only. There is currently one bead store still open in Lakeland, FL. I think there were three in August when I was here. The remaining bead store, Yia Yia Beads (Eryn works there) moved from a larger location to a smaller one to cut expenses in an attempt to keep a retail presence. While they had no way of knowing they would be the only retail store in town eventually, they have lucked out(and hopefully will soon need that larger space).
BTW - even though I own a shop I always buy from other shops when I am in their area. I can safely say I have bought from every bead shop in Columbus, as well. Why??? Because I want to not only "talk the talk" but "walk the walk". How can I encourage friends of the GBS to support us and other local shops if I don't set an example?
I understand why shop owners might want to move to an online presence only - it's a heck of a lot cheaper and way less hassle. Except for the most important factor - beads are a tactile experience and bead artists are tactile and visual. Two things that are difficult to achieve on-line.
Don't get me wrong, there's definitely a place for online bead shopping. My point is - we need to support our local bead shops. Without them, we won't be able to see, feel, touch, caress, the beads.
Love to hear your comments. And remember -
BEADS . . . the legal addiction©
Susan
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