My first job in retail was at a little bead store in Calgary called Beads and Plenty More. It was such a good job for me because I could work part time and be in the environment of one of my favourite hobbies. I love beads and creating earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Since working there, I love to go and check out other bead stores in my travels.
This past summer my family and I went to California for my cousins wedding and before we headed back home, we traveled up the Californian coast. We stopped for a night in Ventura, California. In the morning we walked down the streets and much to my surprise we found one of the nicest bead stores I’ve been to. The Peruvian Bead Company sits in downtown Ventura and is owned by Steve and Juana Jelen. The couple lived in Spain for a year and since then have been devoted to beads and creating unique jewelery pieces. Juana is known for her designs that have been featured in Bead and Button Magazine and Steve runs their sister business, Pacific Silverworks, that designs and makes clasps and other metal items.
I loved that place and bought a lot of materials there. While making a bracelet yesterday I realized that I’m quickly running out of some clasps that I bought there . . . oh I need to go back!
