Bead Me: Earring Making Class

Today, I decided to take a basic earring wire wrapping class--because I'm trying to diversify the types of earrings I offer on http://www.goddesszuri.com/.

I executed a google search and found a close-by bead store that offered classes; I emailed the owner a few times and talked to her on the phone to schedule my class. "Yes, today at 4 pm sounds great," I told her. So it was set.

I pulled up to the store, located in historic Southend (in Charlotte, NC) and walked inside. The store was very cute and trendy. I looked around for a second, and then the owner approached me and said, "Candace?"

"Yes, that's me," I responded with the biggest smile on my face. Why was my smile so big?? Because the owner was a Black women. Now, I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was--slightly. Ok, a little more than slightly because all of the other bead stores that I had visited in Charlotte were owned by sweet little white ladies.

I was the only person in the shop, so Linda, the store owner, and I had a nice conversation about how she started her business. In fact, we talked for about an hour before we even started the class.

Linda started making jewelry by accident. She was at a family member's home and somehow got involved in making a bracelet. She got several compliments on the bracelet from other family members, and soon they started requesting her bracelets to give away as Christmas presents. Linda gradually graduated to making necklaces and earrings and started wearing her creations to church. Then she started getting all kinds of compliments from church members. Needless to say, demand for her jewelry increased.

You can pretty much imagine where the story goes from there. She started doing shows, opened up her own shop, and now works full time for herself managing a store and teaching classes. Linda explained that she didn't know that she would one day be in the jewelry-making business. She had a very corporate background, working for companies such as Nestle Purina and IBM. But God ordered her steps, leading her from IBM to Belk as a jewelry buyer to her own business.

When the class was over, I walked away with a new wire technique and a nice reminder that you don't have to know exactly where you're going to get to where you need to be.

I'll be scheduling my next class soon!

If you're in the Charlotte, NC area and you're interested in taking a jewelry making class, check out Linda at www.beadmeus.com.