The Little Bead Shop at the Scottish Bead Fair Sunday 13 March!

It's all go down at the Little Bead Shop today as we continue preparing for our stand at the Scottish Bead Fair this Sunday 13 March!

Our very own Emma Baird will be doing a demonstration on the basics of using Precious Metal Clay at 3pm - a must see!

Not only that but we'll be bringing along all of our most special beads, including our favourite Czech glass, a good supply of magazines for inspiration as well as precious metal clay and metal clay tools and goodies!

And, as if that wasn't enough, we'll also be running special offers for our lovely customers on the big day!

We're all really excited and looking forward to seeing you all there!

Love,

The girls at The Little Bead Shop x

Merry Christmas!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

We're all full of the Christmas spirit (not to mention a fair few mince pies....) and, before we get ready to shut the shop for Christmas, we'd like to send an extra special Merry Christmas! to all of our lovely customers.

We'll be be back open from 12pm - 3pm on 28th, 29th and 30th December, before returning to business as usual on 3 January 2011 where we'll be back with a whole load of brand new beading and metal clay classes!

Wishing you all a fantastic Christmas and exciting start to 2011!

Love,

The girls from the Little Bead Shop xxx

One to One Classes at the Little Bead Shop

Is there something you would like to learn how to make but have no idea where to start?

As well as offering a comprehensive range of beading and Art Clay classes, the Little Bead Shop also offers tailored one to one tuition. So whether you want to learn the basics or try your hand at something more advanced, our experienced teachers can show you the ropes!Our one to one beading sessions lessons cost £20 and hour and include the findings required to make your piece. Please note, the cost of your beads is not included.

Our own Emma Baird will take the one to one sessions in Art Clay. Qualified as a Senior instructor, Emma is the only provider of the Art Clay Certification in Scotland. Her work has been recognised internationally and she is a featured artist on the prestigious Metal Clay Guru website and is regularly featured in national magazines such as Bead and Making Jewellery with over 30 publications so far. And in 2011 her work will be published in several books!
One to one sessions with Emma cost £25 an hour and exclude metal clay.

These classes would make a perfect Christmas present. To book a session or arrange for us to make up a voucher, please pop in to the shop, contact us via our website or call us on 0131 228 5058.

If you would like to be taught a specific beading or Art Clay project, please let us know - if not we are happy to advise you on suitable projects according to your needs and experience.

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop x

Stuck for ideas for Christmas pressies?

Are you stuck for ideas for Christmas pressies for your nearest and dearest? Well, the Little Bead Shop might be able to help you out!

We offer gift vouchers, for any amount, which are redeemable against everything in our lovely little shop, as well as all our classes, including metal clay!

A perfect present for the handmade craft enthusiasts in your life. And, even better, there's no expiry date so the vouchers can be used at the most suitable time for you!

For more information. pop in to see us, visit our website or call us on 0131 228 5058 :)

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop x

Scottish Bead Fair - Sunday 22 August!

It's that time of year again and we're all looking forward to taking the Little Bead Shop down to the Scottish Bead Fair in Perth on Sunday 22 August!

We'll have our usual fine array of sparkly goodies on offer as well as some brand new jewellery kits and, for all those of you who follow us on Facebook, twitter or on this blog, you'll get a fantastic 10% off any beads you buy* - just tell us which site you follow us on when you come to make your purchase!

This year our very own award winning metal clay and lamp work artist Emma Baird will be doing a free demonstration on art clay. This year, she'll be showing you how to make one of her famous lamp work bead rings as featured in Making Jewellery magazine.

So remember to pop over and say hello to Deanne, Emma, Gil and Helen (who will no doubt be bedecked in their traditional glittery Bead Fair finery!)

Look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

Love,

the girls from the Little Bead Shop x


*Please note that this lovely special discount applies only to our beautiful beads. Metal clay, tools, products and findings are not included.

Just for Father's Day - Silver Fingerprint Jewellery 10% Discount Special Offer!

We all know it's Father's day this Sunday and the girls at the Little Bead Shop are delighted to tell you that, just for this weekend, we are offering a fantastic 10% discount on silver fingerprint jewellery!

By using a combination of traditional silversmithing techniques and Art Clay Silver (often referred to as metal clay) we can capture a fingerprint directly into fine silver. What better gift for a dad than his child's fingerprint cast into a beautiful pair of cuff links or a charm for a necklace? It makes a perfect, truly personal gift.

Pushed for time? If you pop in before 2pm on Saturday you can get your beautiful personalised gift the very same day!

Arranging your silver fingerprint jewellery is easy - just pop in to see us or call us on 0131 228 5058 and tell us your requirements.

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop

Comprehensive Introduction to Metal Clay - Sunday 23 May

We have another one of our fantastic full day introductory classes coming up on Sunday 23 May and we just had to tell you all about it!

This comprehensive class takes you through the basics in the three frequently used types of Art Clay Silver: lump form, syringe and paste. It's suitable for total beginners but may also appeal to those of you who have been to our evening ring making or Magic of Art Clay evening classes.

Some examples of the beautiful pieces you could make on the day are pictured above.

In the morning our qualified, professional instructors will give you a thorough grounding in the basics and show you how to make pendants, earrings and charms.

In the afternoon, we will teach you all about shrinkage in metal clay and how to make your very own silver ring, how to make decorative, personalised embellishments using syringe and how to use paste to make your very own, beautiful silver leaf!

The class runs from 11am - 5.30pm (with a break for lunch) and is £130 which includes your materials for the day (20g Art Clay Silver, 10g Paste, use of syringe type and loan of tools).

For more information, please visit our website, pop in to see us at the shop, or call us on 0131 228 5058!

Love,

the girls at the Little Bead Shop x

Metal clay at the Little Bead Shop

One of the things that makes the Little Bead Shop so special is the range of classes we provide and the level of expertise of our staff.

We share our premises with Art Clay Scotland, and provide a whole range of art clay silver classes from beginners to advanced master classes . Courses are run by Emma Baird, and taught by our team of qualified staff.

Not only that, but we also teach silver smithing techniques to bring a whole new dimension to your art clay silver and beaded jewellery. All our staff already have strong silver smithing experience, with Helen about to start her final year of her silver smithing and jewellery design design degree and Deanne is due to begin hers this September.

The level of experience of our staff makes us unique and you can be confident that we can provide you with the best possible advice and teach you to a high, professional standard. For more information about the metal clay and silver smithing classes available from the Little Bead Shop, please pop in to see us, visit our website or call us on 0131 228 50508.

Love,

the girls at the Little Bead Shop x

An update on our lovely new shop

Well, what a week it's been. We've moved, we're merrily unpacking and are all totally in love with our fantastic new shop!

We've still got a fair bit of reorganising to do (and shelves to put up!) but we're all feeling rather impressed by how much we've got done in such a short space of time.

If you would like to see some pics of how the decorating is going, have a look at our pictures on Facebook

We've been running our classes as normal throughout (you may have seen us sitting at our lovely new beading table in the shop window if you've been strolling through Bruntsfield lately), and I just had to share this beautiful tiara that one of our students made at the weekend!

New dates for our tiara workshops will soon be on our website so we'll keep you posted!

Love,

the girls from the Little Bead Shop x

PS. As alway happens during any move, something has to go wrong, and unfortunately we've been having some problems with our phone line this week. We're hoping to get this sorted out asap, but if you would like to speak to us, you can reach us in the mean time on 07593768127 or email us via our website.

The fabulous new shop is officially open!

Well folks, after a long hard week of packing and painting, the Little Bead Shop is now open for business at the new shop at 120 Bruntsfield Place!

Not only does our new shop boast some rather stunning chandeliers, but we now have a dedicated classroom. Details of all our new classes will be coming soon so watch our website for more information.

Remember to stop by and say hello!

Love, the girls at the Little Bead Shop x

The Little Bead Shop is going to Perth Bead Fair 14 March!

It's been all go at the Little Bead Shop over the last week as we prepare for the Perth Bead Fair on 14 March.

Those of you who know us well know that we always like to get our glad rags on for the bead fair, and we've been sorting out our outfits in earnest, not to mention all the gorgeous glittering goodies for the stall itself.

On top of our stunning selection of beads and findings, we'll be coming along with a full stock of metal clay including silver, copper and bronze and a whole host of craft and design magazines including "Bead", "Making Jewellery" and "Bead and Beyond".

Emma Baird, one of the owners of the Little Bead Shop, award winning metal clay and lampwork artist will be doing demonstrations on how to use art clay silver and will also be on the stall, so remember to pop along to see her and say hello and find out more about the exciting metal clays.

We've all been very excited - not only do we get to meet all our lovely customers, but we have a whole range of special offers for everyone who comes to our stall on 14th March including:

• 10% discount off all classes booked on 14 March; and
  
• beautiful pick and mix bags of Indian beads for £2.99!

Keep your eyes peeled as we'll also be announcing more special offers on the big day.

We're all looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop x