Bead It

Interesting bead shop — I always go when I need something unusual and they almost always have what I need. If you go, prepare to browse and look around, there is ALOT to see! Very friendly staff.

Great place! Full of beads and several collectibles, chains, pendants, yarn, ribbon, clasps. They even offer classes for around $ 45 I believe.

I have been carrying around two pieces of jewelry that needed repair. One was just a broken chain, the other a bracelet (vintage) that was missing a stone. I walked out of Bead It ten minutes after I walked in, with two perfectly fixed pieces. The store is beautiful and charming, and I hope to come back when I have more time to browse. This place is amazing!

The best thing about Bead It is the one on one class. I brought in my bead stash and some photos, and Alexsis and Christine helped me come up with designs and taught me the techniques to make what I wanted. Absolutely no attitude over using my own materials instead of purchasing new things from the store. They were good teachers, smart, charming and a delight to be with! Their ideas are practical and artistic at the same time. I learned a lot about the design process. Also, the shop itself is attractive, the variety fabulous, and the class space with tables and tools is handy and welcoming. I can’t really comment on prices since I have an unused bead stash from the 90s (I will probably never have to buy another bead for the rest of my life). Sometimes reviews that are «too positive» are disbelieved, but truly the only thing to fuss about is entering and exiting the parking lot. Not much you can do about South Lamar traffic. Meditate maybe. Sooner or later, that light will have to change.

The staff is so friendly and helpful here, I never knew how cool this place was. I will go back for gifts and maybe a little something for myself:)

This place freakin’ rocks!!! I have so many great raves about them I couldn’t possible fit all the fantastic things I want to say in this paragraph. DO IT!!!
I took two bead classes on Saturday and was amazed at how professional/​knowledgable these ladies are. My first instructor, Kat, teaches wiring classes. She was extremely knowledgable about wire wrapping. Kat was patient and kind. She made wiring wrapping feel easy. My second instructor, Lori, was a peach, too. She was a lot of fun and helped us with our design in the beginner jewelry class. We made a necklace and pair or earrings with her lesson.
We didn’t feel rushed in either class and were able to stay as long as we needed to complete our projects. Both ladies were attentive to all our needs. Lori even sent for coffee’s for us.
I’ve always wanted to learn jewelry, but was always intimidated by the process. I’m so glad I overcame my fear and allowed Bead It to be the first step towards my future jewelry line. I’ll always be grateful for their generosity.
NOTE: We didn’t do projects with crappy beads either. We used their best, including gold filled wire. That was a huge plus b/​c I made pieces I would actually wear. Thank, thank you!

I love this place! The people who work there are so friendly and helpful. I’ve taken several broken pieces of jewelry into this store, and they fix it in no time for very little money. They will talk to you about different ways to repair your jewelry and help find the most attractive and durable option.

Took the Mala Necklace class! It was a blast. There were only 5 students which made it easy to ask questions. After choosing our beads from the store (which wasn’t hard… They have about every color possible!) we laid out our designs on a board. Only suggestion I have is to bring some sewing scissors if you have them! Loved the class, will be back to use my 10% off this week!

Very Friendly staff! Talk about being a kid in a candy store, that is how I felt when my daughter and I stepped in the door… except it was a bead store. Love it!

This is a fantastic business at every level. Incredible selection, service, and overall experience. Go check out the millions of tiny treasures in this wonderland of crafter eye candy! I’ve probably visited this store 8 – 10 times in the last two years and the customer service is absolutely amazing every time. The people working here are genuinely interested in your ideas and want to help you realize your bead vision!
Jill is amazing, I wish I knew the rest of their names… they all deserve kudos, especially the person hiring!
Best bead store in Austin no contest.

I come here all the time, it is my favorite bead shop in Austin! Although I have found better pricing at places like Hobby Lobby, they offer a FAR better selection and quality. I cannot say enough about how great the customer service is here. The girls that work here are so sweet and go out of there way to help you find anything, or help you make a piece. They have also repaired jewelry for me at the cost of the parts (like 50 cents haha). My favorite anniversary present was a gift from here– my husband was clueless about what to get me so I just told him to come here and the girls helped him make a piece for me that I love! Every once in a while they have a trunk show out front and that is a real treat. The owners go all around the country to estate sales and they have some beautiful and one of a kind unique items! Love love love!

This place will have you beading your head from the variety of beads to choose from. Lots of beads and starter kits to help you create your imagination into reakity of necklaces or bracelets. The staff was friendly and helpful. Getting in and out of the store was kind of hard due to the Lamar traffic. If you are into the crafting of beads this store is worth it.

Great customer service! Drove 30 minutes to this store after a horrible customer service experience near my house! I found what I needed plus more and was surprised with how great the quality and selection was. Worth the money & time!!!

I love this place. I often will feel like doing something creative, but lack the inspiration to actually make something. Bead it! always inspires me! They have everything from precious and semi precious stones, glass beads, wood and bone to eclectic little bits of metal like keys, clock cogs, and pretty Mich anything else you can imagine. They also make beads out of crazy things like majong times, dominos and other random things. They also carry any findings, cords, chain, glue, tools and such that you might need to complete your projects.
They also teach classes! The girls are all so knowledgeable and skilled at the craft, it’s amazing! Should definitely give them a shot!

I just had the best experience here! My friend made me a pendant and I wanted to make a choker to go with it. I came in and showed the person behind the counter a picture of the pendant (Noelle was her name I think, I’m terrible with names lol Very pretty girl with short hair and a great attitude) she helped me pick the perfect beads for the necklace. I then asked her how I should go about constructing the necklace. She asked me if I had a few minutes and helped me make it right then and there. It was a super great way to start the day. A latte from OPA! next door and stringing an awesome necklace!

The selection of beads, etc. is quite good and I would recommend this place to casual beaders because of the unique selections. However, the staff seemed put out at any question I had and I left there feeling like I was a bad puppy. This place is very nice for those who are not in the biz of making and selling jewelry. Their wholesale discounts are not so great. But they’re not in the wholesale biz, so I understand. Other shops in the area are more willing to work with you as far as wholesale discounts go if you have a jewelry biz. So — this place is great for selection, but not so much for service.

Wow. This place is so cool! Beads!!! More beads!!! There is so much stuff here!!!
So I travel a lot for work and have frequented bead stores all over the country, and this place is in the tippy top.
Now that that’s out of the way, Bead it has an AWESOME selection of beads and baubles. The neatest feature is that they have A TON of vintage metal stampings and stuff I can’t even describe. Stuff I have never seen in a bead store in all of my travels.
Even though I would have bought everything in the store, I walked out with a few toggles, some crystals I had to have, and the COOLEST brass ring I’ve ever seen.

Crap, I forgot to get the red-​headed girl’s name… that’s who I was greeted by when I made my way into Bead It this afternoon; and very sweet and helpful by the way. If I’m correct, she gave the «I own this place» vibe — I could be wrong though.
Anyway, I’d never «beaded» anything before. I’m crafty, doing mostly scrapbooking and party-​type entertaining at my home — never made jewelry though. My afternoon plans to go to the Zilker Botanical Gardens were rerouted here due to the torrential downpour going on.
The store is in an old house (super cute) and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many beads in my whole life. There was SO much selection that I didn’t know where to start. I was looking for two particular colors (eggplant & burnt orange) to make my two flower girls a necklace & bracelet for my upcoming wedding in October. Let’s just say I couldn’t decide WHICH TYPE of eggplant & burnt orange type of bead to use. They had those two colors in plastic, wood, glass, crystal, etc. I opted for the swarovski crystal. At first I thought the prices of each bead was a bit much. For a 4 mm bead, they were $.15 each! The bigger you go the more expensive. I didn’t keep track of the price as I began to build my necklaces and bracelets but I really thought it was going to be astronomical. I was wrong. I’ll get to that later.
After selecting my beads — you get a basket with mini plastic bags & a marker so that you can keep count and organize what you choose (trust me, this comes in SO handy at the end) — Red Head hands me this little bead tray where you built what you want to create. Basically it’s a holder for your beads so you can build it in front of you first to see if you like whatever it is that you’re trying to make without putting it on the string.
After finishing my necklaces and bracelets, I took them to the front counter where Jen (non-​red-​head) added clasps for me. I could not be more pleased with how my jewelry turned out. The best part was the price. There was NO sitting fee AND I didn’t get charged a labor fee because they were just awesome like that. Both necklaces & bracelets costed under $ 50. For swarovski crystals, you cannot beat that!
I will definitely be coming back here. The girls were sweet; great selection; and awesome music playing from the speakers above :)

I like the selection, it really is huge. This little house doen’t look like much from the front.
Parking, super sucks here! Be VERY CAREFUL! The tiling company next door has a mission, to tow EVERYONE who isn’t in their shop. (Which seems to be no one). They say you can part a Opa’s though… Will try that next time.
Weekends are crazy. They have classes and such. If they are having a sale also know they wont punch you’re card. Discount must really be worth it! :)
Prices are a little high. Most of what I make I sell, and I priced the same kind of glass beads I need for a design and they are double the price. The quality they sell is great, just pricey. Too much for re-​selling designs in a $ 20-​$ 30 price range. Staff is nice. Very helpful. I personally dont find their metal chain selection to be worthwhile, but do find their plastic/​acrylic ‘chains’ to be priced pretty well. Same with their findings, the basics are pricey, better buying online. But their more unusual stuff (hard to describe, but the table with all metal bead caps, or steam punk accessories) seems ok.
Like it, will be back. :)

One of the benefits of renting a car when on holiday and driving said car is being able to hit the brakes when passing by a place you simply have to go into. For me that place was Bead It which out of nowhere came into my field of vision tout de suite and I left skid marks on South Lamar that remain to this day. j/​k.
Anyhoo, a foray into Bead It proved to be a world of wonder with rooms and rooms filled with so much creative energy, it made me heady. Not only was their selection superb and displays creative (love the idea of using old glass ware for showing the beads) but the person who was working there at the time was super friendly and very nice.
I ended up with some nice beads for my «collection» and an unexpected and much enjoyed visit to a place of craftiness, Austin-​style. :)))
When I was in Nepal, this played incessantly on India’s equivalent of MTV. I don’t know why it never really got any air play in the US. This is not even the video that I saw but I always liked this song. Good crafting music. ;)))
. And no, not Beat It. LOL!