Caravan Beads, a new hobby store at 130 E Glenside Avenue, opened for business on Saturday, September 12.
Owner Heather Kahn’s family opened Caravan Beads’ first location over 30 years ago in Portland, Maine. She told Glenside Local the idea to expand in our area came from a friend’s suggestion.
“She thought we should try the space next to Stitch Central. Months later, that location came available, so we went and checked it out,” Kahn said. “We thought the area is adorable and decided it was the perfect place to open a new store.”
Kahn said Caravan Beads is an international wholesale supplier of glass Miyuki Delicas beads. They also carry Japanese seed beads, C-lon beading thread and cord, among other craft items.
“We have been a worldwide distributor for Miyuki beads for over 30 years. We have a huge warehouse in Maine and we ship them all the time,” she said. “Our storefront is still as popular as ever. People come from all over.”
The Maine store also hosts jewelry-making classes and similar events which including anything from “fancy woven pieces to re-stringing a vintage pearl necklace.” Kahn expects the Glenside location to start doing the same over the coming weeks.
“We’ll start classes in a couple weeks once we get settled in. Our staff will be ready to teach shortly,” she said. “We’ll start small, but I think people, especially kids, will love learning how to make jewelry. There are all different kinds of beads and bead projects for all different kinds of people.”
The Glenside store features a large table where customers can work on projects, even if they’re not purchasing anything from the store.
“We’re a very welcoming shop. It’s a place for people to get together, be creative, and do creative projects even if they’re not shopping,” she said. “It’s a community hub.”
Kahn said she’ll be commuting from Maine to Glenside every so often to teach specialty classes.
“We’ve hired a number of great people to run the show. Now that we’re mostly set up, I’ll be helping remotely with the finer details,” she said. “We have a worldwide customer base and a loyalty program. I’ve been able to synchronize those points for each store we open. We’ve had people come into both stores in Maine and Glenside. There have been more of those than I expected.”
For more on Caravan Beads, you can visit their website and Facebook page.
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Photos: Caravan Beads