Pretty shiny things!

Wow. So I wandered around Union Square Park for a while today looking for an incredibly inconspicuous bead store, I couldn't find it no matter how many people I asked, I ate a cupcake in frustration (fortunately for my jeans, it was a small one--and fabulous! It had a big red flower on the top. Mmm), and I was about ready to buy a pair of earrings from a street vendor and call it quits when I found it.

Wow again.

The front of the store is filled with many lovely non-bead things, fabrics, thai fisherman pants, jewelry, but I was on a mission, so I headed straight to the back. The selection is incredible. It's not just the range of types of beads available that's awesome, it's the history of them--you can get modern beads, but most of them are antique, and from ALL around the world. There are also semi-precious beads that are wonderful; I was dying for the teardrop-shaped, multi-faceted, deep pink Burmese rubies, but they were out of my price range, so I allowed myself a little turquoise. I ended up with mostly Czech glass beads, vintage and modern, and I went with a blue color palette, but many options are available. The only downside is that my little spree was expensive enough that it probably would have been cheaper to buy a few pairs of earrings from a street vendor. Oh well. Street vendors don't use vintage Czech glass beads. Maybe when I can use my scanner again, I'll post pictures of the lovely earrings they became while I watched Big Love.

I looked to see if this store has a website, but they don't. Well, if I have any New York readers, it's called Beads of Paradise, and it's on 17th street, between 5th and 6th. Go there!