Ask most people and they'll tell you that beads are beads — you know, those round little things you string on cord. But make the trek to The Place to Bead, a family-owned jewelry shop on 41 Witherspoon, and instantly you'll know most people are wrong.
Huddled inside this quaint shop are women of all ages. On the workbench there's an old lady designing herself some semiprecious earrings. One of the employees shows her how to make the clasp for it. Next to her, a little girl sorts through the 25-cent bead pile, making her first bracelet. In the back is Barbara Schreiber, one of the owners, chatting with an old customer whom she embraces as a friend. It's an atmosphere of warmth, of happiness. Everyone really enjoys being here.
"People don't come in all cranky and in a rush," Robt Seda-Schreiber, co-owner and son of Maria Schreiber said. "They come here to be creative, and it has a good energy."
The Place to Bead was started 10 years ago. Schreiber and her husband Steve were looking to open a family business. They threw around a lot of ideas, including a giant pet food store, but nothing clicked. One day, Seda-Schreiber was walking down Witherspoon with a friend who needed to get beads for her mother. Seda-Schreiber realized there wasn't a bead place in sight, and thus, The Place to Bead was formed.
"It's great because it's something my husband and I both enjoy," Schreiber said. "He doesn't like shoes and antiques like I do, but he certainly loves beads."
The Place to Bead prides itself on being a full service store. Besides offering "zillions" of beads — from crystal to African vintage — they also offer all the necessary materials to make jewelry. It's also not just for kids — a lot of their stock is aimed at "adult beaders."
"No, that doesn't mean we have X-rated beads," Seda-Schreiber joked. "It means we carry a lot of semiprecious stones like rubies. A woman today just bought a one-of-a-kind sterling silver coral piece. It would have cost her much more in the department store, and she made it herself."
The store offers beading classes every season, everything from beginner's beading to chain mail design to glass fusing. Birthday parties are also frequently held at the beadery. Polaroids of smiling kids, showing off their newly-made jewelry hang on the walls. Brides come in looking for gifts for the bridesmaids; Princeton students flock during formal season, looking for necklaces to match to their dresses. Men, too, find jewelry to suit their tastes.
"Coral looks great on a guy," Seda-Schreiber said.
Beading provides both intrinsic and extrinsic benefits, according to the owners.
"We joke about it, but a lot of people come in, start beading and, all of the sudden, start telling us their life stories. Sometimes they're tragic, sometimes they're wonderful, but we still think maybe our backroom should be the therapist's office," Seda-Schreiber said.
Seda-Schreiber and his mother both love working together and sharing something they enjoy with the public.
"We've met a lot of creative people, especially people who, at first, didn't even know they were creative," Schreiber said. "It's great to see people 'get it.'"
Seda-Schreiber agreed. "It's more than just beading. It gives people a real sense of self-worth to create something."
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