Dragonfly Bead Company

Schools Out, Vacation and July 4th

2010-07-04T09:14:00.004-04:00

Well hello July! We can say good riddance to June. June was a different kind of month - between schools letting kids out, vacations and such - I am looking forward to getting people back on task with our classes for July. We have a great line up of classes for July. We are truly excited and think you will be too! We have a NEW teacher - Melissa Inman, who is an area art teacher at Wintergreen Intermediate school. We are having two art camp workshops one on July 23rd and the other on August 4th. Go ahead and get signed up NOW because spaces are limited. We are also excited because our Sue Beck is going to teach an ALL DAY workshop with PMC (Precious Metal Clay) on July 31st. This class will be absolutely AMAZING!!! In this class you will learn to make a Precious metal ring and pendant. When you complete your project - it will be absolutely amazing and will surely stun others when they see what you have made in this workshop.
We have some WONDERFUL classes coming up - so be sure to check them out on our website.

Memorial Day Weekend....

2010-05-29T22:07:00.002-04:00

It's been a while - but we have been busy at Dragonfly - between classes and our inventory. I am happy to say - Jay and I are DONE with our inventory! I think you will be excited to see the changes we have made with our walls. We have moved our gemstones, expanded and sorted our Czech glass and added more loose beads too! We are truly excited with all of our changes going on at Dragonfly and look forward to getting YOUR feedback (our customers and friends).

We have new classes coming up in June - so look for our email in the next few days. Our teachers are so creative and come up with so many wonderful classes - so be on the look out for lots of NEW classes.

We appreciate ALL who were able to come out and attend our trunk show and appreciate your continued support - because without YOU we would not be here.

Thank you again...

May 11th.... Where have I BEEN?

2010-05-11T10:24:00.002-04:00

WHEW! Where have I been? I feel like it has been an eternity since I last wrote here... A lot has gone on in our lives and its nice to have a bit of normalcy. Nan has been super involved in Relay for Life and the main event was April 23rd and 24th and now with that behind her - she can begin to focus on other things. We are looking into multiple types of workshops this summer and will have more information for you soon on it...

We are super excited about our customer appreciation trunk show that has been going on now for a week... We are now into week two and things are still going strong. We are so excited because this trunk show is for items ALL under $10.00. How can you beat that... spending $6.00 on a strand of gemstones... Sounds like a bargain to me!

Hope to see you all in the shop soon... Be on the look out for MORE exciting news and workshops in the making... as we speak!! Thank you for your continued support!

Welcome March

2010-03-02T07:38:00.004-05:00

Well what a way to start March than to find out that there is a chance of SNOW tomorrow. YIKES! I think this is my first time in my LIFE that I am actually ready for the weather to warm and the birds to chirp, grass to be turning green and flowers to bloom!

We had a WONDERFUL February with you (our customers and family)! What a wonderful way to celebrate our 5th anniversary than with you guys! We had a wonderful Gemstone Trunk Show that seemed to excited the customers which is awesome! Look for more $4.00 strands in the near future at the shop.

We have had a WONDERFUL selection of classes coming up and in the past month that we hope you all have had a moment to check out on our website. This month and next we have even MORE exciting classes coming up!!

Margie and Nancy's Angel Wing Bracelet Class --- Saturday March 6th.

We have many more classes coming soon - be sure to check out our class calendar by month shown on our website.

As I am sure you know we are very appreciative of your continued support of our shop and hope that have a wonderful March and that the snow SKIPS us this time...

Thanks again....

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T13:32:00.002-05:00

Well hello all - what a weekend!

We are not used to snow, this much cold weather and this much rain either! WOW! I think we are getting a taste of what it is like to live elsewhere in the country. I am looking forward to this snow melting and a little warmer weather - and as soon as it happens I think we have another "system" moving in with more snow.. YIKES!

Well - as you may know - we did not start our trunk show yesterday. Boo hoo! We were concerned about how OTHERS would drive in and decided that we would rather play it safe than sorry... so with saying that - we are sorry. I realized around 12 noon that the roads were fine, but I was still overly concerned about those on back roads trying to come in and you know - beads are just not important enough to get hurt in a fall or accident.

We will begin the trunk show on Tuesday - and look forward to seeing you all then. We have strands we have never had before from $4.00 and up! So if you haven't gotten over to see us lately - this week is the week to come see us!

As you may or may not know this month is our 5 year anniversary and we feel like we are over a HUGE hump in our lives. We want to thank you - each and everyone of you for your support throughout the past 5 years and many more to come!

We have a lot of new exciting classes coming so PLEASE be sure to check out the website and see what there is to offer. We have new wire wrapping classes with Sue (gorgeous as usual) - New silversmith and wire wrapping classes with Faye and even MORE new classes coming with Nancy and Margie who teach our seed bead classes. So please be on the look out for MORE new classes to be added. We are tickled with what is coming up here at Dragonfly and hope you are too!

See you in the shop!

Holidays and New Year behind us...

2010-01-15T02:02:00.002-05:00

Well the holidays and the New Years festivities are behind us and now we are on to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Valentine's Day and Presidents day are coming soon! We have had 17 days of cold weather the threat of "snow" which turned out to be a bust... and I know I for one am ready for warm weather. This has been a rough 17 days of cold weather!!!

Do you have plans for Monday (Martin Luther King day)? If not, we will have a class Monday evening (as you know we are closed on Monday's) -- but we are trying different things for the NEW year - and with that being said we have a wonderful NEW teacher (Faye) who will be teaching you how to make this swirly bracelet made completely of wire! It is really pretty and think it will definitely stand out when you wear it - so be sure to sign up for her class. Then we have another NEW class with Sue on Tuesday night.. Can't wait for that one either... Sue will be teaching her geometric triangle shaped pendant that night... What a cool pendant.... It is definitely a serious eye catcher... I can go on and on about our wonderful classes this month. We are so excited with all of the NEW classes and great teachers we have at Dragonfly.

If you have never met Sue she is wonderful... She is so "Type A" personality and thinks of things before Jay and I can even THINK it... Well her latest idea is an awesome digital picture frame.. She has taken photographs of ALL of her jewelry and it now stands at the shop - so come on by - take a look and let us know what you would like to see for more NEW classes from Sue... She is truly amazing in her talents of creating classes! We have examples of all of our classes now, past and future for you to look at and drool.

We think you will like our other new teachers too because they are excited about teaching at Dragonfly too! Margie and Nancy will be teaching our seed bead classes and they have left us with MANY examples of new class ideas to teach within the next few months... The 1st class is the Twisted Rope Necklace on the 30th - so go ahead and sign up before it fills up.

We also have a new teacher Faye who brings a different angle to wire wrapping. Faye and Sue share a mutual love for wire, but Faye's classes will be geared more towards wrapping wire into intricate spirals, hammering and soldering.

We have SO much to be thankful for in this economy and we must thank customers like YOU for keeping our doors open and for keeping another local business thriving! Thank you for your continued support and for NOT supporting online and big box businesses...

Metals Trunk Show

2009-12-07T01:01:00.002-05:00

Wow -- it seems to be the ONLY thing I can say about the metals we will have in this trunk show. These beads and other findings are absolutely A+ in my book! We don't offer anything like these items in the shop -- we have everything from Vintaj, Tierra Cast, Sterling silver findings (Bali, Thai and Israeli) and chain too! We are super excited and hope to see you this week to check it out!

Don't miss out on this show... These items are SO worth it! :)

See you in the shop!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T23:25:00.000-05:00

Let's see what do we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I am thankful that I have customers that come in the store, purchase supplies, take classes, have become friends and family and most of all - I am thankful I have a roof over my head and food on the table. I pray that you too will have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. We will be closed for the remainder of the holiday, but will re-open on Tuesday at 10AM SHARP! Please note we have a LOT of exciting things coming up at Dragonfly -- very soon - so just wait and see... Lots of great things! Have a great holiday!!

October is gone and now November is almost half way over

2009-11-09T23:31:00.003-05:00

Where does time go? It seems to be flying past me so much quicker than it ever has before. We have a lot of exciting things going on with us this month.. Sue has been kind enough to come back in this Saturday and teach those wonderful sterling silver knot bracelet AND the sculpted sea glass pendant class. I will be teaching a creative earring class that day too so we will have lots of fun! The following week we have Sue's spiral chainmaille class going on and boy oh boy is it a great class. So be sure to sign up early if you want to take part in classes this month. We won't be having ANY classes in December because of the holidays and teachers schedules and such. Classes will return as well will NEW classes too! So we are excited to get moving on all that will be going on after the holidays!

We have been busy at the shop re-doing and moving things around so if you have not been in lately - you need to come on in and see us and see the way we have things put out in the shop. Fresh water pearls are different, lucite has been moved, loose beads are placed in the "ROY G BIV" color scheme which is Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet -- then we have our metal beads, white, brown, gray and then finishes with black. It's really cool.. Come check it out...

We are in the process of a survey (via email) as to "what do you think of our store" survey. We are very pleased with the positive responses we have been getting and definitely love the comments that have been coming in to us. We want to say THANK YOU!

We look forward to seeing you in the shop soon. Please think HANDMADE holiday this year -- your friends, family and co-workers will love you for it!

WOW... Is October ALMOST Over?

2009-10-22T18:26:00.002-04:00

Holy MOLY! October is almost gone... Where has all the time gone? I am just blown away by the weather lately.. I cannot even believe we have had 80 degree weather and frost all in one week! WILD I say.. WILD WEATHER!!

So on to beads... We have gotten in a bunch of new beads--- woo hoo... New filigree pieces, chains, Christmas tree kits, Snowmen kits, and even Miyuki Holiday kits too. Come see us for all the good things going on here at Dragonfly. We have lots of new loose beads from new lucite flowers, to snowmen and much more in between...

So we are changing things up this holiday season... The month of November will be the last of our classes until January. We are doing this A) because we all have so much going on during the holiday season and B) we all have too much going on during the holiday season.. So we will not have classes during the month of December, but classes will return in January. So if there is a class you have been looking to take, come on and sign up now. Classes are listed on our website and you can sign up there or sign up at the shop. We are tickled with our new classes this month too! Just as a side note, we will close for Thanksgiving and also will be taking that Friday and Saturday too.

Thank you for your continued support and for being a part of our beading family!

Saturday... Game Day...

2009-09-26T08:22:00.002-04:00

Well fall is in the air, footballs on tv and Christmas is just around the corner. We have had a lot going on at Dragonfly lately and I really need to get on the ball with keeping up with this blog so you the "customer" will know what is going at the shop. Well today we have two great classes by Sue and they won't be offered again until the first of 2010. Our Georgia Mason collage class went so well... Georgia is an incredible teacher and class went so well -- that she has offered to come back and teach another class, but this time... it will be a 2 day workshop. It's going to be awesome!!!

We are offering some new classes at the shop for the month of October so be sure and check out the class schedule out on our website at www.ncdragonflybead.com . We are really excited about all of the classes this coming month... and hope to see YOU in the classes. With the holidays around the corner - money tighter than ever for consumers - this may be the year to truly make your gifts and why not learn to make jewelry and give it as your gifts this year. Jewelry is a wonderful thing for women (and men)... So keep that in mind...

I am really excited about my repurpose your jewelry class next Saturday. What you will do is pull out ALL of your old jewelry and bring it in -- we will fumble through it - and figure out how to re-make it into jewelry you would wear NOW! So NOW it will have a CURRENT purpose for you and its a way to recycle your old jewelry! So be sure and check out that class on our website too.

Well I would like to wish the Pirates an ARGGGG! today for the game and pray that they can win this game. This town definitely supports its football and especially if the Pirates win! So I will have to say... GO PIRATES !!

Georgia Mason

2009-09-11T12:53:00.002-04:00

Well the time is here and Georgia Mason will be coming to teach a class in OUR store on Collage Mixed Media... This is a little outside our box of beads, but we think this is a good thinking outside our box for the artist in ALL of us!!

We have had a lot of new exciting things going on here with new classes and new beads, but most of all ... we are gearing up for the holiday season and hope to see you in the shop soon..

Please keep in mind this holiday not to forget your local businesses. Local businesses are what keep our local economy thriving and this holiday we need to truly support our locals in every aspect...

Wish me luck on this weekend with the Georgia Mason class and I hope that this is even a BIGGER success than I am even dreaming it will be!!!

Class with Sue is Wednesday night -- with this awesome Swirl Chainmaille Bracelet Class --

Vacation

2009-08-09T23:34:00.002-04:00

Well, we are on vacation this week, but will reopen on Tuesday August 18th. Normally Jay and I go to visit our dad the week of July 4th, but because the law went into effect in June that in order to cross the border of Canada you must have a passport, so we weren't sure we would get it in time and so - we chose to come up in August. So, here we are.

The weather couldn't be better and the high today was 70!! Yes 70 degrees! Lovin' every minute of it! :)

We are going to go check out a few bead shops this week - and see what other stores carry. They have all sorts of "specialty" bead shops up here... Actually there are 11 just within a 30 minute drive from us. I am going to go check a few out and see what other stores carry! :)

I am excited about the vacation, resting, and visiting with family (I don't see this family very often). I miss the store and the customers too!! Right now - its all about R & R and seeing the family.

Hope you all have a wonderful week and we will see you on the 18th!!!

Sorry for taking so long to Update

2009-07-22T12:33:00.006-04:00

Well, what can I say... We have been updating and remodeling at the shop now for 2 months and we are slowing coming to an end of it and want you all to come see it! We are so excited with ALL of the new changes and we think you will be too!

We got a new paint job on the exterior of the building, new paint in the classrooms and a new layout for the loose beads.

Keep check for MORE exciting news to come soon! We are going to begin having LARGER classes and different classes too.. So keep check for MORE to come!

We thank you for all of your support and hope to see you in the shop soon!

Awesome week...

2009-05-17T01:40:00.002-04:00

What an awesome week this has been. No thunderstorms, no tornadoes, just nice pretty weather and lots of beading! We have a lot of exciting news to give you... one being that we are having a NEW type of trunk show on June 5th and 6th. This will be our first time with this company. Each strand in this trunk show is hand selected and are all unique.... So this should be an INCREDIBLE trunk show. We hope and look forward to seeing you either on Friday or Saturday. We will also be having our Ladies Lock In (Girl's Night Out) on that Friday June 5th from 6PM - 9PM. This is a lot of fun and gives you the opportunity to meet and greet with others who enjoy the same things as you!

We have some new classes coming up with Sue that are going to be INCREDIBLE and a must to take so be sure to keep check on our webpage for NEW classes to be added soon! The class coming up on May 27th (*this class has not been added to the webpage but will be by the end of the day on Sunday). This bracelet is absolutely INCREDIBLE and very worth taking this class!!!

Please remember to support your local businesses... It's how we keep our local economy thriving. Times are tough all over and supporting your local businesses helps keep the money in our community.

We appreciate your business and look forward to seeing you in the shop SOON!

Joining the world of blogging

2009-05-04T05:09:00.000-04:00

Well - I can't believe it... I have joined the world of bloggers who blog. I wanted to do something different and have different ways to get information out there for YOU the people and this was my way of doing so.

So there is this NEW thing called "Twitter" and I am thinking of Twittering the store. Offer sales and deals to customers who sign up to follow us... What do you think? I am curious about your feedback.

What kind of things would you want me to Twitter to you.... Coupons? Classes coming up? What would you want? Please let me know.