Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve started work on a project that I’ve long dreamed about. You’ve probably heard me mention my other website: the My World of Beads blog. Well, I started that up five years ago, with the intention of creating a resource to help all beaders. I’m still growing and shaping it, and this latest project is a big step forward. So, what is it? A beading directory!
Why do you need the beading directory?
The short answer is in this blog post title: to find all things bead related!
But maybe it’s more helpful if I talk about my motivation behind this. So, I have a little list of things that have motivated this desire to create the beading directory…
Bead-cations!
I’ve long thought about how amazing it would be if we could find beading resources anywhere in the world.
So, imagine, you’re about to head off on the holiday of a lifetime. If you’re anything like me, your holiday preparations will include carefully deciding on a beading project (or several) and possibly spending longer packing your beads than you spend packing your clothes! Naturally, you’re not going to spend the entire trip beading. You’ll want to take in all the sights and enjoy the local culture. But, being a beader, you probably also want to enjoy any bead shops that might be in the area!
At the moment, if you’re very organised, you might ask for recommendations from friends online. But more likely, any bead shop visits will be the result of accidental encounters as you explore your destination.
Well, what if you could find the bead shops in advance and schedule them into your trip?
Finding new friends
Similarly, think back to when you first stumbled upon beads. Most of us start that journey alone. Perhaps learning from books, maybe using online materials. But I think a lot of us also reach the point where we want some beading friends. We want to be able to share our joy, get help, or just talk beads!
It turns out there are a whole lot more beading groups out there than I ever realised. I still don’t know most of them. But the chances are, there is a beading group already in existence somewhere near you. So, imagine if you could find that easily and then make all those new beading friends you’re wanting…
Protecting all of us
Then, back last November, a bit of a scandal hit the beading world. Scam websites started popping up (to be fair, they’ve probably been popping up for much longer, but things really kicked off in November). A huge number of designers became aware of just how easily their designs could be stolen and used by criminals to rip off unsuspecting beaders.
So, that also set me thinking. It’s never going to be possible to stop this happening. But what if there was a way of protecting the beading community? What if there was a list where people could discover legitimate sites, or check whether a site they had found was already on some kind of ‘warning’ list?…
These are just three of the ‘dreams’ I had. So, I decided to stop dreaming and see if I could start making those dreams happen via…the beading directory!
Asking you to help
I’m sure I’m not the only one with these dreams. So, I don’t have to spell out to you how the beading directory could benefit you. Probably, you’re already thinking of your own dreams and what you would like to get out of this.
So, I’m inviting you to help out. I would love everyone to contribute to this to make it a truly international resource that helps the beading community.
And that’s why I’ve found a set up that will allow anyone to create a listing… It’s really easy to do – just three simple steps is all it takes, in fact! You can hop over and find out how to add information here… Or just hold on a second and read more…
Can you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following…?
- Do you sell beads or patterns?
- Are you a member of a beading group (online or offline)?
- Do you have a favourite (or several favourite) bead shops?
- What about magazines, bead shows, retreats – do you use any of these?
- Have you found a ‘dodgy’ website that other beaders should be warned about?
If you said ‘yes’ to any of those, then you have information that needs to be added to the beading directory. So, would you be willing to help out and add it?
I would ask you to be responsible about this. If you’re wanting to share information that is about someone else, then please make sure that you have their permission to do so.
So, if you want to list a beading group, but you don’t actually run the group, then please ask the group leader first – or get them to add their own information.
If you want to add information about your favourite bead shop, I would recommend that you copy and paste the information they already have on their website. So, that would be contact details, anything on the ‘about us’ (or similar) page. That information is already in the public domain. And sharing it will benefit the shop owner.
You can also leave suggestions in the comments below. I’ll then look at adding them to the beading directory myself. But of course, it’s going to take a long time to add everything on my own…which is why I would love any help you can give!
What will you find in the beading directory?
Now, I’ve made a start on all of this. So, you will already find some listings under each of the following categories:
- bead shops
- beading groups
- beading designers
- patterns
- kits
- competitions
- magazines
- bead shows
- websites to avoid!
If you don’t have any information you can add, that’s ok. This is a resource for you to use as well. It’s obviously going to take some time to grow. But please check it out here and keep coming back to see what has been added and find new beading resources.
I have also added a free membership option. You’ll see the sign up form at the bottom of each page on the My World of Beads Website. It’s called ‘Become a Better Beader’ and is basically a monthly newsletter that will bring all the latest beading news straight to your inbox. So, you can check that out here too>>
If you have any questions about the beading directory, then you’re very welcome to contact me. But I hope you will enjoy discovering what it has to offer and helping to grow it. So, the whole beading community worldwide can benefit!
