Bead store reopens, looks to expand into other art

It all started when a Buddhist prayer bead rolled into a crack in the floor.

David Fernandez was sitting on his friend’s porch when the necklace he was handling broke.

Searching for a replacement, he went to The Original Ornament bead shop at Carr Mill Mall in August but found it closed.

Curious, Fernandez said he called mall management to find that the store’s owner had abandoned the business this summer.

So he decided to buy the business, hoping to use the furniture and beads left behind by the previous owner.

“Everything was just here and abandoned,” he said. “The physical plan was still here, the inventory and everything else.”

By October, Fernandez had bought the store and had formed a partnership with UNC senior Evan Smith, who was manager of The Original Ornament.

The store, now called The Bead Store, opened its doors Nov. 7, taking the place of the shop that had been there for about 15 years, Fernandez said.

Smith took the previous year off from school and worked full time at The Original Ornament.

She had been promised ownership in the store before it closed in July, Fernandez said.

They began renovations on the store with the goal of creating an inviting, creative atmosphere.

“We wanted to create a space with light and volume and openness along with all the beautiful materials here that were conducive to having people create,” Fernandez said.

They filled the store with wooden tables holding dishes of beads and decorated the walls with jewelry handmade by shop employees.

The beads available include everything from vintage glass beads to oversized aquamarine stones.

Fernandez, a studio artist, said he would like to incorporate other styles of art in the store, including paintings and poetry readings.

The new design also features an expanded “bead bar” where customers can work on bead projects, chat and receive help from staff.

The bead bar is one of the changes that brought customer Liz Henao to the store Thursday.

“I like that you can just come in and pick stuff out and make it,” she said. “I’ve been here every day this week.”

Smith said that in order to stay competitive in beading, one must keep up with new fashions.

“Succeeding in business is about staying on top of trends,” she said.

Customers have commented on the business’s more spacious appearance, Fernandez said.

But not everything has changed from the previous store’s layout.

“There’s something friendly about this store,” Smith said. “We wanted to save that.”



Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.