Beads ‘n ‘Things by Leslie was founded in 2006 when a close friend asked Leslie to restring a piece of jewelry for her.  Leslie then decided that making a few pieces for herself would be a fun way to accent a few of her outfits, so she made a few pieces of costume jewelry and started wearing them to work.  It only took a matter of a few weeks before her co-workers took notice and started asking where she bought such unique pieces.  When they found out that she had made them herself, orders began trickling in.  Over time, Leslie began to start incorporating higher quality findings in her pieces, and today uses predominantly sterling silver and gold-filled materials to assemble unique and beautiful creations from semi-precious stones, high-quality beads, and Swarovski crystals.  As she began to participate in craft shows and festivals, more and more customers began to ask if there was a Beads ‘n’ Things website where they could shop at their leisure.  After a great deal of research and work, in September 2008 the site was launched, initially with only a handful of items, but is being built out with more items as quickly as we can.

Leslie’s husband Dan has worked with her since the beginning, helping out at shows and with ideas.  During a series of shows in 2007, the number of men who expressed interest in having items made for them grew significantly, so Dan started to think about how the BnT offerings could be changed to add products for those customers as well.  In early 2008, Leslie and Dan took a wire-wrapping class, and that was the beginning of Agau D-Zynes.  Dan quickly found his niche, fashioning custom jewelry pieces from Sterling Silver, Gold-Filled, and Copper wire.  Today, the Agau line augments Leslie’s original creations by offering a variety of bracelets, bangles, necklaces, chokers, earrings… well, you get the point.  Dan has created custom pieces for prom outfits, and has done custom wire wrapping of items for customers too.  Check out some of the projects on our Custom Orders page!  Also, keep an eye onour ever-expanding line of men’s fashion jewelry.

So please, take time and browse through the items currently offered on the site.  Remember that some things are truly one-of-a-kind due to the nature of the findings used in creating them.  Once they sell, we may not be able to create them again. 

The most important thing to remember is our basic business philosophy.  We’re here to help you look good, providing high-quality items at reasonable prices.  If you see an item you like but would like to change it up a bit, or have an idea for something completely different, please drop us a line and we’d be happy to create a custom designed jewelry item for you.  After all, interacting with our customers and making sure you are delighted with high-quality jewelry items, that you want to wear, is what Beads ‘n’ Things is all about!

Happy shopping!