Whenever I get some free time, I continue to check out bead stores in the greater Baltimore area. I've been fairly disappointed in the quality and variety of beads and findings available here. However, yesterday I ventured out to Columbia, MD and discovered a pretty nice bead store. It is very convenient, just about a mile off 695.
The store is the Ambrosia Bead Shop located at 9143 E. Red Branch Road, Columbia, Maryland. you can find their website at www.ambrosiabeadshop.com. The store is small but they have a fairly good selection of high quality gemstone beads. In addition, she has a couple of rotating trunk shows that she changes about once a month. She generally doesn't have any idea what will be showing up in the trunk shows but it is usually something interesting. She also stocks a few gold and silver plated findings along with vermeil and brass findings. I also found glass beads and Swarovsky crystals. A small bit of bead stringing materials are on the wall as well. I didn't see any sterling silver wire but I found silver and gold colored wire. She doesn't carry any seed beads at all.
By far, the best part of the store was their gemstone beads. In addition, her pricing was ok. However, she doesn't currently sell wholesale but is trying to figure out how to give discounts for purchasing in bulk.
The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 am. - 5:30 pm. except for Saturday when they close at 5:00.
One very positive comment I need to make about Ambrosia Bead Shop is the the store is very clean. There was no dust accumulating on anything in the store and the beads were sparkly clean. It's very difficult to keep your stock dust free but Ambrosia has succeeded.
I still haven't found the perfect bead store in or around Baltimore but I'm planning to continue my search. I suspect I'll not find a replacement for Scottsdale Bead Supply (which I've blogged about in the past). Rather, I'll end up with several different stores for different things. Of course, there is alway online but I'm one of those folks who want to touch my beads before I purchase them.
Do you have a favorite bead store in the Baltimore/D.C. area? If so, I'd love to hear about it.
