Anita's New Ceiling

Back in may I posted a few photos of the shop under construction but never got around to showing you the finished results!

Art On The Lawn

Please join us in celebrating Anita's 15th anniversary in business on Saturday July 9th with "Art on the Lawn" at Anita's Beads. Featured will be original art by members of The Art Group and The Plein Air Painters, plus jewelry, vintage items, and collectables. Hours are 9 to 5 and the address is 2517 Wakefield Road (Route 153) just one mile from NH Route 16. Contact Anita at 603-522-6529 for more information.

A Little History of Anita's Beads

I was updating my Toad Hollow Minerals information page the other day because I noticed the links to most of the photographs were broken. This activity got me thinking about the history of Anita's Beads. I started my first business, "Designs On You," back in the late 70's when I was living in Beverly, Massachusetts. I produced silk-screened t-shirts, batik (the wax resist dye technique that was my major self-taught discovery for that decade) pillows and quilted wall hangings, quilted ornaments, and objects embellished with applique and/or embroidery.

Then came major discovery number two: minerals and beads. I began selling quartz crystals and beaded sterling silver jewelry with a partner as "Underground Sterling & Stone." My partner was a salesman and the jewelry I produced was sold, for the most part, to New Age/Alternative Healing gift shops.

When I moved to New Hampshire in 1996, I decided to look for a place that could accommodate a home-based retail shop. I purchased the property then known as "Toad Hollow" in Wakefield. I moved in June and by the fourth of July I had established "Toad Hollow Jewelry" in the carriage house attached to the barn. By October the unheated space was too cold for comfort so I moved the operation into house occupying the room which is now Studio 2. Once filled with display cases, the room seemed very small!

At the time I was working as a children's librarian in the nearby town of Wolfeboro so in March 1997 I decided to open "Venus Rising," a mineral, crystal, bead and jewelry shop with a decidedly New Age flavor there.

Venus Rising closed in May of 2000 when I shifted my focus back to Toad Hollow full-time and expanded the business to occupy the barn (for minerals) and the carriage house once again (for jewelry and beads). Only this time the buildings were heated! Below is a photo of the carriage house as bead room.

Then bead part of the business became more popular than the rest and required more space, so the barn became a bead shop. In September 2006 I officially started "Anita's Beads" and added a large selection of Czech glass beads to the inventory.

And having made major discovery number 3 which was collage, the carriage house became my gallery.

Below is a recent photo of the bead shop as it looks today:

I'm working on a new display for the check-out counter on the right to show some of the lovely Toad Hollow crystals on sale this winter and will put up photos here soon!

Happy Birthday!

Today is the 14th anniversary of what is now Anita's Beads. I opened as Toad Hollow Jewelry on July 4th, 1996 just three weeks or so after relocating here. Miss Pearl moved in about the same time and has been a loyal mascot ever since.