HOLEY BEADS!

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

By one definition, a bead is anything with a hole in it, which goes a little way toward explaining the broad appeal of beading, a hobby/craft/art form - whatever you want to call it - that remains popular tens of thousands of years after nomadic hunter-gatherers first took a break from killing stuff so they could adorn themselves with perforated seashells.

"Beads are accessible to everyone," says Stacy Bierma, owner of Harlequin Beads & Jewelry in Eugene. "You can find something that you like in your budget."

Bierma sells inexpensive beads that can be turned into bracelets for just a few dollars and gem stones that go for several hundred dollars apiece.

Her own collection includes antique amber beads and Italian-made "trade beads," once used to buy gold, ivory and even slaves from Africa. She also has beaded headwear and an ancient African bead strand estimated at 2,000 years old.

"It's the earliest form of adornment, a form of self-expression," Bierma says. "It's also kind of addictive."

She should know. Bierma's store could be a monument to the narcotic properties of beads. She draws lots of repeat customers from all walks of life and, on a typical day, her store is abuzz with all sorts of beading activity.

Bierma's clients include beginning beaders, Saturday Market artists, crafting fanatics, Girl Scout troups and bridal parties in search of novel group activities.

The majority of her clients are women, but Harlequin does attract a few men - some of them dabblers, some of them serious artists, some of them fishermen in search of colorful flair for their lures.

Bierma's business has grown exponentially in the more than two decades since she started selling beads out of a backpack at Grateful Dead shows while still in her teens. Now she owns the 4,700-square-foot building that houses Harlequin. She employs 20 people and offers health and dental coverage.

All because of beads.

"In the last 10 years beads have just taken off," Bierma says. "Now there's a bead store in almost every town."

Harlequin isn't the only store that sells objects with holes in them. There are at least a half-dozen other outlets in the area that cater to beading enthusiasts, and that doesn't include the hundreds of bead artists who sell their creations at craft fairs and other locations. At the Oregon Country Fair earlier this month, where Bierma set up a booth for the 22nd consecutive year, she estimated a quarter of the more than 400 vendors were selling some sort of beads.

Even with all those beads, Gabrielle Guidero believes that there's still room for more retailers. The manager of the recently opened Azillion Beads in west Eugene, she says beading is only going to get bigger as more people discover how enjoyable it can be.

"We see people come in as hobbyists and eventually start their own business and become artists," Guidero says. "I talked to a lady who took her beads on a cruise and ended up selling (her jewelry) on board the ship."

Guidero, whose family also owns a flagship Azillion Beads store in Bend, says she believes that many people are drawn to beading by the sense of calm it provides.

That's the case with Kendra Francesco of Eugene who started beading four years ago. She says beading helps her relax after work.

"I think the thing I like the best is the instant gratification of it," says Francesco, who uses a process called wire twisting to turn beads into dangling silver jewelry. "You can see immediately what you're doing."

The learning curve never ends for beaders such as Francesco, says Nome May, a Eugene artist who's been working with beads for most of her life.

And if you don't like something you've made, you can always take it apart and start over. Beaders continue refining their techniques as they go, May says, and along the way many of them find something they didn't know they were looking for.

"Beading creates a really meditative space in one's life," she says. "You may not know that you need that or have the ability (to have that), but it will bring it out in you. Creativity, too."

May often talks to beginning beaders who tell her they don't have a creative bone in their bodies. But after exploring the art form further, she says, many of them discover an artistic side to themselves.

That's what happened to Victoria Biedron, who says she longed for years to become a beader, but only picked it up last spring after attending a gem show.

Biedron took a beading class, started stringing stones and pearls together and, before long, she was beading every day.

"Your personality and your creativity can really come through," Biedron says. "You could give five people the same set of beads, and they would all come up with something different."

Cecelia Heykamp, co-owner of Baker Bay Beads in Dorena, says beads have affected every culture the world over. Her store sells a variety of glass beads and her husband, Bud, collects antique trade beads, some of which date back to the Lewis & Clark expedition. The famous explorers traded beads with the American Indians they encountered on their route and beads later became an integral part of the fur trade in the Northwest.

Baker Bay Beads also caters to American Indian groups who use tiny seed beads for regalia and other types of beads used in rituals.

"(Beads) are part of history and culture," Heykamp says. "It's something that is attractive and colorful ... and it's relatively simple. Just about anybody can do it. It's not something that anybody should be afraid of."

BEADS FOR BEGINNERS All that's needed to be a beader, bead shop owner Stacy Bierma says, is a desire to make something. Here are a few tips on getting started, courtesy of local bead experts and beginners:

Trust your eye: Buy the beads that strike your fancy. If you're making something that's uniquely your style, you are more likely to stick with it.

Ask for assistance: Most bead shops are happy to help customers decide what goes with what, or answer other questions about supplies and materials. Some stores offer the free use of beading tools to make jewelry on the spot.

Classes and circles: Some bead shops offer classes and/or informal beading circles where you can pick up tips and learn new techniques.

Internet resources: Beading Web sites, such as the one maintained by the magazine Bead & Button (www .beadandbutton.com), offer ideas, virtual libraries and other information for beginners. A number of local bead shops also maintain a Web presence, including Harlequin Beads & Jewelry (www.harlequinbeads.com), Baker Bay Bead Company (www .bakerbay.com) and Azillion Beads (www.azillionbeadsbend 8.com).