Events

Beaded Bliss is now CLOSED
What's Next

After 19 years in business, it's time to say good-bye to the store. While I know I will still see many of you at our special events, I will miss seeing my bead store friends each week. I want to thank each and every one of you for your business, support and friendship. I've loved every minute of my bead store life and will miss it terribly. But, it's time to turn the page, and be there for my 3 little punkins' - Rachel and Ryan, 3 1/2 years, and Jason, 2 years.

Murano Glass Bead Trunk Show
Thursday - Saturday. February 16th - 18th, 2012

Thursday Evening: 5-8 p.m.
Friday: 10-5
Saturday: 10-5

Join us for this very special and exclusive Trunk Show. Venetian Bead Historian and Collector, Nicole Anderson, will be in exhibiting all her gorgeous, authentic, Venetian glass beads made by the Murano artisans of Italy.

LOCATION
Annex Clubhouse - Sycamore Homes Association
635 Old Orchard Drive (on the corner of Sycamore Valley Road and Old Orchard Drive)
Danville, CA 94526

The Clubhouse is easy to get to and has great parking, It is only about a mile off the freeway at the Sycamore Valley Road Exit - just across the freeway from downtown Danville.

A little history about Nicole:
In 1985, Nicole Anderson departed for Europe with a one-way ticket. Having graduated from St. Mary’s College of Orchard Lake, MI in 1984 with a B.A. in Communication Arts, she yearned to see all the art history that she studied for years. During this adventure, she met a man in Venice, Italy, and got married. The marriage was short-lived but she decided to stay in Venice because she was spellbound with the charm of the city.

Nicole’s first job in Italy was painting masks for Carnival. This job lasted four years and gave her the language skills she needed to pursue a career in the glass industry. She later held jobs in beautiful glass stores in the historical centers of Venice—St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge area, as well managing a glass lighting store on the island of Murano. It was during these first jobs that Nicole fell in love with Venetian glass beads and soon discovered that she had a natural talent for selling an article that she truly adored. She invested time and money in collecting beads, making jewelry, buying books on beads, studying the history of Venetian beads, and eventually taking this passion to the U.S. to share and export the beads.

Nicole lives full-time in Venice, Italy. She speaks fluent Italian and has Italian citizenship. She comes to the U.S. every year to embark on a 10,000-mile trunk-show tour. All the beads she carries have been handcrafted by Murano artisans. Nothing is imported. She carries beads from the 1920s, vintage beads from the 60s, new chevrons, old chevrons, blown beads, lamp-worked beads, and contemporary beads and pendants—all originating from the island of Murano where the art of blowing glass began in the late 1200s.

Nicole is currently writing a book on the history of a glass and bead factory of Murano—the Società Veneziana per l’Industria delle Conterie (1898-1992). She won several grants from the Northwest Bead Society and the Bead Society of Greater Chicago. The book should be completed by The end of this year!