The Place to Bead in Princeton

When Doris Figueroa first started beading 18 years ago with her daughters, now 26 and 23, she never could have imagined that it would become such a huge creative outlet in her life, and that she would own a store where she could impart her love of the craft to others.

“My husband had brought our girls in to this place and he came home and told me, ‘you really need to go to the shop, you would love it,’ and the family joke is that I did go to the shop and I never left,” said Figueroa.

The shop is called The Place to Bead, and it is located on Witherspoon Street. Figueroa enjoyed beading so much that she continued it as a hobby, and when the manager’s position at the store opened up ten years ago, she took it. She managed the store for five years, and then, when the store came up for sale in 2006, she bought it

“I realized I had a knack for beading," she said. "I find it relaxing and I enjoy being creative.

“And now I share my love for beading by giving classes. We give over 20 classes per season, every spring, fall, summer and winter. We give private lessons. We have events like bridal parties and girls night out. People can rent space for birthday parties and everyone comes in to bead, including men who are wonderful beaders.”

Figueroa says anyone can be a good beader, but it takes a certain attitude to be great.

“You can’t be afraid of designing something and making it your own," she said. "People will ask what’s right, what’s wrong, and I tell them there isn’t any right way or wrong way to bead. It should be based on what you love, what you find beautiful.”

The Place to Bead offers an array of choices to get the creative juices flowing. Crafters can select from a wide range of beads in every color, size and shape including semi-precious stones, vintage German beads from the 1940s and 1950s, Czech glass, freshwater pearls and Japanese sea beads.

 “We have an amazing variety of beads here that you can’t find in other places,” said Figueroa proudly.

The beads can be strung on silk cord, stringing wire, leather and suede. One-of-a-kind pieces can be created from scratch or existing pieces can be brought in and beads added to make it longer or shorter or just be updated with a personal stamp.

Figueroa also offers extensive repair service and has fixed everything from belts to pocketbooks, and even a hanging mobile.

 “Just when I think I’ve fixed it all, someone brings in something new and I discover that I have not,” she revealed, saying she enjoys the challenge and rarely turns any project away. “If we can do it we will.”

The Place to Bead is run by Figueroa’s family. Her sister-in-law is her manager and both her daughters, Samantha and Jessica, help out on weekends. Figueroa says her husband, who started it all 18 years ago, likes to call himself the handyman who doesn’t get paid.

Figueroa says the feeling of family extends outside the doors of her shop.

“You know the shop owner next door or across the street. If I don’t have time to get out for lunch, I call my friend at Sakura Express right next door and I say ‘can you bring me some take out’ and he does. We all take care of each other. It’s the same thing with Village Silver on the other side of my shop. It’s the kind of community where we do for one another and are happy to do so." 

That spirit of partnership is even more important these days, Figueroa says, because it is not easy to be a small mom and pop shop in this economy.

“In these times we are all struggling together,” she said. “In my business, it’s all the big box craft stores and the Internet that offer beads by the volume. People come in sometimes and say ‘I can buy these beads for less’ and they want to compare what they find in those stores to what I have here. But they are not the same quality beads. I shop and buy beads by hand. I have vendors in New York or I go to the shows at the Javits Convention Center. I also have vendors who come to me, one in Brazil who comes to the states regularly, another in North Carolina, and even somebody from Arizona who brings me turquoise that is drilled here in the United States and that’s rare.”

Figueroa says another difference with her shop is the customer service.

“You can’t go into a big store and get the kind of attention that you get here,” she said. “Our beads are unique and have a one-of-a-kind quality and you get the feeling when you leave the shop that you have created a one-of-a-kind piece.”