There's More than Beads at The Bead Store and More

Don’t expect a timid or library-like experience when you walk into The Bead Store and More in Rolfe Square.

Yes, you’ll find beads — lots of them. You’ll also see jewelry, unique trinkets, elaborate accessories for sale (and rent for special occasions), and vintage clothing including one-of-a-kind Betsey Johnson rarities you won’t find anywhere, encompassing all eras.

The store is bright and airy. Long white tables display a bounty of beads of all colors, shapes and size, some subtle, others bursting with flair.

But perhaps the most colorful part of the store is its owner, Donna Knight, a veteran of the fashion and design world, who rattles off names and places (1928, Calvin Klein, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York) she’s known and been with a casual wave of her hand.

“I’m just one little person,” she says with a laugh.

The Bead Store and More is suited for both experienced jewelry makers and people who’ve never touched a bead. Knight, who runs the shop with her sister, Linda Hawkins, will teach you the ins and outs and help you create a necklace, bracelet or whatever you come up with.

The store used to be tucked in a small building on Pontiac Avenue. Visibility wasn’t so good. Now, located in the heart of Rolfe Square, The Bead Store and More brings another locally-run business to the important business and cultural center. Next door is Betty’s Candies, and next to that is the Artists’ Exchange. Being part of a tentatively growing art scene on Rolfe Street highlights some of the reasons Knight has chosen this city to put down some stakes and stay a while.

“My sister and I used to run a vintage clothing store. I’ve been on the road. I’ve been a designer, a consultant. I needed a place to call home and Cranston was central. It’s connected. It’s close to the airport and transportation,” she said.

Along with beads and custom designed jewelry, the shop offers classes, rentals of jewelry, pearls and tiaras and crowns.

And with a reserve inventory consisting of Knight's massive collection of vintage and clothing and jewelry slowly making its way out of storage and into the store, you never know what you'll find.

Store hours: Monday, 12 to 6 p.m.; Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The shop is located at 44 Rolfe St.