Bead Inspirations has been sold from the Lapp Family to Jessi A, one of our employees and her sister Gabbie A. We will still be under the same name and in the same location in Alameda, CA. The last day of current operations is July 31st, 2026 from 11am - 5pm.
We have disabled buying from the webstore and have suspended classes, repairs, & private lessons until we reopen, which we are hoping to be about August 12-13th. We will send out an notice when we officially reopen.
If you have a repair that is with us and you haven't picked it up, please text 925-321-0801 or email us at [email protected] and we will coordinate with you.
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From Toni Lapp
Two years ago, my sister
Vicki – the founder of Bead Inspirations -- called me with dire news about her health and asked for help managing myriad tasks. Of utmost concern was this beloved bead shop, then approaching its 20th year in operation.
I knew little of retail and even less about beads. I didn't know the difference between round-nose and needle-nose pliers and confused obsidian with onyx, but I did my best to step up at a very difficult time. I made increasingly frequent visits from my home in Colorado and got to know and love this community.
As Vicki’s final days approached, we dreaded what was to come. A LOT of people urged us to liquidate the business when she died. As simple as that would have been, it was also too much to bear having to endure another loss. I began coming to Alameda on my vacations to work in the shop and learn more about the business.
It’s been quite a ride. I now shudder at the sound of beads hitting the floor (amazing how far they can roll!). That said, I can now identify a range of gemstones -- and have a newfound appreciation for a one-step looper.
I also came to appreciate the staff for their expertise. I can’t tell you how many times a customer would come in with their grandmother’s necklace and Jesse or Jessi would drop what they were doing to replace clasps or offer restringing tips. Or bring a newbie to the backroom to show them how to finish projects with shop tools. I knew that we made the right choice to keep the store open.
I am now stepping away as caregiver of this business. My work here is almost done. I hope you’ll drop by and sign the community card, share a memory of the shop or maybe find a treasure from Vicki’s collection to make your own. Last call is 5pm today -- until the shop reopens in mid-August!
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From Jessi A & Gabbie A
If you’re wondering who the new owners of Bead Inspirations are, the wait is over!
If you’ve been in the store in the past five years, you know me, Jessi one half of the Ashman Sister Duo. Gabbie (the other half) and I have been creating art since before preschool!
I loved getting messy with finger paints and anything else I could get my hands on. While painting and drawing never stuck for me, I turned to music, joining a semi-professional children’s choir at the age of eight years old. No one knew back then that I would be classified as a music genius later in life.
While choir was a HUGE part of my life, I wanted something hands on as well. Our parents supported our creativity, buying us every new creative fad that was out there, back in the day. When I was 13, my mom was at a store, and found bead loom. I took to that very quickly, creating my own patterns, whipping up a few bracelets a week. After that, I was introduced to polymer clay, and started making my own beads to use for jewelry.
Naturally, as I grew up, I had to focus on other aspects of life, including my education, but I still managed to keep up with my jewelry making, but not as much as in my younger years.
After my dad passed in 2017, I was devastated! He and I were very close, and I went into a deep depression. I had been diagnosed with bipolar I years earlier, and I knew medication and therapy weren’t the only things that would help me. I went back to polymer clay and then beads six months later.
This became my life. Every spare second I had, I was either conditioning polymer clay or stringing up beads. I learned new techniques, and found a love for seed beading, so naturally when Vicki sent out an email looking for interns and volunteers after being allowed to open back up after Covid, I immediately jumped at the opportunity! Gabbie and I had been customers since 2018, after doing an internet search for local bead stores.
I was eventually hired, and every time I came in with new eye-catching jewelry, Vicki said we should turn it into a class. I started teaching classes and soon private lessons as well.
Five years later, I’m still here. When the opportunity to buy the shop came up, I was apprehensive at first. I brought it up to Gabbie a few times, knowing I didn’t want to do it alone. While Gabbie and I started our own side business, Optical Amoeba Jewelry, buying the shop that had become my happy place seemed like the right move for the next chapter of my life. Plus, meeting the love of my life here makes Bead Inspirations all the more sentimental to me.
Jesse, the main face of Bead Inspirations, and I have been together for over four years, and, yes, he’s staying!
Gabbie and I have always been close, to the point where we’ve even lived together our whole lives. There’s no other person I would want to co-own the shop with. When I heard the shop was going to close if no one bought it, I texted Gabbie, explained the situation, and said “You wanna do it?” She replied with “Let’s do it!”
Now that you know about me, here’s a bit Gabbie wrote about herself:
Hello, I’m Gabbie. Born in Washington State, raised and lived in Oakland my entire life. Art and jewelry making have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
Art has been my hobby for life.
I started making art with painting and claying, to drawing and beading and more. I like to draw with pencils and charcoal, and I even enjoy incorporating drawing with jewelry making.
I have been a jewelry maker using polymer clay, resin, and beads (mostly earrings and necklaces) for 8 years. I take my jewelry making very seriously, and I will do the same with my duties as co-owner of Bead Inspirations! I look forward to meeting all of you!
So, here we are, excited and terrified, but doing it together as our Sister Duo.
We look forward to seeing you all, both new and old customers, when we reopen in mid-August.
Happy Beading!
Jessi and Gabbie
