Kasie's Beads

I found this little gem of a bead store by chance. It was packed with all kinds of stone, glass, pearls and findings galore. I was warmly greeted as I entered the store and asked if I needed help finding anything. I was impressed with the class selections and decided to take the Iced Swarovski Bracelet, with Gretchen, which was running later that same evening. The class was well structured and very well taught. Gretchen was a great teacher. She took time with each of us to make sure we all understood the steps. When I had trouble with my needle and got a knot Gretchen told me not to panic and showed me how to get it out. I have returned several times since my first visit and I always have a great time creating something at the store with help from one of the ladies work there. I have taken four of the classes they offer. One of which was with Carla who was another wonderful teacher. The store also has several fantastic sales throughout the year. I bought one strand of tourmaline and got the second one for free at one sale! more

I took my six year old daughter here before Mother’s Day to make something for her mother. The moment we walked in we were given a warm greeting and asked if we need any help. Gretchen showed us how to use a bead board and design our bracelet. She gave great advice on the design and using little metal beads to make it look “finished”. After we finished a bracelet for my wife and Gretchen attached the clasp for us I let my daughter design her own stretch bracelet which only ended up being $2.79! Gretchen got out a step stool so my daughter could see her bead choices better and held the board for her while Katie chose her beads. After we left Kasie’s Katie decided to try her bracelet as a necklace and it snapped. Needless to say my daughter was crushed so I took her back to make another since it was so inexpensive. Gretchen saw my daughter and was so kind. She asked her what was wrong and said it wasn’t a problem they would make the same bracelet again. She helped Katie find every bead she had before. I have no idea how anyone could remember that many beads, but it made my daughter so happy. She went from melt-down to smiling and laughing in no time. Gretchen was calm and patient the entire time and never looked less than understanding during my daughter’s melt-down stage. That amazed me. No one does a melt-down quite like my Katie. After she finished the bracelet she said it was, “On the house”. I know it was only $2.79 but I’ve never had anyone take that much time with my daughter and not want something in return. She said directly to Katie it was a treat to have her in the store so soon, which made her smile. Katie talks about the store, her bracelet and the nice bead lady every time someone sees her bracelet. She can’t wait till she is old enough to have her birthday party at the store. more

I had a wonderful experience at this bead store. The owner fixed three of my necklaces while I shopped around and didn't charge me for any of the repairs. She said since she was able to use my own materials there was no charge. She also was very flexible and taught me and my friend Basic Wire during store hours, which is not the usual. She said as long as we understood she may have to step away to help other customers she'd be happy to teach us. I live over an hour from the store so it is difficult for me to make the regular class times. I found her to be a very patient teacher. She had a talent for describing each step in simple terms. Example: she compared one of the steps to rolling up a sleeping bag. As soon as I could visualize this I had no problems with making my very own earrings. She also said we were both welcome back anytime for a ""refresher"" class as needed and that we could sit are the ""bead bar"" and use her tools at no charge. My friend and I had a wonderful afternoon at this cute bead shop and we plan to return very soon. more

I was told I should respond to this review by some regular customers so here it goes. Lizzie came in with her mother and sister to take the Crystal Bouquet class. The class is an intermediate level class. On the website and in our class brochures it does say you must have either taken our Swarovski Tennis Bracelet class or have the equivalent skills (the right angle weave). Lizzie’s group was complete beginners which made it three times as hard to do. To address all of Lizze’s complaints against me I guess I’ll try to address each one individually. First, my loud audible sighs were not slights against her party. I have asthma and I was having a very difficult time breathing during the class due to the perfume a member of her party was wearing. I had to take deep breaths in an attempt to get more oxygen into my lungs. I did excuse myself a couple of times to use my inhaler. The class was supposed to take 2.5 hours but I ended up staying almost 5 hours to help them finish their projects. I did suggest we take a break for lunch when I noticed how frustrated Lizzie was becoming. I felt if they took a break everyone could come back “fresh” and their frustrations would be less. They refused and said they just wanted to finished and go to the Cheesecake Factory after. Due to the class going over the scheduled time I had to cancel two afternoon appointments. At this point I did excuse myself to use my cell phone to call and cancel one appointment and I had to text another party to let them know I would be delayed with a class. I waited for a replay at the table to make sure my message was received. I was not on the phone at any other time or for any other reason. Since Lizzie’s group was all beginners they did not understand bead terminology and had a difficult time following along with just my descriptions of the steps. I tried explaining steps in several different ways, which I am happy and prepared to do. I did pick up a half finished bracelet I use for an example and felt if they watched me do the steps and followed along it would make picking them up easier. I did not think any offence would be taken by this action; I was only trying to use a visual aid. Lizzie chose not to finish her bracelet while her mother and sister did. They were smiling, shopped around after class and her mother thanked me on her way out. These were not the actions of an unsatisfied customer. If Lizzie or a member of her group had addressed these alleged slights during class or had expressed their feelings by calling me after they had left I would have done my best to address the grievances and offered a partial or full refund for the class price. I am sorry she had such a negative experience at the shop. She never spoke to me about any of these complaints the first I heard about any of this was in a review. I can’t help or fix a situation if I did not know that there was one. more

Kasie's Beads has a pretty good selection of beads. HOWEVER-- I would definitely NOT recommend taking any of the classes taught by the current owner, Gretchen. She is very rude, and extremely unhelpful. I'll reiterate that-- we got the worst, most terrible customer service from the OWNER, the person I expect the best customer service from! My mother, my sister and myself drove up from Bloomington, IL (a two hour drive, one way) to take the Crystal Bouquet Bracelet class taught by Gretchen. We were the only ones in the class, so it was very small. Gretchen was an awful teacher. She was impatient, terrible at explaining things, and generally made what should've been a fun afternoon not fun at all. I didn't even finish my bracelet because I was so frustrated at the lack of help. Gretchen was far more interested in finishing her OWN bracelet than helping us, and was all around rude-- she was texting during our 'class' and often gave loud, audible sighs whenever we asked for help. We didn't realize that having bead sewing experience was pretty much required for this class-- it's not advertised anywhere (including in the class description) that this is needed. We were extremely disappointed to make the long drive and spend $120 for a frustrating afternoon. I usually stopped into Kasie's beads every time we made a trip to Naperville (which is about once every couple of months), and have spent around $400 in there. On my way out, I gave my 'frequent beader' card to a stranger walking in-- I will NOT be back to that store. The owner really, really needs some training in customer service. She does not have the type of personality that lends itself to teaching others. Gretchen is very short & snappish, unfriendly, and NOT a people person-- I have no idea why she's teaching classes at all. more