Bead + Fiber

Friendly, helpful & knowledgeable. I’m from out of town & got a great recommendation for a place to eat. I will definitely visit again. Goes without saying there are beautiful yarns & beads here.

This is the type of place that is a hub for multiple creative communities. They can teach you to do any of the beautiful examples they have displayed around the shop. And I spent a lovely afternoon there this weekend learning a couple progressive weave techniques. While I was there a stream of people from an experienced knitter, to a cos-​play costumer looking for a particular crystal, to a family with a daughter and son full of questions about different beading and weaving projects. The shop owner and staff were so gracious with their time and knowledge. I left with a beautiful bracelet that i made, and feeling totally zen’d out.

Where do I begin? Bead + Fiber is a great shop not too far from my house. It’s on my way to the new Whole Foods when I walk there, so I end up stopping there quite often.
The selection of beads is very awesome. They have all sorts of beads and strands of natural stones, but their selection of ethnic, vintage and unique beads is great. They have lots of notions and findings there as well. I got this leather and rhinestone bracelet at Bloomingdales for $ 150, and nearly fainted when I saw the same materials and made a copy of the same bracelet for $ 30!!! I ended up making a bunch of them for friends. They also have lots of great yarn. I’m in love with the Madeline Tosh yarns. The colors are unreal. They have great sample projects hanging all over the store, for both beading and knit/​crochet.
I have had good experience with the employees and owner. I had a knitting project I was in the middle of and needed help so I brought it in, and they managed to help me figure it out.
All in all, my experiences there have been great. Going there gets me inspired to make something new!

Fantastic selection, great prices and the owner was very nice and helpful. One of my favorite stores to check out when I’m in Boston!

Here’s my review of this store. I called them one late morning after running out of jewelry supplies following a more-​successful-​than-​I-​had-​planned craft fair that I was still a part of. I needed new supplies and it was too last-​minute to get them from my wholesaler and the other store I occasionally go to was closed. I explained what I needed and asked if they had it in stock. They assured me that they did and would set it aside for me. I told her when I would get in to pick it up. I planned to spend a couple of hundred dollars.
So then it ended up taking me FOREVER to get to this place via public transport. I didn’t have our car and ended up having multiple issues with the T, buses, and walking I needed to take to get to the store. I had given myself plenty of time because I didn’t want to be late meeting her. But it still took at least 90 minutes from JP. All the while I’m constantly checking my watch because I need to be back by a certain time to make the pieces I need in time for the fair the next morning.
When I finally did find the shop the lights were off. It was well before their closing time so you can imagine my fury to see a note taped to the door saying «Be back soon!» Soon? When is soon? Furthermore, when did you put the note up? There was no number to call, no indication as to the time when they would be back, no explanation as to why they were gone. That is really poor business.
No one was there. The door was locked. After I had called and specifically spoke with someone about when I would be there. I wasn’t late. There was just no one there.
So I wasn’t able to get my supplies. Or make my jewelry. And the next day, my selection at the craft fair was pretty crummy. And I was embarrassed. And I’ve not been back since.

I wasn’t too impressed with the store and bead selection. Not to mention the very high prices for everything. There are other bead stores out there that have a nicer selection at lower prices. There was something «odd» about the store, not sure what it was.

Mom’s visits are the perfect excuse to try things I never get around to doing on my own… and that includes jewelry-​making classes. We’d signed up for a bracelet class the weekend she’d be here, and we trekked all the way from the Green Line just in time for our 11 am session. As it turned out, the instructor’s husband had had a heart attack (!) so the class had been cancelled… and they forgot to call us to let us know. (We were the only people signed up.) But luckily for us, the owner Andrea let us pick a different class instead. We took bead looming (which, shh, was the class we’d actually wanted in the first place but didn’t work out with our dates), and our instructor Nicole was so cheerful and encouraging and sunny that we kind of wanted to take her with us after the class was done. FYI, 10% discount on merch if you take a class.

This place has a lovely selection of beads, but they overshadow the yarn offerings. The yarn selection seems to be focused on what the owner likes, and is heavy on bulky and/​or variegated. Don’t come here if you need yarn for a specific pattern, because you probably won’t find it. Come here if you want to pick up something unusual and then figure out what to do with it.
I also found the owner to be rather annoying. She babbled to us while we were there, even when we were on the other side of the store. When I pointed beads out to my companion she would butt in and have to say something about each one every time. Shopping experiences like that drive me up a wall.

The store is lovely, the people are friendly, the atmosphere is welcoming. But what really sets it apart is the people working there — they LOVE what they do and it is evident from the minute you walk in the store regardless of whether you are a beginner or expert craftsperson.
I am a repeat knitter — relearning after many years — and took a class. There was one other person so it was like having a private lesson. Officially the class was two hours but I stayed longer and the instructor (Rhonda) made herself available during that time.
I have gotten to know the Andrea (the owner) and Nicole (jeweler and all-​round expert) and it has been a joy. As I said, they love what they do and will go out of their way to find what you want and help you with your projects.
For those who knit — the yarns are beautiful and unusual. Since they have a large number of other products, the section with yarn is relatively small but definitely worth checking out. I haven’t asked, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you have a particular yarn you would like they would try to get it for you.
Truly worth a visit and you also get the perk of checking out the other interesting stores and galleries.

I walked into this store entirely by accident, having noticed a sign saying «Bead & Fiber» and «Open.»
I don’t dress like a knitter. I usually dress more like a construction worker. The woman on duty looked at me and said, «Can I help you?» in a tone that I thought at the time was kind of dismissive. So I said, «I’m knitting a Norwegian sweater, and I’m looking for clasps for the neck and matching buttons for the cuffs.» «Oh!» she said, lighting up, «my buttons are over here, but I don’t have any appropriate clasps in stock — I’ll be getting some next week, I think.» She then showed me her button selection (extensive, quirky, and high-​quality), and some of the clasps she had (which were also wonderful, but weren’t right for my project). So she took my name and phone number, and we talked yarn for a few minutes. Then I said, «well, if you don’t mind, I’ll browse a bit?» and she said, «Oh, we actually closed half an hour ago, officially, but look around if you like.»
Suddenly I understood the tone of her greeting, and I understood it: it wasn’t dismissive so much as it was tired. I’ve had long work days before, and I’ve had people bring me problems right at the end when I was going home. I hated it. Instead of saying, «I’m sorry, we’re closed,» she took the time to wait on me, staying a good half hour past her closing time, even when she knew from my question she wasn’t going to see a sale that day.
Based on that one interaction, I’ll *definitely* be back — hopefully to get some nice pewter clasps, but there was that large selection of yarn I only managed to barely glance at…

Super-​friendly staff, nice selection of yarns at reasonable prices. There’s a great selection of buttons and beads.

Serious jewelry-​making supplies, beads, findings, etc here. I loved the quality of the items. They were a little pricier than chain-​craft stores but the difference is reflected in the quality of their hard-​to-​find items.
They had Boston metal beads and charms, holiday-​themed pieces and everything was good-​quality and tasteful.
Staff was pleasant and showed me items without pressure to buy.
Got some great items here for making necklaces.
Stop by year-​round but also super-​convenient during SOWA season.
Very Unilocal-​able place :)

Took a 2 hour Learn to Knit Class using a Living Social coupon. The class was really small; just 4 of us, making it perfect for this type of lesson. Our instructor was really friendly, super patient and accommodating our our wildly differing skill sets. It almost felt like a private lesson. I’ve taken intro knitting over the past few years (I keep putting down the yarn ball and forgetting about it rather than practicing my skills!) and never felt 100% on my ability to do it. I’d say I walked out of this lesson the most confident… by far.
The selection for their yarn isn’t bad; it’s maybe a ¼ of the space. Prices and types are a good range. I walked out with two skeins of yarn for under $ 10.00. The owners also knew of a lot of differing yarn retailers and knitting groups in the area. She wasn’t afraid to make some recommendations for places and lessons closer to me, which was pretty nice and generous.
I’m looking forward to testing out my skills and potentially come back in for the next level at the full price rate. Highly recommended!
PS — 2 Hour Validated Parking in the SOWA area is pretty great, since it’s smack between the orange and red lines.

If you’re visiting the Sunday SoWa Artists’ Market or Vintage Market it is very worth a visit to Bead + Fiber. They have an excellent selection of beads not found elsewhere and the owners are both friendly and helpful.

I had never been into a bead store before. Or maybe I had, but they smelled funny and were borderline scary. This place was incredible though. I was looking for a graduation present for someone who has such a distinctly unique style that I really had NO idea what to get her. So poking around the South End, I stumbed on this shop which I had walked past a dozen times before. I found so many beautiful beads, vintage machine parts, leathers… And obviously, I had never made any piece of jewlery before. The shop owner was so nice that she actually let us make it there, and helped us with the construction and clasp — it was great!

Wow… This store is amazing. Be prepared to spend like 3 hours browsing here and empty out your bank account! They have the largest selection of beads I’ve found in the Boston area, and the staff are welcoming and knowledgeable. The store is beautiful; full of unique, interesting beads, exquisite fibers/​yarns/​cords, and some wonderful knicknacks, like antique compasses, loose watch parts, and hand-​dyed scarves. The only reason I didn’t give them 5 stars is that their prices are on the high side. The store is located in a wonderfully artsy part of the South End, amongst a collection of art galleries, so it’s a great opportunity to stop in at one along the way!

Went in here recently, love it! They have a wide and interesting selection of beads, jewels, and other kit required to make your own jewelry (as well as a few pre-​made items). I bought about $ 20 worth of beads and I feel as if I just created the entire stock to fuel an overpriced Etsy store…

Took a metal smithing class (with Andrea) and a stringing 101 class (with Deborah) during my vacation stay here in Boston. (I am from San Francisco.) Andrea welcomed me with open arms and was an excellent teacher. By the end of class I had created my first metal pendant, and was quite proud of it. Deborah was also an excellent teacher and made sure we knew the nuances of finishing a piece.
I would encourage anyone traveling to Boston on their vacation to take a couple of classes here. The store and people are both beautiful and inspiring.:-)

I really liked this store and its concept of having both bead and fiber. My friends and I just took Kumihimo class (is a Japanese form of braid-​making) and the instructor Marilyn was everything you could ask for. Everything was easily organized for us, she was exceptionally patient, and made sure everyone was learning the technique properly. And her own work is beautiful. I am definitely going back for the advanced Kumihimo course.
They have a number of really interesting classes that I have not seen elsewhere with lots of examples in the store. (Although I wish there were more classes on the weekends but I understand the difficulty of trying to accommodate lots of schedules.) Andrea Garr, the owner, also creates some amazingly beautiful jewelry (crochet beading) and is very friendly and helpful. She clearly knows her products (unlike some of the help you encounter at some bead stores) and she carries items that other bead stores don’t.
Check it out when you are in SOMA.

I just visited Bead + Fiber Gallery for the first time the other day! It’s a cute shop that is also billing itself as ‘a new concept in a fine art gallery’. In addition to selling beading supplies and teaching classes, they also exhibit fine art beadwork by accomplished artists! I will agree that they do not offer a huge variety of beads, but they also sell felting supplies, fiber art, and beautiful beaded jewelry!