Santa Monica Bead Store With a $5 Bead Table: Beadahs

Beadahs, the Santa Monica bead store at 1728 Ocean Park Blvd that used to be called Beadniks, lets you pull up a chair at its tables, borrow its tools and build your own piece for $5 per person, per project. Check the calendar before you drive over this month. From October 9 the shop is open on Fridays and Saturdays only, and its regular Wednesday to Sunday schedule, 11 am to 6 pm, returns on October 28.

Beadahs is a mother-daughter shop. Shannon and her mom, Ermie, opened the bead store together, and the name is a pun they clearly enjoy: in Tagalog, bidas means heroes, and Beadahs turns that word into a bead joke. The shop was formerly Beadniks, a name long-time Westside beaders will recognize, and the old Beadniks web address now points elsewhere, so search for Beadahs if you are looking it up.

That family feel shapes the store. It is a small neighborhood shop on Ocean Park Boulevard rather than a big-box craft aisle, and the owners describe their stock as rare and unique beads rather than bulk supplies. If you want a hundred identical crystals, a downtown wholesaler is the better trip. If you want one unusual focal bead and advice on how to build around it, this is the place.

The $5 table is the shop's signature, and at that price it costs less than most of the beads you will put on it. The fee covers your seat and use of the shop's tools for one project. You buy the beads and findings you want from the shelves, sit down, and assemble your piece on the spot. If you get stuck on a crimp or a clasp, staff are right there.

This is ideal for a first-timer who does not own pliers, cutters or a bead board and does not want to buy a starter kit before knowing whether beading is for them. It is also a good fix for repairs you want to do yourself, such as restringing a bracelet, since the tools are already on the table. Count on the bead cost being the main expense, not the $5 seat. A simple strung bracelet might need only a strand of beads, a clasp and two crimps, so a first project can stay modest, and you leave knowing which tools are worth buying for home.

The class menu covers stringing, knotting, off-loom and loom weaving, wire wrapping and stone caging. Basic Bead Stringing is by appointment at $40 for two hours of instruction and use of tools, and Loom Beadweaving is $60 for two hours, also by appointment. Students get 10% off all purchases on the day of their class, which matters when the beads for a loom project add up.

One important caveat for this month: the shop's classes page says all regular and private classes are on hiatus during October. If you want to learn loom weaving, book for November or later and use October for browsing and the bead table instead.

Parties run $75 for two hours for up to eight people, with $10 for each additional person and a maximum of 16. On top of that, plan a materials budget of at least $20 per attendee. For a birthday group of eight, that works out to roughly $75 for the room plus $160 or more in beads, which is a reasonable price for a two-hour activity where everyone leaves with something they made.

Regular hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am to 6 pm, with Monday and Tuesday closed. For October, the shop posted special hours: beginning October 9 it is temporarily closed on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and open on Fridays and Saturdays only. Its homepage also lists specific closed dates of Wednesday October 21, Thursday October 22 and Sunday October 25. Regular hours resume on October 28.

So for the rest of this month, aim for a Friday or Saturday visit, and arrive before late afternoon if you want time at the bead table. From October 28 onward, a Wednesday or Thursday at 11 am will be the quietest time to settle in. Because the shop is small and family run, its posted notices are the best guide.

Ocean Park Boulevard runs straight down toward the beach, and Main Street in Santa Monica is a little over a mile west, a long walk or a short drive, lined with independent boutiques, cafes and restaurants between Pico Boulevard and the Venice border at Rose Avenue. It is a pleasant loop after a beading session, and the ocean breeze makes it a good walk even on a warm afternoon.

Farther north along the beach, the Santa Monica Pier is a longer walk or a quick bike ride along the beach path. If you would rather stay inland, Clover Park sits east on Ocean Park Boulevard, with lawns, sports fields and a view of planes taking off from Santa Monica Airport, an easy picnic stop with a bag of new beads to sort.

Address: 1728 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405, in the Ocean Park neighborhood. Regular hours: Monday closed, Tuesday closed, Wednesday 11 am to 6 pm, Thursday 11 am to 6 pm, Friday 11 am to 6 pm, Saturday 11 am to 6 pm, Sunday 11 am to 6 pm. October special hours: Friday and Saturday only from October 9, with regular hours back on October 28.

Prices: bead table $5 per person per project, Basic Bead Stringing $40 for two hours, Loom Beadweaving $60 for two hours, and parties $75 for two hours for up to eight guests plus a $20 minimum materials budget per attendee. Classes resume after October. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for a coffee stop on Main Street to round out the afternoon.