'Beauty and the Bead' a Jewelry-Maker's Playground

The Vernon Hills store offers a variety of beads and jewelry-making supplies.

When you wander into her Beauty and the Bead store, owner Carol Greenspan wants to make sure you do so when you have time to play. It's a beading wonderland, with tables and cases and wall displays filled with with a rainbow of beads. There are Lampwork glass beads, Japanese Cloisonné, Italian glass beads, strands of African beads and even some from Tibet. And remember those mood rings? Well, Beauty and the Bead offers mood beads. "We encourage creativity," said Greenspan. "I give (customers) permission to play. There's no such thing as the fashion police." Greenspan initially opened Beauty and the Bead around 1995 in Libertyville. After a year, she moved to a space in Rivertree Court in Vernon Hills near Best Buy, where she stayed until …

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