Beads And More is a family run business, born out of a passion for beads, bead craft & jewellery making. We are based in Bath and have founded our online bead shop to share our passion and selection of beads with customers across the UK.

Whether they are glass beads, metal beads, millefiori beads or crystal beads, each string has been personally selected to provide our customers with the best quality, visual appeal and value for money.

Beads And More was founded in 2007 by Barbara and Andrew Squires, who have continued to grow the business from a hobby into the thriving enterprise that it is today.

Our Story

Barbara has always loved jewellery, no outfit being complete without an attractive piece of jewellery. Andrew has often said that she has more jewellery than the Royal family, usually as she was buying a new piece!

When Barbara saw jewellery making classes advertised, she was keen to enrol and spent a fascinating time learning the basic techniques. Having discovered a natural flair for jewellery making she went on to create many pieces, all of which were admired by friends, family and work colleagues.

Barbara became hooked, scanning the internet for beads and books to learn more techniques, while becoming a regular in the local shops. Her enthusiasm and fascination with beads began to rub off on Andrew. He was aware that prices in the shops were quite high and internet products did not always meet expectations. During a business trip to Asia, Andrew sought out local bead shops and brought back a small selection of beads for Barbara's personal use.

Andrew's choice of beads was excellent and Barbara was soon making attractive necklaces, earrings and bracelets, for herself and to order for friends and family. As the number of requests for commissions and loose beads began to grow, the small supply of beads began to run short. The seeds of a business idea were planted!

Andrew returned to Asia to find more bead suppliers from across Thailand, Cambodia and Hong Kong. He soon became absorbed in bead buying, spending long arduous hours in bead shops and factories. Rewarded only by refreshing bottles of the local brew, he accumulated a huge amount of hand-picked stock to ship back to the UK.

Waiting in the UK, Barbara was delighted with the shipments. As each arrived, the contents became more varied and the quantities grew to encompass some very exciting and breathtaking beads.

Based on the quality and prices of what Andrew had seen in Asia, Barbara and he decided that their business should focus on fair pricing, offering enthusiastic beaders the benefit of prices lower than High Street shops, while retaining a high level of quality and variety.

To give customers who like to touch and feel products before purchasing, Beads And More was launched into the South West Craft Show circuit in 2007, where a loyal following of regular buyers have enjoyed Beads And More's excellent value for money.

Frequently asked by craft show customers about a website and wanting to offer the entire range of bead products for sale, Barbara and Andrew decided to launch the Beads And More online shop. Without the overheads of a traditional shop and with fair postage pricing, Beads And More aim to offer bead enthusiasts, from across the UK, a wide variety of high quality beads at some of the most reasonable prices on the internet.

The Future

Looking forward, we plan to continue the expansion of our catalogue with regular buying trips scheduled to acquire more hand-picked beads. We also plan to offer more products and services beyond our great selection of beads.

We have recently introduced a starter kit. It contains everything you need to take the first steps into the world of beading and also makes a great year-round gift for young and old alike. We plan to expand our selection of beading kits as time and stock permit.

Of course, our website and its future would not be complete without you. We are always keen to hear new ideas and feedback from our customers and would love you tell us about the projects you have completed using our products.

Barbara and Andrew Squires
Beads and More