Mark Lightfoot's Dandelion Bead Connection has a loyal base of diverse customers. Most of them are women who love jewelry and enjoy creating their own pieces. High school girls, for instance, make necklaces to match their prom gowns. But surprisingly, it's not only females who are attracted to the popular bead shop.
"Some of (our male customers) first came with their wives who did beading, but quit, and the husbands kept coming back," Lightfoot said. He and his staff of several part-time workers also sell beads to fisherman who tie their own flies, architects, hobby model makers, retired military and police officers.
Lightfoot has been selling beads and showing people how to create jewelry for 19 years. Loyal customers followed his store from Nicholasville to its present location by the railroad track on Rosemont Garden. People who have never made jewelry are surprised at being able to create a piece that they are proud to wear.
"The hard part is picking out the beads, not the putting it together," said Lightfoot, a thought echoed by his staff member Victoria Sumney.
The shop is an experienced beader's delight, but so many choices mean that a bewildered amateur needs some guidance and time to look around. Strands of glass beads in multiple sizes and shades of each color hang from pegs on the walls.
Wooden display cases are divided into dozens of tiny squares, each holding a different type of clasp, charm, or spacer. Amethysts in multiple shades of lavender and other semiprecious stones have their own section.
Lightfoot sells glass beads from Africa, Hong Kong, the Czechoslovakian Republic, Ethiopia, the United States, and other places. When friends who own beading shops retire, he buys their inventories.
Having been in the business so long, he doesn't need to use the internet or attend a lot of trade shows. He makes an effort to find out the source of the beads that he carries and refuses to sell any that might be the result of child labor. "If it's a really, really good deal, it's because some child has done the work," he explained.
Lightfoot offers jewelry-making classes most Saturdays. He and his associates are happy to help people work on a jewelry project whenever they come in. They also repair jewelry or show customers how to restring an old necklace or change part of a commercially-made piece.
While some customers create jewelry to sell to their coworkers or fellow club members, many others create items for themselves or as gifts for family and friends. "We have quite a lot of customers who come in every week or two," said Sumney.
Lightfoot thinks the appeal of beading is the chance to make jewelry "that is unique, to work with the colors." Unlike "other crafts which can take a long time to finish, beading is finished quickly."
Lightfoot enjoys seeing his customers being creative. The best part of having Dandelion Bead Connection is "having the flexibility to spend time with his children and to attend their school events."
He owns some beads that date from 420 B.C. and has taken them to schools. "It's neat seeing the kids when they see these beads," he said. Early beads such as these "were used for counting and for prayers, not for adornment," he explained.
Sumney said that she has seen people create necklaces "for two dollars and for two hundred. You can come in tons of times and always make something different." She added, "You don't always have to spend a lot of money to get the look you want."
Lightfoot offers discounts for customers who spend above certain amounts. While many of the beads are priced per bead, customers who buy in quantity pay less per bead.
Lightfoot has found that word of mouth is the most effective marketing tool for his shop. When people see beaded jewelry that their friends have made at Dandelion Bead Connection, they realize that they could create a piece for themselves, and then stop at the shop.
The incredible variety of merchandise and the attention given each customer have made Dandelion Bead Connection a very successful niche business. It's not surprising that JEWELRY CRAFT magazine named the shop one of the best in the U.S.