By the time 1997 rolled around, Jamie was 26 and had spent most of her life following one constant thread: a fascination with where things come from and what they mean to us. She studied in Japan during her freshman year of college, then graduated with a degree in History and a minor in Japanese and Women’s Studies — an education rooted in stories, lineages, culture, and the ways people find power and meaning in their lives.

Underneath that, there was an even earlier influence: growing up with a mom who could do just about everything with her hands. Jamie watched her cook, bake, garden, crochet, knit, sew, bead, lampwork, and stitch her way through problem after problem with a creative, solution-based kind of energy. “I can’t” wasn’t really part of the vocabulary; it was more, “Let’s see how we can make this work.” That mindset quietly shaped everything: the belief that learning how to make — with your hands, your heart, and your brain — is one of the most important skills you can develop.

Career-wise, though, nothing had fully clicked yet. There had been plenty of short jobs and experiments, and instead of feeling like failures, they felt like information: this isn’t it, keep going. At that point, Jamie dreamed of starting a nonprofit to help people earn a living through craft.

When she shared this idea with the mom of a dear high school friend, this wise woman listened carefully, then asked one simple, life-altering question: “That’s wonderful… but how are you going to earn a living?” That question lit a fire. She didn’t just offer advice and walk away; she helped Jamie get a small loan, write a contract, and sign a lease on a tiny space near Ala Moana.

Not long after, this leap became a shared life. Jason stepped in as Jamie’s best friend and, eventually, the other half of The Bead Gallery. Where Jamie tends to generate ideas, possibilities, and new sparks, Jason is the one who figures out how to make those sparks sustainable.

He is practical, steady, and endlessly resourceful: the person who can fix the lights, the tools, the computers, and the displays, and then turn around and build the systems we rely on for inventory, tech, shipping, and shows. Jamie keeps adding fuel to the fire; Jason makes sure we don’t burn out. The Bead Gallery exists because of both of us, side by side — two very different brains, one shared dedication to helping people make things.

Over the years, we began to notice who kept returning to our table. Our customers weren’t just “crafters” in the casual sense; they were often the backbone of their families and communities — the ones caring for aging parents, raising children, supporting partners, holding workplaces together, and showing up again and again with so much heart.

Many of you arrived at the shop, or found us online, with this quiet understanding that you couldn’t keep pouring from an empty cup. Beading became more than a pastime: it became your exhale, your reset, a small protected space where your hands move, your mind settles, and you get to remember yourself for a while. We’ve always thought of The Bead Gallery as a home base for makers who carry a lot and deserve a place to refill.

Part of holding that space is being intentional about what we bring into it. For decades, we’ve traveled and sourced beads and gemstones from places like the Czech Republic, Japan, and Bali — regions where craft is a living tradition rather than a passing trend.

We don’t simply order everything in a catalog or chase whatever is loudest on social media. We cherry-pick pieces that feel honest and special: gemstones that are well-cut and well-shaped, materials with real integrity and beauty, beads that feel good in your hand and look just as good in natural light as they do in a photo.

We give a wide berth to fakes, heavily dyed stones, confusing or misleading names, and copycat materials, asking questions, comparing, testing, and constantly learning as we go. We don’t pretend to be perfect, but we do our best every day to refine our eye and our ethics. If it’s in our shop, it’s there on purpose, because we believe in it.

We also care deeply about what happens after the beads go home with you. We’ve never believed that you need a drawer full of specialized tools to make something meaningful. Instead, we focus on teaching techniques that actually help: simple, time-tested methods that solve real problems you’ll meet at your workbench.

We want you to understand why something works — why that crimp holds, why that wire behaves the way it does, why a certain design feels balanced — so that you can repair, adapt, and create on your own, whether you’re fixing a beloved heirloom bracelet or building an entire jewelry side hustle.

What began as one table in a small Honolulu shop has slowly expanded into a global classroom. Through our YouTube channel, we’ve had the joy of connecting with makers from Honolulu to Helsinki and far beyond. There are now tens of thousands of subscribers and millions of views, and every so often someone walks in, takes one look at us, and says, “Wait… I know you from YouTube!” Those moments never stop feeling a little surreal and very sweet; they turn strangers into instant ʻohana.

We’ve been here long enough to watch three generations grow with us: grandmothers who first walked through our doors in the late 90s, their daughters who learned their first wire wrap or crimp at our table, and now their grandchildren who visit the shop, join our live streams, or shop online from wherever they are in the world.

In that time, we’ve weathered recessions, a pandemic, shifting economies, changing technology, and the very real ups and downs of running a small business as just two people doing a lot of jobs. As we move into our later years and see friends begin to retire, people sometimes ask when we plan to slow down.

The honest answer is that we don’t feel ready to. What we do doesn’t feel like “work” in the traditional sense, and it’s not exactly play either — it’s a life. It’s a life that keeps us curious, motivated, and awake to our own growth, a life that asks us to stay self-aware and choose our happiness again and again through color, texture, stories, and the community we get to grow with you.

If you’ve found your way here, we already feel a sense of kinship. Maybe you’re searching for one special vintage glass bead or a standout gemstone, maybe you’re brand new and feeling a little overwhelmed, maybe you’re returning to beading after a long time away, or maybe you’re simply looking for a calm, meaningful way to spend an hour. Whatever brought you, you’re welcome here.

We’re Jamie and Jason — best friends, co-creators, and the two halves of The Bead Gallery. We’re grateful you’re here, and we’d be honored to be part of your making journey.