Beads Forever

Location

The Beads Forever journey began when two Portland Saturday Market vendors -- Aveesh Singh and Carmelleta Nash-Pronold -- came together and decided to take their passion for beads to the next level. Aveesh was an intelligent and well-respected wholesaler of beads. Carmelleta was a successful designer creating West African-inspired jewelry from beads, stoneware clay, and fused glass. Beads Forever's doors opened June 1993, but that was just the beginning.Aveesh and Carmelleta found that many of the world's wonderful bead offerings were not readily available in their hometown, Portland, Oregon. Previously, Carmelleta's 20 years of fashion industry experience had lead her to many countries in Europe and Africa. Utilizing this passion for travel and her keen eye for fashion, Carmelleta scoured the globe to eventually become a well-respected purveyor and buyer of beautiful, up to date beads from many fascinating cultures. In May 2000, Carmelleta bought Beads Forever and continued with the name that she and Aveesh had agreed on seven years ago. "It was my baby and I felt that I had worked hard to place a unique spirit into the feel of the store. I seek out people of many cultures to be a part of our staff. We believe that the 'bead experience' is multi-cultural in and of itself. I love giving creative people a chance to explore them selves with the use of beads and gemstones." With that philosophy, Beads Forever has helped create and develop an exciting bead community in Portland, attracting customers and designers from every corner of the globe. We invite you to stop by to Discover, Dream, and Create at Beads Forever.