High Strung

CLOSED. High Strung beads went out of business on January 17, 2016.
We really enjoyed your store. Thank you for many years of enjoyment with beads.

Went here to find some beads (I’m a newbie at jewelry-​making) and the people here were WAY more helpful than the other 2 spots in the East Bay I’ve stopped in at. They also had lots of other stuff (beading chord) and some cool tiles and peruvian gourds! Great find in Rockridge.

My friend GG and I went here to a private beading class (a Christmas present from her to me) where Mary gave us two hours of undivided attention and instruction. I’m a VERY amateur beader, so was happy to learn basic stuff like… well, what everything is called, for a start… and how to do wire wraps and clasps and stuff like that. I went away with a bracelet and earrings for a friend’s birthday, a pair of earrings for me, and a ring. Weeeee!!!
Mary was a great teacher — she is patient, sweet, and encouraging. She showed us what to do, then made us do it, and fixed our mistakes.
I’m not au fait with bead store prices, but I bought a string of lovely antique-​y looking beads for $ 8 (from which I made two pairs of earrings and the bracelet), and everything else (findings?) and a bead-​stopper totaled about $ 23.
Mary also said that if we went in again, we could just sit in the back area and bead to our hearts’ content and have all the findings at hand (I don’t have many) and borrow tools and get some instruction if I get stuck. For me, that was very encouraging, as I always get intimidated by bead stores as I really don’t (or didn’t) know what I am doing. Once I’ve got the basics down, I’d definitely do another class with the lovely Mary (she works there on the weekends if you want advice!).

I’m lucky! After going to 3 other bead stores I landed at small and wonderful High Strung. I had an unusual project and Marilee Wood shared her creative and expert advice to get me on the right track. Great prices and selection. Very beautiful and unusual items. Repairs too. A+!

I went in to the shop with a very specific idea. I had pearls and i wanted to make a necklace out of them, and right away the girls in the shop told me exactly how she could do it. I watched as she created exactly what I wanted, super quickly, and right in front of the shop. She was very professional and helpful. If I had gone anywhere else the same necklace would have cost much much more. I will definitely go back to High Strung.

Super helpful and a nice selection. I do not profess to be a bead expert — actually, I don’t have a crafty bone in my body — but my 8 year-​old wanted to make a simple bracelet for himself and one for his friend and so there we were. The women in the store guided us to appropriate materials for active kids and then helped put both bracelets together in record time. My son is thrilled with the result as was his friend.
Don’t be turned off by the staid, quiet feeling in there; they didn’t blink when I brought my kid in and turned him loose to make his selections.

If it wasn’t for Sammy, the super-​knowledgeable, friendly, & helpful shop-​girl, I would still be stressing out about the necklace I’m going to make for my grandmother’s exciting 5 year mark on beating cancer!
I was looking for 2 VERY specific things, and because of Sammy, I was able to get both of them exactly how I had dreamed of. Not only did she help me select what I needed, but she gave me personable background info on the moonstone beads that I am going to incorporate into the necklace. She also gave me some tips on wire wrapping and putting it all together.
All in all, this is a great shop to start with if you don’t know where to start or are needing some advice in making a piece of jewelry. It helps to get your creative flow going when you have someone experienced to talk things through with. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
I am truly satisfied & inspired. Definitely check this place out if you haven’t yet…

Have had two great transactions at High Strung recently. Walking by the shop, I saw a sign for «repairs» and went back with a sentimental favorite but broken necklace to be repaired. The work is fantastic and was less than my favorite jeweler quoted me at ($ 2 an inch for knotting) and done fast.
Also signed up for a class but really they are doing private beading lessons for the same price plus you get a discount on purchases. I made a pretty necklace and am ready for more. More worthwhile than the same price spent in a group.
They have a nice selection of beads and findings (maybe not for someone doing resell as another reviewer pointed out but then you should look elsewhere) and a willing to help attitude. Low key, low pressure setting. I will be back!

This is a nice little shop, and the owners were very helpful. However, the selection is a bit tight and the inventory low or completely out of product. I’m sure if I went back in a week the bowls would be full, but it was disappointing for a first visit. I also appreciate the display of everything in clear glass bowls. With more inventory and selection, the display style might have inspired a larger purchase.
A bonus, the shop doesn’t smell like the dog that hangs out in there.
I’ll be back. A fourth star could be in its future.

I have been shopping at High Strung for years. This is the kind of business you want to support. The owners could not be more helpful — and accomodating whenever possible! The prices for beads are fair as this is a neighborhood business and not a big box retailer. The value of the assistance you receive and ‘extra mile’ attitude is more than worth thedifference!
If you bead or would like to begin, this is the place to be! Support the people who support you!

Went in to get an extension chain put on a necklace — in and out quickly, and a lovely woman helped me out and chatted while she worked. And the beads! So fun! Some massive ones that were all sparkly caught my eye, so I got three of those and she strung them on a leather chain. She was incredibly efficient, charming, and I got a new (one of a kind!) necklace plus my other necklace fixed for about $ 25. Will definitely head back.

The bad reviews here are accurate! I went for my first time today all excited with a few questions and ready to sign up for a their classes. When I asked about the classes I was given a card to look on their website and given a rushed explanation. I asked the girl behind the counter who was busy with her own necklace creation if she had any tips for why my larger beads were turning on my recently made necklaces. She said if is the nature if the beads. I asked I asked if she knew any techniques to prevent it and she replied, «you can tape them to your chest». Then I asked on average how many people are in the classes and she said, «however many sign up». Pretentious! Overpriced! Snobby! You just lost my business!!!

Aw! Hate to see that this place is getting bad reviews. I really like it. I am not a serious beader. Though sometimes, the mood strikes. They are within walking distance from my house. I head on over, pick up some beads and by the end of the day, I have a new necklace or a gift for a friend. I really like that the shop is small. It is easier for me to shop and to make decisions. I think their prices are fair.
Thanks for being in my neighborhood High Strung!

High Strung is a great bead shop that has many types of beads presented beautifully in little glass bowl-​cup things. People who realize that it is extremely high-​priced don’t realize that the cheap beads you can buy are not high quality and that those green beads they think are outrageously priced at $ 12 apiece are actually PERIDOT, not some imitation plastic stuff you can buy. From my experience, the employees and owner are very kind and helpful. Maybe I’ve just gotten lucky, but I say that High Strung is a very nice store.

What I liked: High Strung is a small bead shop, but I really like their presentation of the beads, which are mostly in clear glass cups so that you can see each bead individually instead of bypassing some great beads in endless trays like most bead shops. I also liked that they had a good selection of gunmetal findings, sometimes you just don’t want shiny silver and I don’t wear gold or brass. Also they have some really neat unique snap clasps for bracelets & necklaces that I’ve never seen anywhere.
Prices: I found their prices for findings average and I like that they package the group findings in smaller amounts. Some of their beads are a little bit pricey, but hey, this is Rockridge, thats what to expect. Online retailers can sell things for pennies because they have little overhead, brick and mortar stores do. I didn’t look at their gemstones much so I can’t really comment on quality/​price of those items.
What I wasn’t so happy with: I didn’t get acknowledged at all when I walked in. There was no one else in the store and the sales person was just sitting at the counter making earrings. Perhaps she was concentrating but a «Hi’ would have been nice. I work retail myself and a «hi» is important. Also another customer came in after I’d been there for 10 minutes and she was acknowledged, even though she kind of breezed in and out. I received no acknowledgement till I brought my tray up to the counter. Sure I only spent $ 27 but I kinda think that deserved a hello over someone who didn’t buy anything at all…

High prices and small selection. I do like to visit and spend money in locally owned businesses and this one is no exception. Sometimes you can find beads that are hard to find elsewhere but for the more common types of beads I would go somewhere else. Martha the greeter dog is there during the week and is an especially bright spot.

the owner was particularly un-​nice to me upon my visit. I was there to purchase some things for my daughter. when she finally decided to help me, she was rude and dismissive. I guess men like me are not welcome in her store.

They charge about the same as the bead stores I’ve been to in San Ramon, Mountain View, Eureka, and other places. It’s a small store, and it’s mainly higher quality stuff, so their prices are on the high side because of that. They do seem to have better quality semi-​precious stones than your average shop, probably because if they didn’t they’d soon be out of business.
I went in the day before Christmas Eve, and the woman behind the desk was working like crazy stringing several necklaces for a frantic client who told me had had them at another shop for 2 months and they never got done. The woman kept reassuring her «It’s OK, I’ll get them done in time for Christmas.» I really appreciated seeing her put so much effort into helping someone with their Christmas presents.
In response to Kelly V.:
If you don’t like high prices, what are you doing in Rockridge? 100 clasps for the same price as they wanted to charge for one sounds like very different materials (gold-​plated vs gold-​filled?). There is always a difference in price from store to store, but not that drastic. (PS Everything’s cheaper online!)

They ought to rename this store «High Prices». They’ll charge you 30 cents for a single bead (think about how quickly that adds up when you need a full handful or more to actually make anything), when you can get a full string of those same beads for $ 6 at other jewelry stores. They sell very pretty pendants for $ 20 that I can get for $ 5 on Etsy. They wanted to charge me $ 7 for a clasp. A. single. clasp. I bought a hundred of the same clasps for — get this — $ 7 at General Bead.
Save your money, don’t shop here.

Quaint little bead shop that offers a variety of unique beads and offers a classes or even have a beading party.
Different services are also offered, such as restringing, jewelry repair and other services. Their selectino of beads always seem to be new and have several vintage type beads as well.
It’s close to bart and is located in the rockridge neighborhood.
Great place to shop for those who love beading like me!