Meet us where beadwork is on display
This retail bead shop opened in 1993 and the Oak Park Arts District grew around it.
You will be awed by the sheer number of beads and beading supplies in this storefront! Stop in to create your own beaded jewelry or artwork, to browse the already made options, or to have your own piece repaired by the experts at Bead in Hand.
You can also take beading lessons as well as lessons in knotting, bead embroidery, wirework, and kumihimo (Japanese braiding).
The shop also hosts “bead challenges,” in which customers are asked to interpret a particular theme using beads to create works of art.
Bead in Hand is open Monday through Friday from 11am to 6pm, Wednesday from 1pm to 6pm, Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 1pm to 5pm.
Check the Bead in Hand website for special events in the shop and on Harrison where boutique art shops and studios line the vibrant street.
Costs vary. Make sure to check out the loyalty program in which you receive $10 off for every $100 that you spend.
For the two-hour Beginning Bead Weaving class, you will pay $35.
When you stop by the Bead Shop, you will almost certainly find Kim Humphrey weaving some beads together. In 1996, Humphrey was a regular customer at the Bead Shop before she became a part-time employee, then a store manager, and now the owner.
Humphrey is particularly talented with off-loom weaving, and she teaches most of those classes at the Bead Shop.
Bead in Hand is located at 145 Harrison Street. This bustling street is a destination in and of itself! To reach Bead in Hand, you can take the CTA Blue Line train to the Austin Stop and walk for just three minutes. If you are driving, you’ll take the Austin Blvd exit off the Eisenhower Expressway (290).
