BlingItYourself.com is only the tip of the General Bead iceberg. Below is a sampling of the press we have received over the years, along with some some events that have featured our products. General Bead is known as THE SOURCE for Bay Area residents in need of a sparkle fix.

Event: MAC Cosmetics Event: Chinese Dress 1.18.07 This event featured over 10,000 of our Jet crystal flatbacks peppered onto a model's body. If nothing else, this should be inspirational for the possibilities of bling. [ read more ] Publication: SF WEEKLY The voters of the SF Weekly Best of The Bay guide voted us as the best Bead/Jewelry making spot around. Best of SF: Best Beads/ Jewelry Making [ read more ] General Bead is a jewelry- and dressmaker's paradise. The worldly store houses millions of decorative adornments, from Austrian crystal to African wood, as well as all the fixings to secure, string, or display them. The organization of the place makes it a friendly one for all designers' skill levels. Long a secret weapon of international figure-skating and ballroom-dancing costume designers, its many gloriously glittering accouterments have been displayed on the outfits of at least one Olympic champion that we know of, the one and only Kristi Yamaguchi. Even if one's bead needs favor the less flashy, General Bead's got it -- regardless of what it is.

Publication: San Francisco Bay Guardian San Francisco’s other weekly, the Bay Guardian, singled us out as the place to go for DIY jewelry gifts in San Francisco. [ read more ]

SF LIFE: 12/20/00 Get Crafty: Do it Yourself Gift Ideas for the Creatively Challenged Tanya Pampalone

General Bead: When you enter the General Bead sanctuary, you'll think you've died and gone to bead heaven. With two full stories of beads of every shape, color, and material, you can be sure you won't walk away uninspired ... or empty handed. Just about everything is beaded here, from the calculators to the tape dispensers, and very likely your helpful salesperson. This SoMa bead store is the largest in the country, offering wholesale pricing to the public, and even the most creatively challenged will be able to whip up a bracelet or a pair of earrings in no time for next to nothing. The easiest bracelet to make is the beaded-elastic type. All's you need is some clear string, your chosen beads (right now Czech glass is the bead of choice), crimps, and a pair of needle-nose pliers, and for around $8 you'll have yourself the makings of a crystal bracelet with enough elastic string to start your own jewelry shop.

In the SF Gate Neighborhood Guide, General Bead was selected as one of the outstanding stores in the South Of Market neighborhood. This is a neighborhood that includes Bloomingdales and Britex Fabrics, so we had some stiff competition.

Featured in SF GATE's: SF Neighorhood Guide: Shopping: South of Market In the SF Gate Neighborhood Guide, General Bead was selected as one of the outstanding stores in the South Of Market neighborhood. This is a neighborhood that includes Bloomingdales and Britex Fabrics, so we had some stiff competition.
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General Bead: Prepare to be overwhelmed: the walls of this funky bead shop are paved with sheets of all the beads and beading supplies in its extensive stock. Write up your order and a clerk will fetch your purchases from the shelves behind the counter.