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A couple of years later a new shop opened in town and I immediately communicated with the owner and began stringing for him. My hopes were high! If I could restring for two of the stores, why not see the others and just maybe I might be able to add another jeweler to my list. I dropped in and chatted with one of the jewelers and inquired if he did his own restringing. He informed me that he preferred not to bother with bead jobs since he did not have extra help and was too busy himself. So again, he was glad to know that I would help him out.

At present I am stringing beads for two downtown jewelers. Two other stores are doing their own work, but whenever either of them change hands, I shall certainly call on the new owners. I have hopes that I'll be doing all of the restringing in Morrison someday. It's possible!

TO THE person just starting to restring beads here are a few bits of advice. The small shop in which the owner does all his own repair work as well as selling is a good prospect because he is very busy and doesn't like to bother with bead work. Don't overlook the larger stores, however, as they often have employees who will never take the time necessary to learn how to restring beads. I have, during recent years, worked for two large jewelry centers where this was the case.

It is possible to get in touch with jewelers in other towns and perhaps do work for them via mail. I do know that some persons doing restringing use such a plan, but so far I have not tried. I have decided I would rather concentrate on building up business in my home town and with individual customers in the surrounding area. In handling restringing work for out-of-town jewelers there is much extra work and cost in packing and mailing. If these items are considered, along with a liberal discount, the profit is almost too small to make it worthwhile. If, however, an out-of-town store had a lot of restringing, perhaps four or five strands at each mailing, it could be profitable and worth one's time.

I pick up and deliver for the jewelers in Morrison and stop in their shops about once a week to inquire if they have any work for me. It is not necessary to make a special trip for this. I just stop in when I am downtown shopping. If they get a "rush job" between my visits, they either telephone or bring the work to my home. Again, I give them very good service and if necessary return the work the very same day.

Other good sources of possible leads in restringing jobs are the women's ready-to-wear and gift shops in town. I have made it a point to acquaint these business places with my services because often times they have damaged items in their jewelry stock that need repair. Also, on occasions customers break beads while trying on new pieces of apparel. A suggestion from the salesgirl often results in another repair job for me.

AN ADVERTISEMENT in our local newspaper was the first step I took in getting my customers to come direct to my home. The advertisement stated that I would give prompt and reliable service, would pick up and deliver in town free of charge, and that I had a full line of bead stringing supplies. Since Morrison is my home town I find that I am still better known to a lot of people by my maiden name, so I always use my complete name in all advertising. I know in my case it has helped much.

Now that my little business is running very smoothly, I insert about two advertisements in the local paper each year, one in the spring and the other in the early fall. Occasionally an extra advertisement is run, but I never miss advertising in late April or early May and then again in September. I am satisfied with the results from these advertisements, but someone just beginning in the business might find it necessary to advertise more frequently until his name and services are well-known.

Each advertisement is worded differently. Sometimes I emphasize the prompt service and other times my reasonable prices are stressed. Every spring I feature a thirty-day special, during which time a twenty per cent discount is given on all work. I have found that this special discount certainly brings in a lot of extra work.

Another form of advertising used when I first started on my own was mailing out postcards telling of my services. The cards were mailed to very casual acquaintances who I thought would be likely to have a lot of jewelry. During my thirty-day discount campaign I have also mailed postcards to women who had spoken to me previously about restringing jobs but never found the time to stop by my home workshop.

MAKING IT a practice to go to rummage sales in search for extra beads that I can use as "fill ins" when a customer has lost a great many beads has proved very successful. Even if I do not find beads at these sales I find that it is good advertising as I always make it a point to tell the saleswomen what I am looking for and why. If they appear interested in my work I then give them my business card which includes my name, address, telephone number and a list of my services. My business card is also enclosed with each finished job, unless a customer is a very close friend or relative. I believe that a lot of customers keep these cards. I also use gummed labels that carry the same information as the cards. One of these labels is placed on each job envelope.

Never do I force my services on anyone at any time but I do use every opportunity to mention my work. I am always looking for a chance to mention my hobby to new people I meet and, of course, this always brings a lot of questions. Satisfied customers usually do a lot of advertising and several have brought me work from their friends and relatives who live in other towns. Now these new customers bring or mail their work directly to me. I try to remember to mail these out-of-town customers a Christmas card each year.

My husband meets a lot of people in his work, stamp club, and community activities and he, too, casually mentions his wife's profitable hobby when a good opportunity arises. This all helps.

BEAD RESTRINGING in my home began with a very small investment consisting of one spool of medium weight nylon bead cord, some bead needles, bead tips and a homemade bead board. My husband made the bead board from three ordinary wooden rulers. These particular rulers had a pencil groove, similar to the grooves in a corrugated box, running the full length. These rulers were tacked parallel to each other on a piece of plywood. The ends were closed with a small molding which kept the beads from rolling out of the grooves. The graduated measuring scale on each ruler proved useful since it was often used to measure the length of the strands being restrung.

My supplies grew as my business increased and each time I had a call for a new item I purchased a small supply. I now have several weights of nylon cord, including black; various sizes of chain to string crystal and heavy costume beads; a regular manufactured bead board; bead needles; bead tips; and a large stock of rhinestones in all sizes and colors. I buy most of my supplies from a wholesale house in Chicago, except for the extra beads that are picked up at auctions, rummage sales and from friends.

Never do I refuse a job unless it is absolutely necessary. Sometimes I even accept jobs that I know will not bring any profit since it means ordering an amount of a certain item that I might not use again. I feel that by refusing any job, the customer might get an idea that I am not able to do all kinds of stringing and that my supplies are limited. I am very happy to have customers tell me that a jeweler refused the job that they are bringing to me because he didn't have the right beads, supplies or time. Always remember your finished job must be a good one, and if possible, better than the customer can get done elsewhere.

BESIDES RESTRINGING all kinds of beads, I also do minor repair jobs such as replacing missing rhinestones, recementing articles that have come apart, untangling and repairing chains and making earrings from a customer's buttons or beads. When I get a job that I cannot do myself, I take it to one of the jewelers for whom I string beads. I have some customers who bring me articles to be repaired that they know I cannot repair, asking me to take them to my jeweler friend. This would include gold welding, soldering, and grinding off the shanks from buttons that are made of glass. He gives me a discount so I can make a profit, too.

I also pick up and deliver jobs here in town. This means a lot to the busy housewife and also to women who do not have motor cars. I do not charge for this service.

I enjoy the work very much and find it interesting. I have restrung all kinds of pearls, even cultured, all kinds of costume beads, beads from foreign countries and family heirlooms. One of my customers sent for repair a most beautiful necklace that had been in her family for over 100 years and had originally came from Italy. The necklace was made up of several different kinds of beads, beautiful flat black and white beads, little crystal beads, tiny black beads, and large round black beads. They were all off the string so I had to use my own judgment on working out a design.

A LOT of different and unusual cases do come up every now and then. One woman brought me a sack of loose beads saying that there were several strands in there and could I separate them and restring them for her. In that case, the first thing to do is to sort them out by colors. Pearls do have different shades so if you have a keen eye you will be able to sort them out by colors. It is best to graduate and size each strand before starting to string any of them. If an error was made the first time you sorted them, you will certainly find it when graduating the necklaces. It would be very irritating to be stringing the last strand of beads and find a couple of beads that should have been in one of the other necklaces.

In graduating beads I always start from the center and work out to the ends—giving each side the same number and size of beads. This is where my bead board comes in handy and keeps the beads from rolling all over. You could use the ridges of a corrugated box if you didn't want to buy or make a bead board. I always string all beads on double nylon, using the heaviest weight that will go through the bead. Never use cord so heavy, though, that it has to be forced through the bead as this will cut the cord. As for crystal beads and some of the heavy costume beads, I recommend chain. Another good thing to remember is always to wax the cord to keep it from fraying. Parawax or beeswax can be used but I personally prefer beeswax. It is also necessary to tie a good tight double knot at both ends of the cord. A lot of the beads are rough inside, having tiny loose particles of pearl substances and even with waxed cord these rough pieces will sometimes snag the cord. In a case like that I always discard that piece of cord and start all over. It is a good idea to use a pin or needle and gently pick or push those tiny pieces out before starting to string the beads.

Some of the pearls have very tiny holes and if you examine them carefully you will notice that the hole in the bead is larger but that the pearl coating has covered most of the opening. Since I like to use as heavy cord as I can, I use a regular sewing needle or pin and make these holes a little larger. If the hole in the bead is small to start with, then you are just forced to use finer cord as there is no way to enlarge the hole. You must be careful not to crack or chip the bead.

Almost all the beads sold now have tiny bead tips at the ends, but if they don't I always put them on without extra charge. Bead tips have a little cup for the knot to go inside. This makes a much neater job and also allows me to make a bigger and stronger knot since it is practically invisible in the little cup.

I have had to restring or repair a lot of new beads that were never worn, or perhaps just worn a couple of times before coming apart at the catch. This is due to the fact that the factories where these beads were strung cut the cord off too close to the knot and the knot would pull out or in other cases they would make the knot so small that it would pull right out of the tiny little bead tip. That is why it is always a good idea to make a double knot so the knot is larger and then leave about ¹/16 inch of cord. By doing this I have never had any trouble with knots pulling out. However, I do guarantee my work so if that did happen I would take care of it free of charge.

THERE IS still more to stringing beads than the facts mentioned so far. They must be strung using just the right amount of cord so the strand isn't too tight or too loose. If you have just a little too much cord, the cord will show and this looks bad. If they are strung just a little too tight, they will look tight and will not hang gracefully and the beads will be likely to cut the cord quicker. This may sound complicated but with just a little practice I'm sure anyone can get the "feel" of it.

A good way to keep happy customers and keep them coming is to remember that the customer is always right. If she should order a necklace to be made thirteen inches long and when she gets it she finds it is shorter than that—just restring it for her with a smile and do not charge extra. In one case I had to restring a three-strand choker three times before the customer was satisfied. It is best in all cases where the length has to be just right, especially with chokers, to measure the customer's neck yourself. In some cases I string the beads on sewing thread the first time and then have the customer come in for a fitting. When measuring it is best to use an actual necklace instead of a piece of cord.

When stringing any necklace that has more than two strands, all strands should be evenly spaced. You will probably find that they were spaced badly, but count and measure and measure and count until they are spaced evenly. Many a time I have restrung a strand in order to get it perfect. One little bead can make a lot of difference. When the strands must be close without any space, I usually string each strand on sewing thread first. Some will like a little space between each strand while others want the strands real close, actually touching, but not piled up on top of each other. When customers like a little space between each strand, I find that the middle strand should have four or five beads more on each end than the top strand and the bottom strand should have five or six beads more on each end than the middle one. The number of beads will vary on account of the size of the bead.

I have never had a cranky customer but just to be on the safe side I keep a record of every strand of beads that I restring or article that I repair. I keep a description of the article, drawing a sketch if necessary, and also what I did to it, the date and the price. This way I will always know if I restrung that same strand recently or years ago. I can usually recognize the necklace but cannot always remember when I restrung it or whether I restrung the short strand of a three-strand necklace or the long strand. In a lot of cases I can tell by examining the job but I still believe it is best to keep a record—just as all jewelers keep a record of all the watches they repair.

The amount of time it takes to restring one strand of beads will vary according to the size of beads, if they are all off the string, length of strand, etc., but on the average it takes about one hour to restring one strand. A lot of necklaces can be restrung in less time but there are plenty that take longer and I have worked for hours on some of the complicated ones.

MY PRICES vary depending upon the job, but I always try to keep them as low as I can and I'm quite sure that I charge less than most jewelers. I charge, $1 for the average length of graduated pearls strung on double nylon bead cord. Should the necklace be two strands and if the customer wishes to have both restrung, I always string the second strand for less—usually seventy-five cents. When one strand breaks and the other is just as old, it is very likely to be rotten and break in a very short time, so I always examine the other strand and if it is weak mention, the fact to my customer. In practically every case the customer will then want both restrung. If the beads are large, all the same size, or choker length, then the charges are less. For example, if a thirteen-inch choker necklace has large beads all the same size, then the charges would be only forty cents.

A lot of necklaces, especially cultured pearls, are strung with a knot between each bead and in most cases they have to be restrung the same way. It might be hard to believe but the little knot between each bead adds a lot of extra length and most strands wouldn't be long enough without the knots. Sometimes customers have asked me to put a knot between each bead in order to get the extra length. There is also one big advantage to this kind of stringing and that is the fact that when the strand does break, a person can only lose one bead. A woman who has a strand of beads that she values highly because of sentimental reasons will usually have them restrung with knots. It takes a lot more cord and time, so I charge $1.50 for the average length of graduated beads with a knot between each bead. By average length I mean about seventeen or eighteen inches.

Very little equipment is needed besides supplies. It is a good idea to have a pair of tweezers, small pliers, a good scissors and a good light. I use an old library table for my workbench. In the center and under the top, my husband has put a wide shelf and four drawers to provide room for part of my supplies. I keep all the extra beads sorted out in little boxes and bottles. On both ends my library table has shelves for books but I put tiny little cabinets there. These too are full of supplies.