Fusion Beads

I've always bought jewelry in the past and never thought to make my own. I found a Groupon for this bead store and decided that it would be a fun activity to do while my friend was in town.

When we walked in, a staff pleasantly asked if she could help us. We told her that we wanted to explore the store first before deciding on what we wanted to make. The store in itself is pretty fun since there are thousands of bead designs to choose from. All of the beads of of different size, shapes, colors, and dimensions. I had broken a pair of earrings before and sought to recreate the design.

Luckily for us, we came on a Monday where they offers their customers the opportunity to construct their own jewelry on site. They lend you the pliers and other tools. We also had a very nice instructor who helped us with teaching us how to make our jewelry. She was a pretty good teacher because it seemed that she was really trying hard to give us step by step instructions on how to pull and shape the wire. She wasn't the kind of teachers who just did everything for us but made us try to do it ourselves. That way, we could really learn how to make the goods.

If I had left at this moment, I would have gave this store 5 stars BUT, I started having mixed feelings about this place when we were paying for the items. The lady who helped us (middle aged with brown hair and wore glasses) was really rude and condescending. I read the other reviews on yelp and totally agreed with them! This woman talked to us like we were 3 year olds. When we asked to buy chain, we didn't know that there was a pre-set minimum on how much we had to buy. She awkwardly informed us that we had to buy x amount and then stared at us for about 10 seconds like we were dummies. The way she talked to us was conveyed a "duh, are you stupid" message. I did not appreciate the way she was talking to us.

Aside from rude service, I'd say that this bead place is a little more expensive than the other stores nearby. However, with a groupon/yelp/Chinook Book coupon, it brings the prices back down to average.

Shiny people in a store of shiny things.

They have all sorts of pretty and funky beads, charms, wires, etc. I considered picking out a few items to create some jewelry pieces for an '80's themed party I might be going to, but decided against it.

I was taken there by a couple friends because they enjoy making jewelry and one of them has had a good experience with one of their classes. I had a good time browsing and thinking about a temp job I had at the Fusion Beads warehouse several years ago, but decided against purchasing anything.

The only real downside of this place? The prices. I mean.... I know it costs some serious money to rent the store space and have employees and all that other stuff, but I was *quite* shocked when I saw how much the friends spent on that one visit.

I live on the east coast and purchase from them ALL the time for many years. Every interaction has been conducted in a professional and prompt manner. They have a vast myriad of most everything you need across the board for your beading projects. Furthermore, they have wonderful sales on a regular basis as well as mass purchase discounts as well. Most highly recommend!

As the owner of a small gift shop that features, among other items, antique and vintage jewelry, I find myself needing to go to Fusion Beads at least once a week, sometimes more, and they always have exactly what I need! F.B. has everything from jump rings and ear wires to charms, gorgeous polished stones (sold both individually and in strands), and Swarovski crystals. They have cord for stringing pearls, storage containers, seed beads, chains in brass, silver, and gold-fill, and just about anything else you could possibly imagine needing for your jewelry project. Sometimes I walk in to buy something I need to complete a repair, and I run into stones or other materials that lead me to construct something I hadn't even known I would make! The materials available at Fusion Beads are truly inspiring.

I cannot sing the praises of the staff and manager loudly enough. To say that they have been, and continue to be, kind and patient with my ancient dog and me over the past six years would be the understatement of the year, and I always feel that each of them genuinely appreciates my continued patronage. Also, each of the current and past employees I have come to know is a jewelry maker herself, each with her own style, and each of them has offered me sound jewelry-making advice and informal instruction in small bits. I have incorporated these bits of instruction and design ideas into my own work, and I am so very grateful for having had (and continuing to have) this opportunity to learn from so many different teachers. To a person, I have found the women working at Fusion Beads to be talented, supportive, helpful and extremely friendly, and I should have written this Yelp review years ago.

I really do love this store and the people who work there. THANK YOU, FUSION BEADS! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, MY FRIENDS. YOU ARE JUST WONDERFUL, and giving you a whopping five stars is the least I can do for you as a token of my appreciation for all your help and support as I have been growing my small business.

P.S. The store has a free parking lot outside, definitely a plus.

Good selection...only fair knowledge by staff..but CHECK your receipt BEFORE YOU LEAVE!!!.

Blind cash register meaning you can not see what is being rung up until AFTER you get the receipt. On both occasions they OVERCHARGED me. Once they did not take the advertised % off, and the next time the tag said one price and the register came up with another higher price!

They told me I had to come back to the store to get the refund (REALLY!) or put it on an account! When i went back I heard them on the phone with someone else who had been OVERCHARGED!!! They said sorry, " we can't do anything unless you come back to the store???"
They offered me nothing for the inconvenience....no wonder on-line stores are better...

Fusion beads has a wide selection on beads and related tools and accessories. I like their selection, new item tables, classes, and easy parking.

I have to mentally prepare myself each visit for the staff. They are snotty, rude and arrogant, especially the managers: Mel and Allison. Really I end up disgusted each time I leave. Last time I came with a return. The manager on the shift (Allison) said "we don't have time for this". Another staff member still helped me with the return, but Allison came back again and said to the staff person "Next time, we won't take any transactions like this". She blatantly said it on front of me. When you return something, you get a store credit, so it isn't like a return is lost income for them. I really don't know what working in this bead store makes the staff think they are king of anything. They really need to improve their attitudes with customers.

The place is great, they usually have everything Im looking for. The staff is helpful. BUT and a BIG BIG BUT;

They couldn't be more condescending.

The way they talk to you is the way you talk to a 3year old. I understand they know a lot more about jewelry than I do, but I dont think I should be treated like a child. Im in there at least twice a week and I spend a lot of money there. I think I deserve to be talked to like an adult.

Also, my mother and I recently had to exchange a crystal with no hole drilled and one that broke. They were more than happy to exchange but then proceeded to follow us around the store.....like we were going to steal something.

Its a great store and close to my house so Ill probably continue going, but every time I go in there I cringe about how Im going to be talked to.

Honestly, I'm kind of between a 3- and 4-star review here.

They really do have a fantastic selection of beads. I could literally spend hours in here. I've always been able to find what I came in for (and ususally a whole bunch of other stuff, too). I've never seen as many different Swarovski crystals as I've seen here (although I won't lie, they're a little too sparkly for my taste--but good selection nevertheless, and there are people out there who love 'em).

The cons: as mentioned below, they're pretty pricey. Also, while I don't think the staff is particularly rude or anything, they're not overly attentive to you, unless you're clearly looking for their assistance in purchasing something. They're not much interested in helping in the creative process in any way (things like, "I want to make a pair of earrings with this bead; can you help me find something else that would go well with this?").

Also, you can't work on things in their store. Maybe it's just me, but I've never seen another bead store without a few tables where you can sit down and put things together, if you are so inclined.

I'll keep going there because they're close to me and have everything I need, but if something more cost-effective and friendly pops up, I'll gladly go there instead.

Visited for my second time - I didn't want to leave negative feedback last time about sales associates having rude attitudes as I figured it could have been a busy day and maybe that was not the norm, but it couldn't be ignored this time. I asked the girl for help with a project this visit and if she had any ideas for me..she looked at me blankly and said no. I was kind of shocked since I had several ideas from just poking around the store. She was less than enthusiastic and really rubbed me the wrong way. Then I brought an item to be rung up and was told it was not for sale. It had a price tag on it and I had considered buying it last visit but in the end decided I had too much in my tray to tack it on that time. This time I was excited to purchase it and was told bluntly it wasn't for sale. I asked her why it had a price tag on it and she said it was to give an example of how much a project like that would cost to make..this was interesting since none of the other tagged class project items had prices on them - I literally looked at every other similar item in the store on display. I won't be coming here again - it seems like the negative reviews about attitudes here have persisted for years.

I've been in one time before and was pretty happy with my experience. However, today I needed something last minute and knew that they were a likely place to find what I needed. I looked online and their site had it, so I figured it would be there. Of course, when I showed up, the store was closed all week for inventory. This was pretty annoying, but I was especially miffed since I'd looked on the website and there was no mention of the Seattle location being closed all week.

Still, they offer a great selection so I can't let that color my whole experience of the store. Just beware if you need to go to the store the first week in January! They might be closed!