Treat yourself to a beading stopover at Los Angeles airport

Travelling between the USA and Australia often means a stopover of a few hours in Los Angeles Airport (LAX). If find yourself with a couple of hours (or less) between flights grab a taxi and head to the sleepy little village of El Segundo just 5 minutes away. There at 319 Richmond Street you’ll find Beadtopia. It’s a bead shop I’ve seen advertised in Bead and Button magazine and after checking its location with some local airport staff I confirmed it was indeed in easy reach of LAX. The visit was a lovely interlude between flights. Beadtopia was such a pretty little beadshop. It has some unusual glass beads and a terrific range of high quality but reasonably priced gemstone cabochons and beads. Lots of the beads are in glass bowls of all shapes and sizes and they just seem to sing at you to be picked up and looked at. Carefully placed lamps make beads sparkle and tempt you to look more closely. There are a small but good range of books and magazines. I picked up a copy of the book The Beaded Sphere and Variations by Judy Walker. I had thought more than once of buying the book online but I really to see the book before risking an online purchase. Mind you, given that the book is in hardback it probably wasn’t the wisest addition to my cabin bag just before a long haul flight. I also treated myself to a mini battery operated vacumn cleaner (about 15 cms long) just perfect for swishing up spilt beads. Beadtopia specialises in gemstones, pearls and crystals but I also found vintage Czech beads, handmade glass art beads and cabachons. I really enjoyed just browsing amongst the beads and appreciated the very friendly shop assistant who was just as happy to help, as she was to let folks browse. She invited me into a conversation with a customer trying to decide between some small crystals of various shades of blue for a charm bracelet she was making. The language of colour is one I love and I enjoyed sharing in the conversation that made my stopover near LAX go just that little bit faster. If you are travelling with someone not drawn to bead shops there is a friendly little café just across the street perfect for a quiet sit down. They do a great local pear cider and have a wide selection of Spanish food on the menu.

Glenda Mac Naughton

Beadtopia
319 Richmond Street
El Segundo, CA 90245

(310) 322-0077 TEL
E-mail: info@bead-topia.com
Store Hours:
Mon-Tues: 11-5, Wed-Thurs: 11-7, Fri: 11-5 Sat: 10-4
Closed Sunday