enBeadia's Blog!

Latest Mailer

2009-05-08T16:59:00.002-05:00

SALE SALE SALE

2009-04-22T20:46:00.003-05:00

Here's a sneak peak at some of our beautiful ready to wear knotted pearl necklaces now 50% OFF for Mother's Day. Don't forget all strands are 50% OFF and ready made jewelry is 25% OFF. Hurry in and take care of all your gift shopping needs at once! We have all you need to make this next Mother's Day a very special one!

New Arrivals

2009-04-22T20:07:00.006-05:00

Fireballs!!!
Perfect for stretchy bracelets!
Now in four different sizes: small, medium, large and extra-large!
Cause you can NEVER have enough rhinestones.

Want to add some color to your Spring wardrobe? Come stop by and check out our new inventory of colorful beads, bracelets, chains, knitted charms and more!

Watch enBeadia on ABC

2009-04-22T19:48:00.006-05:00

Don't miss this great story about one of our special enBeaders!
ABC7's "Someone You Should Know"
Thursday, April 23 at 5PM

Here's a look at the ABC film crew in action:

Four Year Anniversary SALEbration

2009-04-22T13:00:00.001-05:00

THANKS TO EVERYBODY THAT PARTICIPATED IN THIS WONDERFUL EVENT. HERE'S TO FOUR MORE YEARS OF JOYFUL BEADING!

Donation Request, Please See Below

2008-09-14T16:02:00.002-05:00

Looking for Doner Bikes and Parts

My name is Ilana Goldberg. I am a Junior racer at the Ed Rudolph Velodrome. For my Bat Mitzvah, I am trying to donate 50 bikes (and parts), in any condition, to Blackstone Bicycle Works in Chicago, a 501c-3 charitable organization. Donations help support their Youth Education Program, which serves boys and girls in the Woodlawn Neighborhood in Chicago.

Blackstone Bike Works:

1. Teaches basic bike skills

2. Bike repair

3. Earn-a-Bike lets kids earn a bike, helmet and lock after working 25 hours in the shop.

4. http://www.experimentalstation.org/blackstone

Contact me at 847.714.1852 to arrange for drop-off in Northbrook or possible pick-up.

Donations are tax deductible.

enBeadia's Semi-Annual Sale!

2008-09-01T23:42:00.007-05:00

BEAD SALE!

UPDATE: Sale extended through

Sunday, September 21!

50% OFF Strands and Individuals Beads
Including All New Arrivals!

Shop early for best selection and tell a friend!

No other offers apply. Some restrictions apply.

2008-08-25T13:02:00.004-05:00

Enbeadia has launched its very own Enbeadia Dinner Club! Our first EDC dining experience was held last Friday night at the new Sikia Restaurant on Chicago's southside. This African-inspired gourmet restaurant at the Washburne Culinary Institute facility on the new Kennedy-King College campus (63rd and Halsted Streets) showcases the talents of up-and-coming chefs and 4th semester Washburne students. Though the menu favors fare from Africa, the lineup also includes dishes inspired by the delicious cuisines of Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica and New Orleans. Don't forget to try the black-eyed pea fritters with red pepper relish, fry bread with 3 spreads, salad sampler and Senegalese-style peanut soup. The tilapia with mango and cilantro is perfectly seasoned and the salmon charmoula is moist enough to melt in your mouth!
Check out Sikia at http://ccc.edu/sikia/

Stay tuned for details on EDC's next dinner destination! We'd love to see you there!

The Chance of a Lifetime!

2008-08-13T22:14:00.003-05:00

Congrats! Drew graduates from the University of Dayton in Ohio.

Drew comes back home and is hired by Intersport. His first assignment was the All-Star Game in New York City at Yankee Stadium. The game was terrific, but not as terrific as meeting Cuban born Andy Garcia. He not only brought back a photo with this incredible actor, but he also brought his Mother an enBeadia business card autographed by Andy himself.

Only a great stand of beads could beat this...

Abigail and Sophia

2008-08-08T07:51:00.003-05:00

It's only a matter of time before Abigail and Sophia are regulars at
enBeadia.
CONGRATS!

Congrats to Cyndi and Michael!

2008-08-08T07:43:00.003-05:00

"Double Your Pleasure Double Your Fun"
Abagial and Sophia have arrived.
God Bless!
Stay tuned for their pictures...

enBeadia supports a great cause!

2008-08-03T12:01:00.002-05:00

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Greater Illinois is hosting FestivAle -a fun filled night of food, craft beer, and entertainment at Goose Island in Wrigleyville on 9/25/08. Julia Tritz, an enBeadia customer, is an Auction Chair and was thrilled to receive a donation from Millie for the event's silent auction.

For more information about FestivAle, visit the event site at www.chicagofestivale.com and you can purchase tickets and support Julia's fundraising efforts at www.cff.org/LWC/JuliaTritz. If you attend the event, you can bid on great items like an enBedia class and gift certificate while you enjoy great beer, fantastic food, and a lively crowd.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has funded research that has extended the life expectancy for people afflicted with this genetic disease and works tirelessly to find a cure. Join enBeadia in helping us make CF stand for Cure Found!

Julia sends a thank you to Millie and enBeadia for the donation and for your support!

If you have any questions, please contact Julia at (773) 909-2506.

enBeadia Featured in Inside Lincoln Park

2008-07-28T21:37:00.004-05:00

July 23-29, 2008

New shop offers all the beads a girl needs
By Lindsey Reiser
Special to Inside

Every girl and girl-at-heart knows what it’s like to have merchandise fever; you suddenly need to buy things, a lot of things, and they rarely bring the satisfaction they so temptingly offer on the shelf of clothes, jewelry, or shoe store you’ve chosen to raid. There is a trend, however, taking over Lincoln Park that both indulges and slakes this need. A crop of do-it-yourself shops have sprouted up in the area over the past few years; one, most notably for the bauble-lovers, being enBeadia.
EnBeadia opened with a bang early this summer on Armitage and Howe, a general buzz within the store inviting curious passers-by in from the street. Inside, the long beading table was laden with a buffet of appetizer goodies, and customers were offered champagne as they shopped. Owner Millie Ortiz-Formentini was buzzing from shopper to shopper, constantly offering advice or hailing a staff member to assist the overwhelmed browsers. Alderman Vi Daley stopped in for a perusal, later commenting on her visit, “I thought her shop was very nice, and I’m excited that Millie’s there. It’s great to have a unique shop where the owners and customers can interact like that.”
It’s no surprise that Ortiz-Formentini is good at what she does; creativity is in her blood. Before her location of Lincoln Park enBeadia, she opened the original store with her partner Sue Miranda in Edgebrook in 2005, and grew up collecting costume jewelry under the tutelage of a likewise creative-minded mother. Wishing to move from her home in Glenview to the city, she sold her half of the Edgebrook location to her partner, and opened her own location here. She’s no stranger to the area; one of her first family homes was on Armitage and Bissell, where her son, oldest child, was born.
As far as finding a good location for enBeadia, Ortiz-Formentini does seem to have found a niche here. The nearest bead stores are in Old Town and Bucktown, and with other DIY shops, such as 1154 Lill Studio and Park West Ceramics dotting the neighborhood, they are certainly channeling Lincoln Park’s creative crowd.
The great thing about enBeadia is the services they offer. The previously food-filled table at the opening is used for beading customers and employees alike. After buying your beads you can sit down and assemble your masterpiece alone or with assistance from the staff, or you can have them string the item for you, for a fee of $7. Whichever you choose, Ortiz-Formentini seems personally dissatisfied until a brilliant piece of jewelry, or at least it’s concept for later home-work, is complete.
“Be careful ladies”, she calls to two customers, clearly engulfed in the sea of bead choices. “This stuff is addictive!” It’s understandable why the shoppers are a bit lost, as beads line the walls and tables, with every color of the spectrum present. Virtually every culture is represented as well; Ortiz-Formentini gets her beads from all over the world. Pearls from China, semi-precious stones from India, Czech glass, African beads, and Swarovski crystal from Austria are just a few of the items available in the shop.
EnBeadia also offers classes for all ages, including basic and advanced beading, basic and advanced wiring, and traditional and non-traditional silk knotting. Those at the store are particularly excited about their wiring lesson on August 5, led by their friend Tara Bacci, who makes the trip to Chicago monthly from Michigan just for this class. Ortiz-Formentitni’s daughter Bree, a recent high-school graduate, also teaches her own classes called Brees Bees, a series of children’s courses where kids learn basic beading, make their own beaded doll clothes, and craft whimsical charms called Deep Pendants.
There’s no doubt that enBeadia is a family affair. Many class attendees are mother and daughter or grandmother and granddaughter pairs, pictures of whom you can see experimenting with their creations on enBeadia’s blog. During the interview Bree sat at the crafting table getting items ready for their upcoming sidewalk sale, stringing their popular new Obama/McCain beads, which feature each candidate’s party symbol and their name engraved on African bone. The Obama beads are the more popular seller. “Well, we’re in Chicago!” Ortiz-Formentini explains.
More extraordinary than the shop are the stories that have been generated by it. Ortiz-Formentini’s personal friend, customer, and likewise jewelry maker was just featured in the Chicago Sun-Times for her courageous battle with skin cancer. After her doctor told her she had five months to live, she began to make jewelry for her family and friends, wanting to leave behind something special to remember her by. Through her dedication to cancer treatment and her craft, she overcame the illness, and is now cancer-free.
“There’s therapy in beading”, Ortiz-Formentini comments on her friend’s story. “I think women are creative by nature, so making jewelry can be very therapeutic.”
Therapeutic or not, the creations that come out of enBeadia, not to mention the quelling of merchandise fever, are nothing short of lovely. If you must spend your money on fashion, why not spend it on an expression of your own? Visit enBeadia’s website and blog for updates and sales at www.enbeadia.com, and the store is now offering flyers good for one free beading class.

For more writings by Lindsey Reiser, visit her blog

UPDATED BASIC BEADING CLASS TIMES!

2008-07-22T20:51:00.001-05:00

Beading is a family affair at enBeadia!

In order to satisfy as many of our customers as possible, please note the new Basic Beading Class times:

Wednesday's at 11:30 am

Thursday at 6:30 pm

No appointment necessary!

Come in and bead anytime that the table is available for a class or a private function. No beading experience is necessary, we will be glad to help you from start to finish.

Call today for more information! 312.280.2323

Street Sale July 19th and 20th!

2008-07-06T22:35:00.000-05:00

enBeadia will be a participant in the Annual Street Sale in the Armitage and Halsted Business District.

Save the date: July 19th and 20th, 2008

The store will be open as well as have a booth at the Street Sale.

Haven't been able to make it to the store yet? This is the perfect time to stop in and take advantage of our in-store Sales!

Fun Times at Enbeadia

2008-07-06T22:32:00.000-05:00

Tara Bacci's Next Wire Class: First Week in August

2008-07-06T22:20:00.000-05:00

For those of you that missed Tara Bacci's wire class on July 1st, 2008, don't fret! She will be back to teach a class at enBeadia the first week in August. Stay tuned to the blog or call the store for the exact date.

Visit her website to preview her work and what you can learn to do.

www.TaraBacci.com

Thank you Tara!

Young Artists x2

2008-06-25T21:46:00.000-05:00

Twin sisters Annie and Haley enjoying an afternoon of beading and fun at enBeadia!

Believe!

2008-06-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Eileen Quinn on the recent article published about her in the June 24, 2008 edition of Chicago Sun-Times. The article, entitled "The Skinny on Skin", discusses Eileen's successful battle with skin cancer. The article is a must-read because stories like Eileen's 's are few and far between.

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/1021107,CST-NWS-health24.article

Raffle Winner!

2008-06-19T17:18:00.000-05:00

Congratulaions to Stephanie Obermier for winning last weekend's raffle!

*Please stop by the store to pick up your necklace. Enjoy wearing another fine piece of jewelry from enBeadia.

Thank you to all who participated!

2008-06-16T22:27:00.000-05:00

Summer has arrived and Turquoise is HOT!

All Turquoise strands on SALE!

25% OFF

Shop early for best selection.