TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN9) — Bead Holiday has been in business in Tucson for almost 24 years. The pandemic, of course, forced the store into adjusting how it operates.
“They told us in the very beginning that, oh, it's just two weeks, we're gonna locked out for two weeks. So I sent the whole staff home. And they shut down our school for my five-year-old. So my five-year-old, and I worked together every day because, after 24 years, we can't just shut down,” said owner, David Dezell Smith.
Already supplying a good amount of people that work from home, when news of a lockdown came about, Smith says his customers would come by to stock up.
Once Arizona and Pima County started to open up again, Smith and his family thought of bringing the beads outdoors.
“We had the idea, we had the beads, we had the tables, everything was ready. And then we were and September was super hot. And then we were in October was in the mid-90s. We can't really stand out here. So we opened up in either late October, early November. But now of course it's 72, 73. And it's just phenomenal,” said Smith.
Bead Holiday did have two stores in the Tucson area. Smith shut the second one down on the northwest side four years ago.
“These trays out here are from that store. We pulled it down from there, and it's been sitting in a warehouse. So it was like a perfect, you know, a tsunami of good luck for us that we have all these tables and have this to put out and make a full outdoor store.,” said Smith.
And with folks creating businesses from home and selling on shops like Etsy and on social media, it’s increased the amount of crafting.
“I wouldn't say we're having like a banner year, but we're doing just great,” said Smith.
