Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Fritz.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I opened Bead Soup in 2008 at Historic Savage Mill in Savage, Maryland. What began as a small specialty bead shop quickly outgrew the small space I rented so I moved into a larger space which offered in studio classes and I also started to offer my space as a venue for National and International bead instructors teach and hold trunk shows.
We offer a large selection of Japanese seed beads, gemstones and agates, findings and expanded into beading kits during COVID. Our website offers mail order for beading kits. In 2025, we introduced a laser printer to offer specialty items such as laser cut Christmas trees to display hand-woven miniature stars and other beaded ornaments.
We just recently downsized to a studio space but still offer beading get togethers on a monthly basis, classes, one-on-one instruction and specialty trunk shows. Our trunk shows often include local artists who sell bead related items. We have also started to travel to teach at local wineries, other bead stores and local vendor events.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Since I opened my business in 2008, it was in the middle of a recession so I felt I had no where to go but up. We also faced another recession and COVID. COVID changed the way I viewed my business and I started selling online but it did changed my business. It was extremely difficult to get beaders to come back in the studio. Classes are still held through Zoom and some are still content to stay home. The economic changes we are facing right now have been very difficult so I have changed the way I teach and offer more walk-in studio events instead of formal classes. They are less time consuming and often can involve the whole family.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We design and do very intricate seed bead work. We have bead programs that help design stars, pen wraps and fobs and they can match any season or event that is going on. Most bead stores don’t do what we do because they concentrate on gemstones and agates so this intricate sets us apart because the designs are totally our own. We then take our designs and create kits which we sell in the studio and online. We have groups that revolve around these kits so having new kits all the time brings beaders/customers in to purchase them and attend our beading groups and events.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
You have to be ready to change. If your idea or event didn’t work just file it away and maybe it will work in six months. You don’t have time to dwell on why it didn’t work. I always tell people the story of the bracelet that nobody signed up for and I couldn’t figure out why. We took the time to change the color and it sold out the next time we offered it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bead-soup.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beadsoupstore
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057230006854
