Tara and her husband opened Blue Girl Beading Company in 2003.

"We relocated after I was laid off from my job in Birmingham; we opened Blue Girl Beading Company after moving to ‘paradise,'" she said. "I had always wanted to do something like this because I have always enjoyed arts and crafts such as painting, pottery, jewelry making and making glass beads."

"Recently, I have started ‘playing:' I've become a ‘silver smith' and, oh goodness, that is so interesting! The business has definitely been up and down since I opened. There was Hurricane Ivan in 2004, the economy and then the oil spill. We have always made a come-back, though. My busy season is somewhat different than other businesses here. We stay very busy with families, hobbyists, and tourists from April through August. And of course, our ‘snow-friends,' keep us busy from December until the end of March. We enjoy having them with us and it saddens us when they go home each spring."

She added a little about what keeps customers frequenting the store.

"We teach lots of classes year-round, sometimes five days a week, but we love to stay busy and it's so interesting to watch people using the creative part of their brain, and somehow it seems to be relaxing to them," she explained. "They meet new friends in class and they discuss their designs with their fellow students."

"We laugh, joke and tell stories while we sit around the table and work together. It thrills me to see the smiles on their faces once they complete a piece that they've made with their own hands. Several weekends ago, we had the pleasure of hosting two guest instructors, Tracy and Erin, from St. Petersburg, Fla. They work with Turtle Moon Arts and they are long-time mentors of mine. I've learned so much from them and we've taught many beading classes together. Our students in class that day welcomed them and they learned some new techniques as well. It was an awesome experience for everyone and the turn-out was excellent! We expected 10-12 students on that Saturday and I believe we had a few more than that."

She said she enjoys providing variety for students and customers.

"We pride ourselves in being more unique from other beading shops and we carry a large variety of gemstones, freshwater pearls, porcelain, bone, Czech glass, crystals, seed beading supplies, tools, handmade and glass beads," she divulged. "We have a lamp working studio as well."

"I work very hard searching for items and supplies that you can get anywhere else. You will definitely find unusual things in our store."

Tara also enjoys keeping her own creativity keen.

"We think that it is very important to offer our clients a large variety of skills so that our classes are always changing," she said. "This means that we too, take a lot of different classes so that we are able to bring it home to our Island paradise and share it with our clients who attend our classes."

"We strive to keep things interesting and fun here."

She uses this creativity to make beautiful jewelry.

"Recently, a client brought me a lovely, three-stranded necklace made of large red coral," she said. "She explained that, ‘she'd purchased in at an estate sale in Fort Worth, Texas, a number of years ago but had only worn it one time because it was just too heavy around her neck--even though she had it appraised for $1,800, it was never seen.'" "After I held the piece, I realized that she was exactly right, it was extremely heavy! She wanted to know if I could change it for her, make it lighter so that she could actually enjoy wearing it. The red coral was lovely but it did need to be re-designed. She told me that she loved dolphins so that's exactly where we got started."

Tara explained that, "She selected some lovely sterling silver dolphins which I keep in stock to add to the look of the set. Because the original necklace was three strands, we had plenty of material to work with so she said she thought she would enjoy having a matching set made from the red coral and the silver dolphins that she had selected. Perhaps, a bracelet, a pair of earrings and of course the necklace, which we agreed should be approximately a single strand, 20 inches long or so, a good length for her to wear year around. She wanted the bracelet to be an "eye catcher, so we kept the three strands there. And we used a silver dolphin on top of one single bead of coral. I told her that, she'd made some wonderful selections to add to the transformation of her necklace. It will be lovely and no problem at all. It would be ready in a week or so and I could tell that she was excited about seeing the transformation! When she arrived, I displayed the set and she told me that she was amazed at the difference and the quality of workmanship."

Tara agreed, "The set did look amazing on her after we, ‘brought it to life.' That's one of the most rewarding things about my job, seeing the smiles when my clients finish something they've made or in this client's case, surprising her with something new and different!"

Tara explained that, "I highly suggest that if you have pieces such as this, bring them in and let's see what we can do to make transform them into something special and something that you'll enjoy wearing! If it's setting in a drawer, you may never know its potential. With our inventory, I'm certain that we can design something that you'll be proud of."

Tara smiled and said, ‘The time just flies by when you get wrapped up in the creation of something you're making with your own hands."

Saturday classes are from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. The store is located at 2200 East Second St Suite F in Gulf Shores. If you have any questions or wish to make an appointment to take a class, give Tara a call at 968-5900 or stop in and visit. Hours are Monday- Friday 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and Saturday's 10 a.m. until 3p.m. Visit bluegirlbeadingco.com for information on upcoming classes.