For anyone who has never been in a bead shop before, just imagine a ‘pick and mix’ for jewellery making! Everything needed for making costume & semi-precious jewellery is stocked, from the beads, findings and threadings to the tools and books for inspiration.
Abacus Beads opened for business in March 1991 with a shop on High Street in Belfast city centre. In June 2003 the shop was moved to McAuley House in Castle Street, a more central location, and in 2015 we expanded to the larger adjoining unit. We were the first bead shop in Northern Ireland and are proud to say that we’re still going strong!
We have a vast selection of beads from all over the world in glass, wood, metal and acrylic to our ever expanding strings of semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls. Our product lines are reviewed on a regular basis to keep up with current trends and seasonal colours so let us know if you’re looking for anything special as we may be able to source it for you. We cater for a wide variety of customers, from the hobby crafter making their first pair of earrings to the small business making jewellery/headpieces for the special occasion market…. and everyone in between! We are always happy to help if you get stuck on a project and need some technical or design advice, just drop us an email info@abacusbeads.com
In May 2025 the physical shop in Castle Street was closed and the retail aspect of the business was sold to Joanne who is running the online bead shop as normal. Sign up to the mailing list on the website to be kept informed of everything new happening!
Separately Kathleen is still providing a repair/re-stringing service, including pearl knotting, you can call her on 07850 010350.
We hope to continue exhibiting at some shows where we’d love to meet you all and continue serving your beading needs for many years to come!
