Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to:
Dear Reader,
Chloe's the proprietor of Chloe's Bead Shop.
The name of the store isn't too original, but once you meet Chloe it's clear her shop couldn't possibly be named anything else. Her personality is the first thing that greets you when you walk through the door.
Blue jeans, barefoot, a simple T-shirt accented with bold jewelry, Chloe's got a little bohemian-style thing going, but you can tell from listening to her that she comes from different roots--corporate roots.
She used to be a Human Relations Manager, loved her job, but something was missing.
Chloe's a talented jewelry designer but her real talent is working one-on-one with people. After she introduces herself, she hands you a basket, Have fun, walk around the shop, look at the beads and if you see something you like, put it in your basket.
The walls are papered in strands of colored beads, and semi-precious stones.
Novice beaders quickly get overwhelmed, but Chloe reassures them it's all part of the creative process. Once you lay the beads out in front of you, she says, it'll be easy to see which ones look good together.
And she's right. There are 15 strings of beads lying in front of me, but with a little encouragement from Chloe, I can see the necklace taking form and I'm excited about getting started. It's part of Chloe's skill.
She can envision a finished masterpiece from some simple strands of beads and that's how she looks at people, too, even when they don't see it yet themselves.
I'm doing a trunk show at Saks in a couple of weeks. Chloe's holding up some of the necklaces she's designed.
Her eyes light up as she's telling me about the show. It's a coup, no doubt, but it's a different world from her bead shop, closer to the world she left behind.
When I ask Chloe if she's going to be expanding, I recognize the concerned look on her face.
Throughout my own career there's always been a tug of war going on inside of me. Just a small-town kind of girl, I realize what really makes me happy--working one-on-one with people. But the allure of being wooed by big business is seductive, too.
Chloe, can you help me? A distressed beader is calling out to her from across the room and before we can finish the conversation, Chloe's off, doing what she does best.
Thanks for reading with me.
It's so good to read with friends.
P.S.
Make sure to check out This Time I Dance. Read the sample, enter the giveaway, and tell me what you thought of the book. Go to:
READ THE CLASSICS: Of Human Bondage by W.
Somerset Maugham and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing.
News RSS