Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Nereim.
Dana, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story begins in 2002 when my husband packed a bag and left me for the girl he had been seeing on the side. I had just given birth to our second child and was not yet working, so I had to move back in with my parents. We sold everything from that little apartment and decided to use the money to take the boys to Disney. My oldest would be starting school and we had hoped to give him some good memories before the Summer ended. We had enough for three full days away. Two days in the parks, plus a Character breakfast and sightseeing on the last day. Apparently the trip was a lot of fun for them, but I don’t remember any of it. In fact, My memories are blank for about 6 months before and several years after. I have been told that I had taken the baby to the restroom to change his diaper. After several minutes, my Mom had come looking for me and found me passed out on the floor and surrounded by paramedics. I was quickly transferred to Florida Hospital, where it was discovered that I had suffered a Sub-Arachnoid brain aneurism, meaning that a small blood vessel had burst and was bleeding in my brain. If I had not been in Orlando that weekend, I would probably not be here today.
Doctors told my family to prepare for the worst… But God.
I was not likely to survive the surgery, and if I did, there was little hope of me being much more than a vegetable… But God.
I was not expected to be able to drive again, work, or ever go back to school… But God.
They told my parents to make plans for my children in case I did not make it… But God.
My parents reached out to the Pastor of my church, who happened to be in a worldwide missions conference. At the time of my surgery, I had friends, family, and believers who had never even met me praying for me in over 11 countries! My twin sister dropped everything and got on the first plane from North Carolina to be there to help. The surgeon said that the procedure was successful, but I wasn’t out of the woods yet. I would still suffer a small stroke and spend several weeks in the ICU in Orlando before I could be transferred to a rehab facility at home in Miami.
Rehab was a nightmare for me. I was 22 years old and learning to walk again. I was adapting to a body that didn’t work the way it used to and with a mind that couldn’t remember anything. I spent most days of the week in some kind of occupational, speech, or physical therapy. I hated the therapists asking me to do the simplest tasks (like remembering 1 word for 2 minutes, or picking up a paper cup with my left hand), and I couldn’t do it. I had just become a single Mom, and I needed to be there for my kids. I was frustrated, sad, and feeling defeated… BUT GOD.
My Mom was a high school English teacher at the time, and the students in her Honors class had to each give a speech for part of their grade. One of the students gave her speech on beading, and brought several beaded bracelets to show the class. Mom thought it would be great therapy for me (and much more interesting than a paper cup!). She took me to the bead store that very afternoon. It was a little place called “Blue Lagoon Bead Shop.” The owner’s names were Kathy and Karen. We visited on a quiet weekday afternoon, where Kathy patiently walked me -still on a walker, and very unbalanced! – around the store to pick out my beads, and then sat down and showed me how to make my first stretchy bracelet. I was HOOKED! I loved making jewelry and learning new techniques. Whenever I met a new goal in therapy, Mom and I would celebrate by stopping at the bead store on the way home.
When we moved to Tampa, I decided that I was ready to go back to school and finish earning my Bachelor’s degree. I was 3/4 of the way into a degree in Hospitality Management as an event planner, but my newfound lack of memory and organizational skills made that an unrealistic goal. I decided to take business classes, something generic, but useful until I figured out what I really wanted to do. I had also started hanging out at the local bead shop and even helping around the store. I loved it, and began dreaming of opening my own store someday. I switched my studies to business management and began to write a business plan. I ended up choosing to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Management and Business Ethics from Trinity College of Florida. My final paper for my last class was the business plan for Annie’s Bead Shoppe. I knew what I wanted. I just had to get there.
Time passed, and we moved to Lakeland. The very week we moved here, the owner of the local bead store retired and closed her shop. We planned for years – getting involved with Lakeland Business leaders, Bridge Local, and the Central Florida chapter of Score. We saved, scouted properties, and researched distributors, When my Grandfather passed away, he left us just enough to add to our savings and be able to get our foot in the door. We opened on the skinniest of shoestring budgets, having done most of the cleaning, stocking, and painting ourselves. We announced the Grand Opening with excitement, even advertising in the local newspaper… but then Irma came. Our Grand opening was scheduled for the week that Hurricane Irma hit. Although there was no major damage to the store, the opening was postponed almost a month, and all of our advertising revenue had been spent. No one even knew we were here. It was a quiet opening, and a very slow start… But God. Word of mouth brought us customers, and a well-known artist contacted me about hosting a signing event for her book tour. A friend and mentor from Tampa came to teach classes, and a well-known supplier contacted me about organizing a trunk show. Over the years we grew… Never by much, just a little at a time. Today we carry more than four times the stock that we started with. We offer more classes than we can possibly schedule in a month, We host parties, and after-hours meetings. We’ve managed to hang on tight, even through the COVID era, and we’re just getting started! We’re looking to continue to grow in the future. I am currently building our website, a beading blog, and hoping to add a YouTube channel as well as off-site events this coming year!
We recently celebrated our 8th anniversary, and someone asked me if I was sick of it yet, and you know what? I’m not! I think I love it more today than ever. I love how a table full of strangers from all different backgrounds, theologies, financial positions, and political views can become friends over a little handful of crafting supplies. I love teaching people that they really can be creative, and I LOVE the spark when they figure it out! I LOVE MY JOB. I love the people I get to meet every day. I love being creative, and I love being in Lakeland. There’s something really exciting about being Swan City’s Bead Store. 🙂
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love art and all kinds of crafting. My favorite artist is Vincent VanGogh. I have studied his life and works and am fascinated by his story. To be clear, I cannot draw or paint with a brush to save my life, but if you give me beads, or clay, or let me pour my paint from a cup, I will give you art. I have been beading for more than 20 years, and I still don’t know everything, but I will never stop learning. I love to make pottery from terra cotta or low fire stoneware clay, but that’s not exactly a “kitchen table craft,’ so I have found myself completely in love with the art of polymer clay. I am mostly self-taught by following online artists like Christi Friesen, Cynthia Tinapple, Katie Oskin, and Donna Kato. I absolutely enjoy teaching it and welcoming newcomers to try it! I dabble in a little bit of wirework, a little bit of chainmail, a little bit of leatherwork, metalwork, glass fusing, kumihimo, and mixed media, but I don’t think that is what sets me apart. We’ve incubated a little community inside the walls of this little shop. A fun, accepting, respectful. helpful. and ridiculously creative little community. We have baby beaders sitting next to some who have been beading longer than I have been alive, each working at their own level and enjoying the journey. We share tips and ideas over a pot of coffee, and ask for help when we need it. My original business plan called this “more than a bead store” and that is still my goal – to foster a creative community where everyone is accepted and welcome to learn
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Come on in! Take a class and learn something new. Bring a friend and join us for Bead Club on Saturdays, or get the girls (and guys) together for a creative afternoon out. Drop by any time to see the full line of classes we offer.
Pricing:
- Most classes are $15 plus supplies
- We carry a full line of glass and gemstone beads, offering quality no matter your budget.
- Private parties are available!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.AnniesBeadShoppe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anniesbeadshoppe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnniesBeadShop/
- Other: https://g.page/AnniesBeadShoppe
Image Credits
All credit goes to Annie’s Bead Shoppe Lakeland, Florida.
