Mother-daughter
duo Yvonne Brown and Katherine Vlassek bring the world to you with their unique
treasures at Pandora’s Baubles and Beads. Yvonne runs the day today business
operations and Katherine is the travel and not-so-silent partner. As a matter
of fact, they say the same things at the same time and they finish each other’s
sentences. It is a true partnership. When you go visit Pandora’s, you feel at
home as if you are talking to good friends that you’ve known for years, or
family, because they make you a part of theirs.
Pandora’s
came about when Yvonne traveled to Baltimore
with her mother for a conference and spent most of her time in jewelry
stores. Katherine planted the seed when
she said, “You love jewelry so much, you should own a store.” That comment was
like opening Pandora’s box. Because Yvonne did just that, she turned her passion
for creating jewelry into her job. She
began by designing for galleries in Jackson
and when the opportunity arose, she created a treasure chest where kindred
spirits can come and create beautiful things in classes, or just be inspired by
the one-of-a-kind finds.
Yvonne
says, “We try to stay ahead of the trends.” So far, it seems to be working.
Pandora’s Baubles and Beads has been in business in Idaho Falls for six years.
“It’s so
nice to incorporate our love of jewelry, traveling and people into our job,”
Yvonne admits.
The pair
has traveled to Istanbul, Thailand, Shanghai,
and Africa just to name a few of their
destinations. They say they look for anything interesting, which they find
everywhere. Everything in the store is
handpicked. The duo travels to pick up
fair trade merchandise, cutting out the middle man. They buy direct from the mines and have
perhaps the best selection of Nevada and Arizona turquoise in our
entire region. As a matter of fact, over
75 designers buy their supplies from Yvonne.
Pandora’s carries just about everything but gold. “I pride myself on
being able to find special things for people,” says Yvonne. In addition to
bringing the world to you, Pandora’s features local artists. But they don’t just have beads; they have silk
jackets, PJ’s, robes, beaded purses, pashminas, crystals and so much more.
“People say it’s like a museum when they come in here,” says Yvonne.
No matter
what your budget, you will find something that you just can’t live
without. Pandora’s offers classes, and
refreshments are served every Friday. To
check that class schedule you can go to Pandora’s.com and while you are at it,
check facebook and twitter to keep up on what is going on and read Yvonne’s
travel blog.
A new
expansion to Phoenix
as part of their gallery-walk keeps Yvonne traveling back and forth. Her focus is on her customers, the expansion
to Phoenix, and
her new goal—to design her own line of jewelry. Yvonne’s desire is to make fun
affordable artisan jewelry, “Travel, people, cultures and beautiful things
inspire me, ” she says.
Pandora's
Baubles & Beads
440 Park Avenue - Idaho Falls, ID 83402
(208) 529-3696
www.pandorasbaublesandbeads.com
