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The story of Thread
Heaven taken from
http://www.nfobase.com/html/thread_heaven.html
Thread Heaven is the only product formulated specifically to resolve the
tangling, fraying, and knotting problems associated with beading thread.
At the same time, it eliminates many of the drawbacks of beeswax, like
thread "drag", stickiness, crumbling and melting, to name a few. This is
the story of how one beader got so fed up with both the hassles of naked
thread, and the numerous disadvantages of treating thread with beeswax,
that she set out to find a better way.
Roni Hennen, owner and founder of Adam Beadworks, got her first exposure
to beading at the age of nine on a grade school field trip to an Indian
reservation in northern Minnesota. She has been actively involved in many
crafts like sewing, needle point, leather working and jewelry making, for
as long as she can remember. But for quite a few years now, beading has
been her favorite pass time. She instructs classes and workshops on her
technique, attends and participates in beading gatherings and events
whenever possible, and is a highly active member of the Internet Bulletin
Boards for beaders.
It was during one of her on-line beading "chat" sessions, that she first
considered looking for an alternative to treating thread with beeswax. The
discussion centered around the pros and cons of waxing thread, and
everyone involved seemed to fall into one of two categories; those who
refused to use beeswax because of it's negative properties, or those who
used it in spite of it's negative properties. Everyone agreed that wax was
a somewhat less-than-perfect solution to the problem, but that it was the
best of what was available. Everyone except Roni, that is. "There's got to
be something better!", she replied. One of the other beaders responded
back with, "Well, then, why don't you go and see if you can find it!"
Roni took this as a
challenge and set out to see if she could come up with something better to
share with her beading friends. After trying to treat thread with
everything from lip gloss to WD-40, she began to fear that maybe beeswax
was the best thing around, albeit inadequate. Then she realized her
mistake was in trying to coax an existing product to serve a purpose for
which it was never really intended. "Why not make something brand new?",
she thought. "Something whose only purpose is to improve the performance
of beading thread!" She began to call on a few chemists to see if they had
any ideas. Eventually one was willing to take on the project. He came up
with some good suggestions, but the costs were large and simply not worth
it for her own personal use.
However, she continued to discuss beeswax and thread hassles with other
beaders, and she became convinced that the beading community at large
would be interested in the type of product the chemist had suggested.
After many sleepless nights, she decided to risk her nest-egg, and take
the plunge. For months the chemist and the beader went back and forth
producing and testing different compounds, making adjustments, until it
was right. They were even delighted with some unforeseen benefits, like
the repelling static charge, that forces the thread tails apart, thus
dramatically reducing knotting.
Although her original intent was not to invent and market a new product,
ever since Roni tested the final version of Thread Heaven, she has been
confident that beaders everywhere would love it. She decided to consult
her son, Matt, who had recently finished his degree in Business
Management/Marketing, to get his opinion on the marketability of her
product. After researching and reviewing their test market results, he
chose to leave his job and join his mother as her partner.
Support and enthusiasm for Thread Heaven has been phenomenal, and at times
unbelievable. If so many beaders had not, directly or indirectly,
convinced Roni that this product would someday become a standard in every
beaders' kit, it might never have happened. "We live in an amazing age!",
says Roni. "This was truly a group effort. It is because of the interest
and support of a whole bunch of on-line "cyber beaders" that Thread Heaven
exists."
Certainly, Roni hopes that Thread Heaven will be successful financially,
but her main motivation has been to increase interest and enthusiasm for
this wonderful craft, by eliminating some of the problems that cause
beaders to become frustrated and discouraged. She is proud to be able to
make a contribution to the beading community. She also donates a
percentage of all sales to the Center For The Study of Beadwork, in
Portland OR.
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