May's Beads

I’ve been to many beads stores, but this one is the best. I make historical costumes and cosplay, and my husband makes jewelry, so i know what exactly where I need to go. Yes, they will ask you to put your bag in the locker. No, not because they think you can steal something. It’s probably because they’ve been robbed before, and for you this is not much, but for them it is their income. They also have good discounts on the various items and they are willing to help if you need something very specific. Highly recommended.

I love this place. Yes, they have cameras and signs that say you've been watched and sings that say you need to buy what you pick but I totally understand why they have to do that. It must not be easy to keep it all organized since all the products are right there for the customers to pick so if customers pick up something and they put it back in the wrong place or let it fall on the floor, guess who's gonna have to put everything back in place. It might not be perfect but I just love to go there and I can spend hours looking at everything they have. Every time I go there, I found something new and I would love to be able to buy it all! I've spent a lot of money there though, which attests to the great variety they have. Some prices could be a bit lower but still reasonable in general since many products they have would be hard to find online and you would still have to pay for shipping and wait for it to arrive. Being able to touch the products, see the colors, textures, quality and size in person makes it all worth it. Service is ok. I appreciate that they're ok with you taking all the time you need and no employee is bothering you, and checking on you which I would find annoying, if you have a question there is always someone you can ask to. The experience at the cashier can be less pleasant later in the day near to closing time but other times of the day they are nice and kind. I keep coming back and I haven't find a place in Houston compared to May's. I also appreciate they take the time to respond kindly to the negative reviews.

The prices are great. I get all my crystal beads there for as little as $1 a strand. I love the grab bags and tubs of clearance findings. The variety is amazing from African beads to gemstone beads and pendants to standing crystals. I'm very familiar with the store but could still spend hours in there just looking.

Recommended by an old co-worker. I went for my 1st visit just to check it out. I knew ahead of time that I wouldn't be able to bring my purse into the store and I wasn't offended by that. Their house, their rules. However, there are signs EVERYWHERE stating that you're being watched on camera. Which made for an awkward visit. Apparently they do have a locker(s) to place your purse/bag in if you wish. Again, I wasn't there to shop this visit, only to browse. But once I entered the store, I was BLOWN away at the gigantic amount of options!! 😳 I was in bead heaven literally!! 😂 Any and every type of bead/crystal you can think of or name is more than likely in this store. I loved it!! Everything you think you need for your jewelry making is there (minus tools or at least I didn't see anything like that.) String, wire options in gold, silver and rose gold and a plethora of spacers of all sorts & colors. Needless to say, I ended up spending $130 on what was supposed to be an eye-buying shopping experience. 😂🙌🏾 They also have items for sale in their glass counter such as jade bracelets and other jewelry pieces. I drove from the Woodlands over there, and imo, it's worth the drive if you're a serious beader. A lot of reviews mentioned unfriendly employees and this is accurate. However, they were helpful whenever I had a question.

There is no such thing as a quick trip to May's beads... this store has so much variety that in order to see everything it would take you at least a couple hours to make it through. It helps if you know a thing or two about stones because a majority of the strands are just labeled gemstone but if you are unfamiliar with something you can always just use Google image search or ask one of the amazing associates working around the store. Every time I have been to this store they have a 75% off sale on gemstone bead strands so don't let the big prices on the strand scare you away but also be careful because those strand prices add up quickly😅 the quality of their natural stones is impeccable and they have these amazing little gemstone and quartz towers. You can also find anything you need for any kind of jewelry making in silver and gold. I will say some of the pendants and charms are lacking in the quality department especially for the prices they charge for them but overall I'm impressed.