A Guide to the Best of Southern California : HANDMADE : Ribbons, Buttons and Beads

OWNERS CHARLES and Lenore Laraway like to think of Laraway’s, a quaint 900-square-foot specialty shop chockablock with vintage buttons, beads, appliques, ribbons, trims and needlepoint patterns, as a “ladies’ hardware store.” “We felt there was a need for this kind of store,” Lenore says. “There really was nothing, and still isn’t, that carried such a varied collection of do-it-yourself components.”

The trims (79 cents to more than $100 a yard), which come in all varieties of widths and materials--cotton, silks, rayons, synthetics, knits and wools--are imported from Brazil, France, England and Switzerland. “The new trims are not made nearly as well,” Lenore says. “And they don’t have the wonderful vibrant colors or interesting pattern detail, either.”

The ornate top-of-the-line trims date as far back as the turn of the century. Encrusted with pearls, rhinestones or jet, many of them are highlighted with seed-bead fringes. These rare articles are priced as high as $100 a yard.

Other novelties: vintage Venetian beads (production of these stopped more than 25 years ago), centuries-old seed beads from Bohemia ($1 per full thimble), pre-Columbian beads ($6 each and up) and African trade beads (sold by the inch, starting at $4.50).

Classes in needle-weaving, needlepoint, basic bead-stringing and jewelry making are offered at the store, ranging from $10 to $25 per session (private classes can be arranged). There’s also a professional stitcher on the premises, and the services of two artists specializing in custom needlepoint are available by appointment.

Laraway’s, 313 Marine Ave., Balboa Island; (714) 675-4491.