Taylor Swift shows spark beading bonanza, big sales for crafting retailers

Beaded friendship bracelets have become a hallmark for Taylor Swift fans, who string each one and then trade them at her concerts, attributing the trend to a line in her song

When Taylor Swift swings through Vancouver in December, Mikaela St Louis will be among the pop star’s most prepared fans.

The long-term care nurse based in Campbell River, B.C., will travel to one of the shows with 275 Swift-inspired friendship bracelets she made over the last few months.

“We don’t have a ton of stores here, so I got everything that was available to me here and then I drove to another town an hour-and-a-half away and spent like $500 at Michael’s on beads,” said St Louis, estimating her bill for bracelet-making materials has now surpassed $1,000.

Beaded friendship bracelets have become a hallmark for Swift fans, who string each one and then trade them at her concerts, attributing the trend to a line in her song, “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” which says, “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.”

Fans like St Louis have proved to be a boon for retailers, which have seen jewelry-making materials fly off shelves, especially in cities where the songstress is due to make an appearance.

Craft supply chain Michaels, which will provide more than five million beads to a “Taylgate” party before Swift’s Toronto shows, has said it sees a 300 per cent sales lift in its beads and jewelry categories.

Swift will kick off her Canadian shows at the Rogers Centre later this month, which Toronto on Monday released new ceremonial street signs for “Taylor Swift Way,” an honorary route connecting Nathan Phillips Square to Rogers Centre for November.

Merchants using Ottawa-based Shopify Inc.’s software similarly saw sales of jewelry wire rise by 57 per cent and beading patterns by 48 per cent between September 2023 and 2024.