Boston - July 18, 2006

The Fix Is In

Bead & Pearl

Necessity, it’s said, is the mother of invention.

Were desperate measures never called for, groundbreaking discoveries like the stapler (used as a hemming device) and toothpaste (as a zit cream) might never have been born.

Still, sometimes the quick fix won’t cut it. And when that’s the case, stuff it all into a plastic bag and head over to Bead & Pearl. The Newton Centre boutique may be a mecca for jewelry makers, but its lesser-known services are even more enticing: For an hourly fee, its experts will restore your damaged baubles to shiny, happy glory.

And should anything in the shop’s bead collection catch your eye while you’re there, owner Kinga Zielinska has another trick up her sleeve: turning tiny, glistening objects of fancy into custom, wearable designs.

Jewelry may never qualify as a necessity, but it’s a none-too-fabulous invention.

Bead & Pearl, 1280 Centre Street, Newton Centre (617-558-3577).