Business Beat: Shoppe lets woman ‘Bee’ creative

Becky Misa is a busy bee, making things that sparkle, smell good or bring smiles to faces.

Earlier this month, she opened the Little Busy Bee Shoppe, showcasing her handmade wares, including bracelets, beaded pens, denim purses, blinged out bags and hats, soaps, bubble baths, loofah soaps, scrubs and masks.

“Everything in here has been touched by me,” she said.

She said it has been a dream of hers to open a store for several years, but she wasn’t planning to do that for about 10 years when her husband, GG Misa, retires and they move to Tennessee to be near their daughter and her family.

But after driving past the tiny building on Boulder City Parkway for several years and seeing it remain vacant, she thought to herself, “why wait?”

Among her favorite items in the shops are the beaded pens and bracelets. Misa said she must have at least 7,000 more beads at home to make more.

She also said she loves making soaps and bubble baths.

Misa said she plans to bring in new products on a regular basis, and will try to make items to help mark the seasons and holidays.

Misa said she started making things as a hobby and to let her creative side out.

Before opening the store, she worked as a manager at Harbor Freight and at Lake Las Vegas, where she managed two marinas.

She created the store, situated at 1306 Boulder City Parkway in the historic building that used to house an office for Union Oil Co. of Nevada and Standard Oil Co. of California, to be homey and inviting. It’s decorated in sunflowers and bumble bees.

She called the store her “happy place” and said she doesn’t want to leave, but will close it two days a week so she can make more things.

The Little Busy Bee Shoppe opened Dec. 10. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, but Misa said she can stay later if there’s a demand.

Rail Explorers to close

Rail Explorers is closing its Boulder City division on Saturday “at the request of the Nevada State Division of Museums and History,” according to a statement from the company.

Rail Explorers USA goes on to say it is “cooperating with the state of Nevada as they re-evaluate the contract terms and process for future operations of a rail bike experience. We intend to participate in any future Requests For Proposals as issued and look forward to again providing Southern Nevada with the unique outdoor experience of riding the rails.”

Any questions about the Las Vegas Division should be directed to Heather Abel, general manager of Rail Explorers Western Region, at Heather@RailExplorers.net.

Questions about the museum, request for proposal process or pending closure should be directed to Christopher MacMahon, director of the Nevada State Railroad Museum, at cmacmahon@nevadaculture.org.

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