Few remember the 1960s as vividly as sisters Idy Harris and Anne Liner.
In 1967, they opened a hand-made jewelry store called The Bead Experience on Read Street in downtown Baltimore.
Little did they know that 40 years later, it would be a million-dollar enterprise.
It all started with a buying trip to New York City, where the sisters discovered bell bottoms.
“We didn?t have them in Baltimore, so we bought six pairs, and we came back and we sold them,” Harris said.
The demand for cool clothes was high among Baltimoreans, and The Bead quickly evolved into a destination “hippie” store. The sisters? mother, familiarly called Ma-Bead, was the resident peace activist and every customer?s confidant.
“It was a wonderful time then. If a young girl ran away from home, she would come to us to ask, ?Will you call my mom?? We would often trade services. … If we needed an electrician, someone would come and work for corn beef sandwiches,” Harris said.
Forty years later, Harris and Liner enjoy the successes of following their dream. They never had a business plan.
“We never looked to the future, we just lived for today,” Harris said. “Whatever happens will happen.”
“We like to say, ?And The Bead goes on,? ” Liner said. “It?s really been a fairy tale, and when we started the business, we made a pact to never allow family to come second, family would always be first.”
Harris? daughter Julie works at the Towson-based Kenilworth Mall store with her mom and aunt as the buyer for the new contemporary division.
The Bead sisters? success is based on an organic combination of honesty, compassion and love for what they do.
“During the Read Street days, it was fun flowing gauzy hippie clothes,” said customer Donna Siegel, of Sudbrook Park. “Then I moved away and came back, but I was not 20 anymore. Friends said, ?Try The Bead,? so I went and needed a sherpa to get my purchases to the car.”
Siegel said the camaraderie she has with the owners keeps her coming back monthly.
“They give you good feedback, and they won?t encourage you to buy things that might not look as good,” she said.
“They have created an intentionally inviting environment,” said Bonnie Block, a customer and retired Baltimore County teacher. “It?s the place, the people, the policies, the processes; it?s that personal touch.”
Unfortuately, residents can?t look forward to a second store in the future
“We?d never consider it, because this is our special store,” Harris said. “If we spread out, it wouldn?t have the interaction and the chemistry between us. It wouldn?t be fun anymore.”
The Bead celebrates its 40th anniversary Wednesday.
