About Us

The Bead Shop began in 1993, founded by the husband-and-wife team Fay and Harvey Kersh.

Before beads, Harvey co-ran an iconic 70s hairdressing business with several salons across the North West [Harvey & Rupert]. They later established a design and manufacturing company, creating luxury gifts for department stores and independent boutiques under the name Jenny Kersh Designs. The business flourished, taking them around the world, winning awards and even leading to a meeting with The Queen.

But life had other plans.

After being diagnosed with cancer in 1990, Fay found the pressures of running a large business, alongside raising four children, increasingly difficult. The family longed for something simpler, more creative and closer to home.

Then one morning, Fay woke up and announced that she had dreamt about beads.

That dream became The Bead Shop we know today.

The early days were wonderfully resourceful. Fay and Harvey searched charity shops, car boot sales and antique fairs for interesting jewellery to dismantle and unusual components to sell. They travelled to London in search of wholesalers, scoured catalogues for clasps, chains and threads, and even cut apart wooden beaded car seat covers to sell the beads individually in trays.

It was a new idea at the time, and customers loved it.

Sadly, Fay passed away in 1995, leaving Harvey with four children to support and a young business to nurture.

Just a year later, The Bead Shop faced another challenge when the IRA bomb devastated Manchester city centre. At the time, the shop was based in the Corn Exchange and was badly affected by the explosion.

Needing a new home quickly, Harvey found a warm welcome at Afflecks, where The Bead Shop would remain for more than twenty-three years.

Affleck's Palace was the perfect fit. Creative, independent and delightfully unconventional, it allowed the business to grow from a small unit on the third floor into one of the building’s largest spaces. Over the years, we expanded our ranges, hosted workshops and became part of Manchester’s thriving craft community. 

The business has evolved many times since then. We’ve opened shops in Liverpool, Chester and even Ibiza. As family life changed, so did we, eventually settling into our current home in Cheetham Hill.

In 2015, Harvey discovered a passion for yoga teaching and handed over the day-to-day running of the business to his eldest son, Matthew, and his partner, Kerri.

Then, in 2018, the youngest son Josh returned home after spending five years in Vietnam working as a web developer. Together, Matt and Josh embraced new challenges and expanded The Bead Shop online, introducing haberdashery ranges and selling through marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.

After twenty-seven years of face-to-face retailing, we made the difficult decision to close our Afflecks shop in March 2020.

With high streets facing an uncertain future, it felt like the right moment to focus entirely on our online store. It marked the end of an era, but also the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

Today, we’re still a small family business with a passion for creativity. We’re constantly searching for beautiful new products, unusual finds and useful essentials, hoping to create an online treasure trove for jewellery makers, crafters and curious creators alike.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for supporting an independent family business that has weathered a few storms, followed a dream and never quite stopped believing in the magic of beads.

With love,

The Bead Shop Family