In Santa Barbara, in the 1980s and on through 2022, if you ever stopped into a place called BEADS, you would certainly remember the intelligent, kind, and friendly gentleman named Andy, the handsome and helpful proprietor, affectionately known as “Mr. Beads.”
BEADS was a community hub for lively conversations and connection. Music, art, travel, and the history and culture of beads and bead craft and glassblowing were just a few of the topics of interest. If you got lucky, Andy’s funny and wild real-life stories might be shared.
Andy lived an extraordinary life in extraordinary times. As a young boy, he carpooled to Catholic school with the kids of a Miami mobster, who kept a loaded pistol on the center console. As a teenager he met Lenny Bruce (who bummed a cigarette outside The Peppermint Lounge). As a young adult, he marched for civil rights with Reverend Ralph Abernathy, and attended a Moon Landing LSD Ball in San Francisco.