By Charlene Giannetti

Bert Freed and her daughter, Dana, have always loved beads. That love grew into a passion to teach beading while also creating and selling their own exquisite jewelry. They now have two companies, The Well Done Experience, to teach beading, and the Chicken and the Egg, their fashion jewelry company. Their designs are sold at Takashimaya on Fifth Avenue (see story under “Shopping Around”) and Betsey Bunky Nini on Lexington Avenue. In September, their jewelry will also be sold in the gift shop at the Museum of Art and Design. “We look at each other and say, `Can you believe we’re doing this?’” Bert says, a look of utter astonishment on her face. “We’ve accomplished a lot in a short space of time.”

Bert and Dana are living proof of advice we often hear: do something you love and turn a hobby into a job opportunity. “We’ve always loved beads,” says Dana. Bert adds: “And we realized that beading was more than just a hobby. We thought that if we loved it so much, other people would, too.”

We are in the family apartment on Park Avenue, sitting around the dining room table where Bert and Dana give beading lessons. A variety of beads are displayed on the table, along with a dozen necklaces, bracelets, and rings from their collection. “Each piece is a work of art, completely handmade, and one of a kind,” explains Dana. “We don’t replicate.” A necklace may contain upwards of 3,000 beads and take more than ten hours to complete. The design process itself, however, often takes longer. They are not shy about mixing precious stones with non-precious ones. “We might take African trading beads and mix them with crystals,” says Dana.

The resulting pieces are dense and feel rich. Each one is a surprise. Some look more formal, others whimsical. Dana’s background in anthropology is evident in some of the designs that have the look of tribal ornamentation. Others take inspiration from nature, with beads that resemble leaves sprinkled throughout a necklace or bracelet. Dana’s Colorplay Cuff and Peyote Power Cuff were featured in Beadwork Magazine.

Because the Freeds like to travel with their beads, they wanted to design a kit that could be taken anywhere. They finally came up with a zippered pouch that can hold a beading project and fold up to be thrown into a tote bag. The section that contains the beads can be snapped out in case the owner chooses to take a different project along on a weekend jaunt.

Although Bert and Dana have come a long way, the two companies were decades in the making. Bert went through many creative phases, owning two needlepoint shops and teaching enamels at the 92nd Street Y. At one point she decided to take a beading class at the Y and enjoyed it so much she encouraged Dana to join her. “She was masterful,” Bert says of her daughter. “She got things right away.”

Dana has a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from Barnard College and a masters in Museum Studies from NYU. She worked at the Museum of Natural History but found the politics involved to succeed daunting. “I saw how frustrated my boss was every day and knew I didn’t want to do that,” she says. Shortly after she quit, her position was eliminated.

At that point, Dana realized that her beading was turning into more of a hobby. “I wanted to concentrate on it more.” So did Bert. They looked at each other and said, “Why don’t we take control and start a business?”

Coming up with names for both companies proved to be simple. For many years, Bert did volunteer work at Mt. Sinai, working with pediatric oncology and transplant patients. She became very attached to a young man named Larry, who spent his last days at Calvary Cancer Care Center. “He was a very special boy, a six feet-two street kid who had no family,” says Bert. “I taught him to knit. He would say to me, `Give me those sticks,’ what he called the knitting needles.” When Larry died, Bert created a shadow box as a memorial with his photo and his incomplete blue wool scarf still on the “sticks.” She wrote: “Hand Knit by Larry Brown 20 years-old. Well done!” The framed tribute remained at the nurse’s station at Mt. Sinai for a while and Bert now has it in her home. “I knew if I ever did anything in my life, I would do it for Larry,” Bert says. She knew she would name her company Well Done. “Dana added `Experience,’” she says.

The Chicken and the Egg name represents mother and daughter. “I would always say to her, `What came first: the chicken or the egg,’ when I thought I knew better than she did,” Bert says with a laugh.

The two companies hatched by these two women show no sign of slowing down. They are truly fashioning their dreams, one bead at a time.

Bert and Dana’s websites are:
www.welldoneexperience.com
www.chicken-egg.com

Woman Around Town’s Six Questions

Dana:
Favorite Place to Eat: The Tea Box at Takashimaya
Favorite Place to Shop: Muji
Favorite New York Sight: American Museum of Natural History
Favorite New York Moment: The Christmas Decorations all over town
What You Love About New York: That it’s open 24 hours
What You Hate About New York: The Congestion (too many people!)

Bert:
Favorite Place to Eat: Cafe Gitane, 242 Mott Street
Favorite Place to Shop: Macy’s–the everything store!
Favorite New York Sight: The American Folk Art Museum
Favorite New York Moment: The Gay Pride Parade
What You Love About New York: The Energy
What You Hate About New York: The Transportation