New York - March 29, 2000

Bead Man

Cool Bead store

While there are many reasons to love New York (8 a.m. sardined subway rides, uppity waiters, parades, and that strange odor that comes from your drain), everyone needs the occasional breather:

Consider Ba-Jabbi, a 23rd Street fixture commonly known as Bead Man.

Unlike the peddlers who swarm the sidewalks of SoHo (pawning product priced only slightly below what’s showcased behind those glass panes), this 35-year-old West African sells some of the prettiest beadwork we’ve seen in awhile, and his prices make you feel pretty silly for spending what you might at some NoLIta boutique. The simple, cheery strands, threaded with brightly colored beads made in Gambia, come in three lengths and range in price from $3 to $5. So if you have the funds, you can buy in bulk and mix and match.

(That, or you can replicate a Greg Brady-style curtain for your doorway: The necklaces run up to six feet long.)

Oh, and a memo to DailyCandy subscribers: Bring Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. They’re his fave.