Joey (Jo) Merkle, 69, and Phil Berry, 67, are the owners of Beads and Things in Athens, Ohio. They opened the store in the 1990s on the bottom floor, and the top floor is where they lived and slept. All their beads and other items are from worldwide, and they traveled to Peru, the Czech Republic, the US, Malaysia, China, Cambodia, et cetera. When they need time away or some air from the bead business, they travel to their other home, a cabin strictly for their peace away from the bead store. They would camp on the land where their cabin is now but started construction in the 1980s, and it never got finally done since then. They have always tried to balance the lifestyle of traveling somewhere new and the store.
Joey (Jo) Merkle, 69, and Phil Berry, 67, posed outside their business, Beads and Things in Athens, Ohio, on September 9, 2022.
Jo Merkle, 69, washing the dishes after breakfast in her apartment above the bead store at Beads and Things, Athens, Ohio on September 3, 2022.
Jo Merkle, 69, comes down the front stairs with her passport for an upcoming trip at Beads and Things, Athens, Ohio on September 9, 2022.
Jo Merkle, 69, helps measure a necklace for Ashley McCunn, 34, to find the right length at Beads and Things, Athens, Ohio on September 9, 2022.
Phil Berry, 67, and Jo Merkle, 69, discussing their plans for the Nelsonville Music Festival as Phil adds up beads for a customer at Beads and Things, Athens, Ohio, on September 3, 2022.
Jo Merkle's hands as she counts beads for a customer at Beads and Things, Athens, Ohio on September 9, 2022.
A small collection of travel books and maps that belong to Jo Merkle and Phil Berry from their travels of collecting rocks and memories at their apartment home in Bead and Things, Athens, Ohio on August 29, 2022.
Jo Merkle, 69, trims the hair from Phil Berry, 67, at their home in Rome Township, Ohio on August 28, 2022. Jo likes to call Phil's haircut session her mini art projects.
Jo Merkle, 69, and Phil Berry, 67, trying to figure out what is wrong with their lawn mower at their home, in Rome Township, Ohio on August 28, 2022.
