Photo By Jennifer Kersten

Margaret Petrie Maggard was ten years old when her love of jewelry and her creative ideas first came together to form a business. One seventies summer in Pepper Pike, Ohio, Margaret and her best friend Susan designed and made colorful seed bead necklaces and went door to door taking custom orders and selling samples. (The product proved to be a better seller and much more fashionable to wear than Girl Scout cookies!) The two girls joined their last names together and named their thriving enterprise "Petribel," sealing the deal by ordering pencils with the company name imprinted on them from a special offer on the back of a cereal box. Alas, Petribel Company went the way of Barbie Dolls and Nancy Drew books as the girls moved on to 45 record collecting, pierced ears and boys.

Years of passionate jewelry collecting go by, along with milestones such as marriage and motherhood, a career in publishing, and relocation to several cities. It wasn't until yoga became an important part of Margaret's life, both her own practice and her teaching of vinyasa flow style yoga, that a creative outlet was reborn. It was in Chicago 2002 when Margaret first came across a prayer box and decided to turn it into a necklace, thinking it expressed some of the new spirituality in her life. A friend at church asked her about the unusual piece, another necklace was made, and Bhati Beads was on its way.

Today Bhati Beads is sold coast to coast in boutiques, yoga studios, spas, and art galleries across the country. Our yoga-inspired pieces have been joined by our funky charmgroove and our elegant Margaret Maggard Fine Jewelry.