Angela Stanton, owner, opened The Bead Tree upon returning to the Harrisburg area from Baltimore. Stanton, who previously worked in the restaurant field, has been making beads, collecting beads, and buying them at bead and jewelry shows for the last ten years. ”I always wanted to make my own jewelry. A friend showed me how to make beads, and it was non-stop from there” Stanton says. ”I was addicted.” With the stock she already had on hand and additional inventory purchased for the store, Stanton has filled every nook-and-cranny with beads from all around the world, findings, and supplies to make your own jewelry, fabrics, fiber art, and hand-crafted jewelry.

If you think The Bead Tree is just beads, you’re sadly mistaken. There are millions of beads, but there’s also stained glass items, original art from local Harrisburg artists, clothing, and books. Downstairs in the bead store is Stanton’s used bookstore, ”Books Down Under.” Here you can find used, rare, and out-of-print books for your perusing pleasure.

The Bead Tree uses ads in national trade magazines, a newsletter sent to frequent customers, a brand new website, and local newspaper calendars for marketing, but Stanton reports her best advertising comes from word-of-mouth. Although most of The Bead Tree’s business is local, Stanton is increasing her business through a catalog she just published and the website. She has no minimum order requirements, a fact that has increased the Bead Tree’s niche in the bead market near-and-far. Recently, a customer from Montana ordered several semi-precious stone beads from Stanton using only a two-inch by two-inch advertisement showing them as stock in the store. Stanton will also special order items you need if they aren’t in stock.

There’s always something to do in Harrisburg if you look in the right places. On Monday nights and Saturday afternoons, there are classes at The Bead Tree. Classes are offered for children and adults, beginners to advanced, and are taught by several local artists and jewelry makers. Hemp is one of the more popular classes recently, but classes cover basic bead stringing to traditional weaving. ” People need to see how easy it is to make your own jewelry,” Stanton excitedly adds.

Her favorite thing about the business is ”I get to come to work and play every day, and I get to teach people that come in every day how to play.” There’s a table set up in the store at which customers and Stanton can work on jewelry. If you can’t seem to get something you’re working on just right, Stanton will take time and show you what to do or help you figure it out.

Claude Weisse, Three B owner and fellow scooper, opened his first location in Dauphin during 1969 while he was still working in ice cream production. Millions of scoops and 30 years later, there are now four Three B locations for you to cool off at this summer.

Weisse began his ice cream career in production and quickly discovered there was great potential for ice cream sales. During the first ten years Three B was in business, they made their own ice cream. Concentrating on sales and customer service, Weiss began purchasing ice cream from a local manufacturer. During a good week 5000 – 7000 gallons of ice cream are scooped at the combined locations. Definitely a sign of delicious ice cream, made and scooped in PA.

With target customers including anyone that eats ice cream, marketing is not a problem. Even the weatherman helps sales by reporting a change in outside temperature by ten degrees. When it’s hot, people come from near and far for Three B Ice Cream. It’s even rumored there are those who stop for Three B ice cream after traveling over 50 miles on their way to the mountains.

Confident from the start, Weisse felt he couldn’t lose if the demand for ice cream was there. His management style is down-to-earth. As Weisse puts it, there’s “no such thing as a boss here,” they’re all equal. “Everybody works together.” That style has made Three B Ice Cream an extended family for some employees. Students return summer after summer to work for Weisse, and even stick around years after they graduate because of the quality of employment they’ve experienced. The General Manager of Three B, Josh Rissinger, started with Weisse when he was 16 and will take over once Weisse retires. “If we didn’t love what we do, we wouldn’t be here” states Rissinger.

That commitment to employees is passed on to the customers. “We try to take care of everybody, make everybody happy,” Weisse says. “We feel somehow we have a happy atmosphere.” An atmosphere of customer relaxation is greatly encouraged with strategic picnic benches and places to rest while enjoying your treat. Each Three B store is a stand alone building intentionally not attached to a strip mall or other various buildings. Three B Ice Cream is a destination, and quality is the key.