When Molly Beard met her future husband, she noticed that he always had paint on his jeans. But then, that’s just one of the hazards of his profession. John Beard is an artist — a painter, to be precise.
Other people, however, interpreted it as a means of self-expression.
“Wherever we went everyone said, ‘Where did you get those jeans?’” Molly Beard recalled. “So, I was like, ‘You need to make me some.’”
He did as she asked, a process they nicknamed “anchoring.” At the time, they were living and working in High Point, North Carolina, where they launched a small enterprise called Anchor Jean.
Last year, the couple opened John Beard Gallery and Molly Beard Design in the Cumberland Industrial Park, 110 Cumberland Park Drive, just west of Beachwalk. That process kept them busy, and Anchor kind of fell by the wayside for a time.
Now, it’s back, and it’s grown beyond jeans. The enterprise eventually came to mean re-purposed, re-fashioned and vintage clothing. For Molly Beard and Rachel Farmer, the gallery’s operations director, it was a kind of diversion from the day-to-day work at the gallery, where reproductions are made of John Beard’s work to be packaged and sent off to customers.
“Rachel and I just got kind of super-tired of worrying about production, and we wanted something creative to focus on,” explained Molly Beard.
The women would go thrift-shopping on the weekends, and they would purchase vintage apparel and an array of clothing items to “anchor.” Back at the gallery, they radically altered their purchases — though never the vintage articles — painted them, sewed other elements onto them and more.
And, of course, wore them.
“I would get a lot of compliments on what I was wearing and asked where I got it,” Farmer said. “Not everyone would believe me when I said I made it.”
Farmer does much of the sewing, a skill she learned from her grandmother. All sewing is done by hand; no machine is used. The paint used on some items is acrylic, which won’t wash off when laundered. The stock is represented in a variety of women’s sizes.
Each article of clothing is unique, which is part of the appeal. These creations now occupy the new Anchor, which is located in a room within the gallery and is open when the gallery is open. Here, one finds an eclectic collection of jackets, blazers, vintage dresses, tank tops, T-shirts, trousers and more. There is active wear, party wear and a few surprises.
“We have a little bit for everybody,” said Molly Beard. “We wanted some pieces to be colorful and light-hearted. Of course, we wanted some other pieces to make a statement, too.”
One such article bears the message: “Art Comes First.”
Beyond the stock immediately at hand, Farmer and Beard do custom “anchoring.” Customers can bring in their own clothing to have it altered in keeping with the shop’s unique approach. They sit down and consult with Beard and Farmer to determine what will be created and how. In the end, the customer owns a unique article of clothing where they themselves have had a role in its creation.
For its stock, Anchor offers a variety of price points.
“We’re not really trying to make money,” Molly Beard said. “We’re trying to share our vision and our talent and our art through clothing.”
