It's Bead Show Time Again

I was planning to give the Intergalactic Bead Show a miss this month, since it's time to do year-end inventory and I know I have a lot of stock. But then Marble Man saw the notice in the mail and asked if I wanted to go. "Whhhaattt?" Is this MY Marble Man? The one who trails behind me in shops asking "Do you REALLY need that?"

Not one to let an opportunity pass me by, I decided to go. Marble Man went with me, and he did let out a few shocked gasps as I tallied up with a some of the vendors. But we had a lovely time, and I treated him to a nice lunch to thank him for his chauffeur/sherpa duties.

I went with a plan today, and it helped having Marble Man there as my not-so-silent conscience. I picked up some high-quality gems with lovely names: kyanite, aquamarine, candy jade, keishi pearls, etc.

And some of the cabachons have some pretty fabulous names: Prudent Man Agate, Rosetta Jasper, Agatized Fossil Coral, Canadian Labradorite.... They sound so exotic, don't they?

There was a vendor, Black Wolf Art Gallery, who specializes in charlottes. These are seed beads that are fairly new to me: very tiny, and flat on one side so they catch the light and make it dance. The ones I have in stock are size 13 (pretty darned small). This guy had them in sizes ranging from 8 to 15 - the smaller the number the larger the bead.

I've only been able to find them on ebay in very limited color choices and usually priced by the half-hank or, even worse, by the single strand. This vendor has them in a huge array of colors, and nicely priced by the full hank. I went a little crazy in that booth.

This year, I left the bead show feeling like I'd bought stuff I know I'll use, not just stuff I liked. If the show comes to your area, and you are inclined to buy beads, give it a go.

I think you'll like the quality of the offerings and the show's not so big that it's overwhelming.


copyright 2009 Shibori Girl