Bead & Button Fun #1

Tags

Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton, Bead & Button Show, Dakota Stones, MAKU Studio, Trinket Foundry, Vintaj, William Jones

I went to the Bead & Button Show on Friday for the first time in five years. I had such a good time!  I got to meet some online friends, which was very fun.  I bought lots of great stuff.  I’m already scheming my plots and plans for next year, but I know that is folly because I had a big plan for buying this year, and I didn’t really follow it.  But I’m super happy with everything I bought (and I only forgot to get one thing I meant to get!) and I did realize something that affected my shopping.

I generally cannot deal with a ton of strands. I can buy from a booth with lots of strands, like Dakota Stones. But a ton of strands all laid out on top of one another just makes it impossible for me to focus. Throw in a big 75% off sign that will force me to calculate a price in my head, and it turns a good deal into a deal breaker. So my plan to focus on gemstone strands crashed and burned. Speaking of Dakota stones, they had a new cut, called star cut, that I really liked. I thought about getting a few strands of this cut in some favorite stones. But then I saw a collar strand of rough cut labradorite beads. I’ve admired strands like this over the years in the Dakota Stones booth at various shows. I decided to treat myself to one great strand! It’s so beautiful.I also got a strand of pyrite nuggets. I always love these.

I got some fabulous new things from a couple of favorite shops.  First, Allegory Gallery. I got to meet proprietors Andrew Thornton and William Jones in person! That was so nice after participating in their design challenges, reading club and destashes over the years.  They are just as nice in person as they are online!  I picked up some lovelies from the shop.

They had these great fiber cards each with four different kinds of fiber.  I love them!  I really wanted them all, but this is the one I picked.  I can’t wait to incorporate these fibers into my designs.  I’m hoping these fiber cards mights show up in the etsy shop. I also got multiple strands of these beautiful soft yellow vintage plastic beads.  I have a couple, and they are a favorite. I’d like to make a whole necklace featuring these. I love yellow. 

I also got a couple of Andrew’s pendants. I love the meaningful sayings he has been putting on pendants lately. Also, I never met an Andrew Thornton bronze pendant I didn’t love.  In addition, Andrew and William gifted me with this charming podling ornament. 

This magical creature was handmade by Andrew. It’s full of good vibes it will be spreading while hanging in my studio.

Andrew and William shared a booth with their family who own Green Girl Studios. I was hoping to be able to get a couple of their new designs, and I did.

The hands and house are new. Some of the new Green Girl beads are available in Allegory Gallery’s esty shop. If I could still wear earrings, I would totally make the hands into earrings. Even though I won’t use them that way, I bought two so I could have my bead and use it too.  I also bought this gorgeous bangle.  In fact, I was on a bit of a bangle binge.  Here is the stack that ended up on my wrist on the ride home.  LOVE!

In addition to the Green Girl bracelet, there are three glass bangles made from wine bottles from Trinket Foundry and a hand patinaed cuff from Vintaj. I had seen the Vintaj cuffs on their Facebook page just before the show and had fallen in love.

For a while I have wanted a bird from MAKU Studio.  I thought I would check out her supply at the show, and if one seemed right I would get it. This one spoke to me right away. And this little heart wanted to come home with me too.

I got some more things, but I will save those for another post.  I hope you enjoyed this show and tell.

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Dad’s Bracelet

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Dakota Stones

I wrote the other day about a bead show I attended with family.  One thing I bought that I didn’t show in that blog post was a strand of rough chrysoprase slabs in a bargain bin at the Dakota Stones booth.  I knew my dad would like them, and I could help him figure out how to use them.  I suggested an easy knotted bracelet on waxed linen.  He had the perfect green patina metal clasp.

I love the variety of colors, shapes and textures in these beads.  It’s easy to make these inexpensive beads look dramatic.  It’s a statement bracelet!

It looks different depending on which side of each stone is showing.  There are still a few slabs left from this strand, and I also have some chrysoprase slabs.  I might see a collar necklace in my future!

2016 Art Glass and Bead Show

Tags

Art Glass and Bead Show, CB&Co, Dakota Stones, East of the Sun, Rowe Art Designs, Talyors Falls Bead Store

Today I went to the Art Glass and Bead Show in my city of Madison, Wisconsin with my mom, dad and my sister’s girlfriend, Lisa.  My sister and Lisa happened to be visiting, and Lisa said she would enjoy going.  My sister stayed home and held down the fort.

We were discombobulated at this show for a number of reasons, but it didn’t keep us from spending our money or getting good stuff!  I thought I would go straight to Dakota Stones and spend my entire budget first thing because I’d been planning that since last year.  But when I got there, they didn’t seem to have the stones I wanted, although they had some beautiful things.  I would have loved to get a strand of citrine similar to what I bought last year, but they didn’t have that shape.

I went to check out CB&Co because I love her stuff, and I got sucked in (along with my mother) to an old case of found objects and sale things.  It’s stuff the artist picks up at antiques stores while traveling to and from shows.  This is the sort of thing I love.  Back in the day I went to all sorts of flea markets and antiques shows and stores, but now I’m old and tired and happy that someone else has done it for me.

Lisa bought me a super cute stamped sea glass pendant from Taylors Falls Bead Store.  I love it. Yellow – a favorite bead color of mine!

I’m not very observant, and they guy who waited on us admitted the signs were very “home made” but everything in the booth was 30% off!  Well, that sent me over to the African strands.  So, I bought some of those.

Then I was helping my Dad pick something out at the same booth, and this crusty metal piece caught my eye.

Lisa told us about a booth chock full of African beads she thought we’d like.  It was one of those booths with no prices.  That always puts us off.  I hate to ask the price of every single thing.  Also, I think those folks kind of size you up and base the price on that rather than really have everything memorized.  But my mom was in the market for some vinyl beads, and this guy had a big ton of sizes and colors.  Totally cheap!

She’s sharing these with me, so you get to see them.  I am kind of obsessed with these.  I never get tired of them.

So then we started asking him the price of other strands.  He had some really gorgeous stuff.  Giant shell beads I kept petting.  Big, fat amber we didn’t even bother to ask the price of.  But his prices were actually good, so…

That strand on the right is my favorite strand from this show.  LOVE!  I can’t even tell you the business name.  No card, receipt – I don’t even think his booth had a banner.  I’m glad Lisa led us there because I don’t think we would have bought otherwise.  That no prices thing is so off-putting.  But my mom bought several strands, too.  Next year, we might go there first.

So we were pretty spent out by this time (money and energy).  But another booth I wanted to go to – East of the Sun (no website) – was on our way out, and my mom wanted to stop.  When I recognized it, I went in too.  I saw these fab strands of mixed beads wired on cord and fell in love.  My mom said she’d get a price.  I waited with Lisa, telling her, “My mom is getting a price on this thing none of us is going to buy.”  It was a fraction of what I thought it would cost, and I ran right over to buy it. I knew I’d regret it if I passed it up, but now I’m on a bead diet.  I am, really!

The proprietor explained that this technique is to use up broken beads.  It is a mix of cheap and more expensive beads (and I see shells) many of which are broken.  They are wired to cord and so lush the breaks don’t matter.  I thought it was a closed strand, and I would have to take it apart and try to reassemble it as a necklace.  My dad showed me that it’s not.  I’m extra thrilled.  I’m wearing it to brunch tomorrow!

But even as we left, that wasn’t all!  Lisa reminded us to check our wrist band numbers to see if we had won a door prize, and my dad had!  A beautiful lampwork bead made by a Wisconsin artist.

A fun day was had by all, and Lisa is invited to all future bead shows!

Art Bead Scene Challenge – January

Tags

Art Bead Scene, Dakota Stones, Lesley Watt, THEA Elements

The inspiration for the Art Bead Scene challenge for January is Landscape with Stars by Henri-Edmond Cross, watercolor over graphite on paper.

I have to admit that I usually participate in the Art Bead Scene challenge when the inspiration piece gives me an almost fully formed idea right away.  I find when I spend a lot of time designing a piece, I end up not really liking it. Although I love this starry sky, the colors didn’t inspire me much.  Then I thought why not try; it is supposed to be a challenge after all.  So looked at my art beads and made five sketches for possible necklaces.

The first sketch on this front page is the one I decided to make with a few changes.  I actually think I’ll make the bottom necklace at some point as well.

I chose this fabulous moon gazing hare pendant by Lesley Watt of THEA Elements. I think it fits well with the night sky in the picture, and I added some stars and iolite dangles to also reference the sky.

I am often loathe to use the strands of gemstones I buy. Many of you know how I feel, but I unclenched and used a strand of citrine I got at a bead show from Dakota Stones last year.

Visit Art Bead Scene on Pinterest to see what jewelry and beads other people have created inspired by the same painting.

Art Glass and Bead Show

Tags

Aardvark Art Glass, Art Glass and Bead Show, CB&Co, Dakota Stones, Diakonos Designs, Diane Hawkey, East of the Sun beads, Elka Designs, Papio Creek Gems & Gifts, Tanya McGuire, Taylors Falls Bead Store

This weekend I went to the Art Glass and Bead Show right in my town of Madison, Wisconsin.  It has been many years since I’ve attended this show, so I was interested to see how I would like it.  I am pleased to say I was very happy with the experience.  There was enough variety and quality in the vendors for me to feel like I got what I wanted, yet it wasn’t totally exhausting for me like Bead and Button can be. I went with my parents, and they felt the same way.

Taylors Falls Bead Store

One thing I wanted to get at the show was chain.  I never have enough chain.  I never feel like I can find what I’m looking for on line, and even if I read measurements, I’m terrible at translating that in my head.  So it was nice to be able to pick it out in person.  I love that blue dangle chain!

The chain motherlode, though, was at Diakonos Designs. They had a huge selection of a nice variety of chain.  It’s a store I’ve been to in person since it’s in a town only about 30 minutes away.  I’m starting to wonder why I don’t go more often because I was fairly impressed with their nice variety of beads when I went one or two times.  They have a different variety of things than my local bead store.  They’ll be seeing me more often, especially as I need more chain.

Diakonos Designs

I also got a few other bits and bobs from the Diakonos booth.  They have some good clasps.  They even had some Diane Hawkey beads!

I picked up a cactus pendant from local lampwork artist Cathy Lybarger of Aardvark Art Glass.  I really love her work and have other beautiful pieces.

Aardvark Art Glass

Tanya McGuire

I also got some lampwork from Tanya McGuire.  That big, multicolor bead in the upper left corner is big, but it’s very light because it’s hollow.  I love that!

Papio Creek Gems & Gifts

This strand of coral is very unlike something I’d usually pick, but I saw it in someone’s tray as I was passing a booth, and it looked so good I found it in the display and bought a strand!

I have wanted a pendant by Kristi Evenson of CB&Co for a while, and this was my chance!  Her booth was a beautiful set up with old wood and beautiful fabric. It was fun to stand there, look at her wares and choose the one I wanted.  I had narrowed it down to this one and maybe one other when my mother looked at the display and picked this one out immediately.  She knows me well.

The East of the Sun booth was quite popular.  There was a ton of stuff I wanted, but when I saw these trade beads, I looked no further.  I really hope proprietor Ramsey Finger is there again next year!  He said he wants to get his website up and running but he travels a lot, so I’ve linked to his placeholder.  I’ll be checking back patiently because he really had nice stuff and great prices.  He told me these are kakamba beads.  I had a strand of them years ago, and they were some of my favorite beads ever.  I am so happy to have gotten some more.

Dakota Stones

I was thrilled that Dakota Stones was there. Their booth was this huge layout of gorgeous strand after gorgeous strand.  My mom and I said that’s where we want to spend our time next year.  I was standing there trying to talk myself into or out of (I’m not sure which) buying this apatite and citrine.  Another shopper picked up the only two strands of apatite in this cut, size and finish. She was carrying it around while shopping, and I stayed in the booth for at least 15 minutes to see if she was going to buy them both.  I moved slightly (and picked up the turquoise) but the minute she decided not to buy them, I picked one up, scooped up the citrine and made my purchase.

Elka Designs

At the end of the show, my mom and I had purchased much more than my dad, so my mom pointed out some metal beads she thought he would like in the Elka Designs booth near the entrance. Of course while he was looking, so were we.  I am not good at focusing when looking at a ton of strands, but my mom found these keshi pearls.  She mentioned they were half price while she was waiting in line to buy them, so I couldn’t resist and bought a strand too.

I really enjoyed the show and look forward to going again next year.  I felt like Goldilocks – it was just right!