Some gem show goodies

If you're looking for proof that I haven't quite been myself lately, you need look no further than the fact that it is past the middle of March and I am just now posting some of my gem show purchases. Shame on me!

This isn't quite all of the focals I bought, but it's what came to hand when I decided to take a picture today. There's awesome new lampwork by JC and MZ, raku by Mak (who is so awesome that she came to my bellydance performance while she was in town for the show!) and two labradorite cabochons by... uhm... some guys from Mexico? Every single one of these things is prettier than it looks in the picture.

Happily I've already been making use of some of the beads that I bought at the shows this year, mostly seed beads, Delicas, and some crystals. I'll post pictures of what I've been working on as I try to get back to a regular blogging schedule.

Working at Best Bead!

Please pardon my quietness, it's GEM SHOW TIME!!! I'm working at Best Bead and amassing a pile of new beads, too. If you want to come see me at work and also buy some awesome crystals and seed beads, you can find me at the Beyond Beadery booth, conveniently located in the dance and aerobics room.

Unprofessional Vendors Irk Me

Due to a general sense of being tired, and having a bunch of stuff to catch up on here at home, I didn't make it out to the Gem Mall until today. This was the last day of the show, and it was set to close at 3pm instead of the usual 6pm. So I fully expected that when I got there between 12:30 and 1, some vendors would be in the process of packing things up. After all, it's a two week long show, and I remember from the couple of years that I worked it that we were all pretty eager to leave by the end!

What I did not expect was to find that many of the vendors were mostly, if not completely packed up! This included my usual Swarovski crystal supplier, and the vendor I get my carved bone pendants from. So I completely failed to stock up on those items, as if there was anyone else selling what I wanted, they had also already packed up!

The aisles were full of boxes and packaging materials, and the tents echoed with that irritating sound of tape being pulled from the roll. Many sellers seemed much more focused on packing up than on serving customers!

So my money went to the people who actually had the integrity to stay set-up until the end. I got a few strands of Czech glass and a handful of dyed ribbons from Da Beads, Inc and shared a gripe about people closing shop early. And I got three super gorgeous tribal pendants (one for me, two for business) from a vendor whose name I forgot to get. I wouldn't have splurged on tribal goodies at all, but I had extra money in my budget thanks to not being able to buy what I was there for in the first place!

I'll be looking for new sources for Swarovski crystals and carved pendants now. Anyone who can't stay open for the duration of the show they signed up for does not deserve my patronage in the future.

Speaking of patronage, here's my token mention of my shop! Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs! Your home for fantasy jewelry and blog-based griping!

Gem Show 2011 Recap!

Gem Show 2011 is more or less behind me! I still have two shows to go shop at, to get some supplies and more wooden necklace displays, but I've wrapped up most of my shopping and all of my working. Speaking of working, above is a picture of me at work! This is just a fraction of the Beyond Beadery booth. It really is bigger -- and has a better selection -- than a lot of bead stores I've been to.
But enough about work, and more about beads! I only took pictures of part of what I bought. Above, a cool heart bead (with an octopus!) by Christi Friesen, and some beautiful raku cabs by MAKUstudio. Mak is based in Phoenix, so it's pretty likely I'll be getting more of her yummy clay in the future!
And here, lampwork beads by two of my favorite artists! The tree and two sets are by JC Herrell, and the beetle, caterpillar, and other set are by Margaret Zinser. The cab is actually going to go back to MZ, in an embroidered pendant. I'm very excited about the project!
Of course, I had to get some steampunk goodies! The key with lampwork on it is by Kerri Fuhr. I've been admiring her work on Etsy for a long time, so I was really happy to meet her in person! The enameled pieces are from C-Koop, and I actually have a lot more than I put in the photo. I have more of the new TierraCast components on the other side of the photo, too! And I got the "Lolita" skeleton cab from work, and also have a smaller one to work with.

I've also got a big bag of seed beads, a bunch of chain, and some new crystals. I can't wait to get designing and bring some exciting new pieces to Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs!

Green Girl Goodies!

Octopi! Owls! Hearts! Medusa! All this and more. I hit To Bead True Blue today so I could restock my Green Girl Studios focal stash. I focused mostly on what's sold well for me this year, plus a couple of new designs that I really liked. They make me want to sit down and make jewelry right now! You can bet that after the gem show is over, some of these lovelies will be made into new necklaces and listed in my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. But not the octopus with garnet eyes... she's MINE :D

Unfortunately, the weather was pretty bad, so I didn't head down to the Gem Mall to stock up on crystals and carved bone pendants. I'll have to go next week, after I'm done working at Best Bead.

Frontage Road Shows

Why do I love the frontage road shows? Because that's where I score sweet tribal jewelry! Not only did I get two cute rings for $3 each today, but look at this amazing belt that was only $35! Yes, that back panel that spreads across my entire bum is in fact peyote-stitched seed beads (size 8ish) with a netted border. There are two smaller triangle panels at the front. And the bells make such a pretty chiming ring. And there are mirrors! Oh, I love it so much! In fact, I plan to wear it tomorrow when I perform in Tempe! My friend Jen and I will be doing a duet!

Anyway, we didn't have much time to spend at the shows today. We did check out a new show, on the east side of the I-10 and 22nd Street corner, which has free parking, clean restrooms, and some friendly vendors. I saw some cabs I wanted and OMG Liquid Fire Mantra was there and I saw the ear things in person and I WANT THEM SO BADLY! If only I hadn't just bought a new belly dance skirt on Thursday, those ear things would be MINE!

Remember, if you would like to support my debilitating tribal jewelry, 25 yard skirt and elf ear habit, you can go to Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs and give in to your addiction for unique beaded jewelry. Just saying... ;)

Have I mentioned the gem show lately?

I know, I know, it's nothing but gem show around here from mid-January to mid-February! I just love it so much! The first long-running shows are opening up along the I-10 this week, so I'm very excited to take my brother-in-law to them on Saturday. He's never had the Tucson Gem Show Experience. I hope he's up for it!

Wings of the Morrigan is just not shaping up. I've ripped out about as many beads as I've stitched down! I probably won't finish it in time for gem show, but it's not as if I don't have plenty of old jewelry to wear... and while I may not have a new necklace for the Swarovski party, I will have new moves on the dance floor.

Win a trip to the gem show!

Not this year's gem show, because hey, you need time to schedule vacation days and save up for the shopping. But Artbeads.com is offering you the chance to win round-trip airfare for 2, 3 days accommodations, and classes at the 2012 gem show! Pretty sweet! And you won't even have to compete against me, because hey, I already live here. Click here to learn more and enter the sweepstakes. If you do win, you'd better let me know so we can meet up!

I am super excited for gem show 2011! This is when I buy almost all my supplies for the year, though I also stock up a bit when Rings & Things comes to Phoenix, and occasionally I make some good finds at bead stores or the tiny show in September. But the February shows are where it's at! I'll get my crystals, seed beads, and focals, which shape what sort of designs I'll be offering at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs through 2011 and beyond. Based on what has sold well this year, I'll be looking for supplies to make another Medusa necklace or two, some steampunk earrings, and definitely more skull jewelry. Maybe some more owl necklaces, too. As far as tribal jewelry, I'll mainly buy things for myself, since that collection doesn't seem to sell as well as I expected. But maybe 2011 will bring new surprises!

Need more time!

Wow, how time has been flying. January is already more than half gone, the gem shows start in less than two weeks, my brother-in-law will be here on Sunday... and Wings of the Morrigan isn't even half done! I need to get back to work, furiously embroidering this week and next, if I have any chance of wearing it to the Swarovski party. I have a feeling I'll need to come up with a back-up plan.

Because I've been so busy, and so stressed-out about house stuff, I've really been neglecting Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. I had all these cool ideas, for the FAETeam's Stag challenge, and for Valentine's Day, but I've barely touched my beads except to make a few custom pieces last week. I have to clean up and put away my beads to make the guest room inhabitable, so I'm hoping to sneak some beading time in as well, as seeing things while I put them away will no doubt inspire me!

Sad about the bead show

I went to the Best Bead Show yesterday... and I didn't buy any beads. I did spend $20, but it was on an Afghani necklace that caught my eye because it was made with some sort of green stone (maybe serpentine?) instead of lapis.

I feel like the September show is shrinking every year, and the vendor quality is definitely going down hill. There are less and less artists, and more and more importers. This is fine for people who want Chinese lampwork or Indian stone briolites, but I am not one of those people. I want artist beads! And unfortunately, while the few artists who are left are in fact nice and talented people, I either have enough of their beads, don't like their style, or get their beads by working for them.

So I'm actually coming out of this show ahead of the game, because I got called in at the last minute to booth-sit for a friend. This is my first time working a September show -- I haven't bothered seeking out work for it before, because I don't do a lot of shopping so I don't feel the need to make spending money. But if you're in Tucson and want to say Hi, you can find me at Anne Mitchell's booth in the afternoons.

Pretty Stone

My last couple of posts have been really long and rambling, so here's one that's short and sweet! The above picture is the cabochon that I bought when we took my MIL to the gem show. It's opalized flourite, aka Tiffany stone aka Tiffany Opal. The site that I linked to is hideously unattractive and hard to read, but it does contain lots of information about the composition and origin of this pretty stone. I picked this particular cab because I liked the near-symmetry of the shape and the high concentration of purple. Once I got it out of the dim tent and looked at it in better light, I found that I also liked the pattern, which is almost like a lightning bolt shooting down to a shadowed landscape.

Fun day at the gem show

Today we took Chris's Mom to her first Tucson gem show. We chose the Tucson Electric Park show, which is half gem show, half swap meet, and all fun. Good times were had by all, and I picked up some pretty Czech seed beads to add some different colors and finishes to my embroidery, plus a pretty opalized flourite cab, and some totally non-bead-related goodies.

The show has grown tremendously since I stopped going a few years ago. While there used to be just a few small stalls behind the main tent, there were now rows and rows of them, a decent-sized food court, and a whole lot more medium-sized annex tents. We spent most of the day outside exploring those, and I feel I may have gotten a bit too much sun! But it was a great time.

A Peck of Pewter Pendants

(and buttons)

Here are my goodies from the Green Girl booth! I already have a pretty impressive stash of Green Girl Goodies, so I focused on new designs. I finally got my hands on the Yeats quote faerie that was sold out in September. In fact, I bought two. One for me and one for business. I think mine might end up in a little charm bracelet.

I like the golden mermaid in the seashell, she reminds me of the focal in my Napping Treasure Hunter necklace, but smaller and shinier. The other two mermaids are both buttons, so they'll probably end up adorning some elaborate bracelets.

It was nice to see both Greg and Andrew from Green Girl. The Green Girl herself, Cynthia, was at home with her new-ish baby!

Tomorrow I'll finally unveil the completed necklace with the shibiuchi faerie.

A Selection of Sensational Seeds

This picture only accounts for about half of the size 11 seed beads that I acquired this year, but it gives a pretty good idea of the sort of colors I was leaning towards. Lots of metallics, metallic irises, and matte metallic irises. I wanted colors that will make my work more lush and rich. I wanted different finishes, to add depth and contrast. And because I had about $600 trade credit saved up, I didn't have to pass beads up due to high price tags. I had quite the little shopping spree!

Oddly enough, that tube of powder blue marble luster appears to be the one of the two blue seed beads I purchased in any size. I like blue, I wear blue, I bead in blue... but I almost never gravitate towards blue beads when I'm shopping. The vast majority of my blue seed beads are in the aqua-capri family and I have to make a mental note to look for true blues, or I just don't buy them at all. This year I was so captivated by the greens and earth tones that I never even looked at blue. Of course, I bought no reds, oranges, yellows or pinks at all. But I did get 5 yummy purples.

I noticed a lot of shoppers in our booth were also gravitating towards metallics, whether it was the new-ish Permanent Galvanized, the new Platinum and Palladium electroplates (yum! How did I manage not to buy any?), or the electroplated size 15 24k gold charlottes. I think that even though times are tough financially, a lot of designers are still willing to invest in the luxurious beads that elevate our weaving to the point of rivaling fine jewelry.

A Bounty of Beautiful Beads

The colors are a little off on this picture... but look! Beautiful beads (and one cab)! From gem show! Clockwise from the top:

A coil/spring bead from JC Herrell. Not only is JC fun and awesome, but her team won the Flame Off this year! GO JC! And teammates! WOOO! I have no idea how I'll use this coil, but it's really fun and called to me.

Brand-new butterfly wings from Margaret Zinser. I saw this pair on Facebook and called "dibs." Clearly the bead gods were listening to me, because even though I didn't get out to the MZ booth until 8 hours into the show, and even though the wings were hot sellers, both of them were waiting for me :) I also picked up a little set of spacers that looks nice with them.

Raised floral cab by Dolly Ahles. I liked the flatter floral cabs that I bought in September so much that I had to get one with a raised clover flower this year. Isn't that green just luscious? Dolly is doing some amazing floral beads, too, some even have tiny 3d butterflies on them.

Greek Math Bead, a gift from my friend Deborah Gray-Wurz. Deb is addicted to making Barb Switzer's complicated little beaded beads, and she made me one in beautiful shades of green and brown. I love it!

Keep your eyes open for more gem show goodies and some actual stories as the week progresses!

I'm the worst blogger ever

Cool bloggers take pictures during gem show, and post frequently about their adventures. I am not a cool blogger! I never thought to bring my camera with me to the show, or the party, or last night's dinner. I was too busy and tired to pop in here and update you guys about my various exploits. Shame on me!

It's hard to even gather my thoughts up to do a list of highlights. I'll probably have to wait a day or two, get photos of my swag, and do up an official report.

Best Bead ended today, so I now have a paycheck to go spend tomorrow.

Tiredy McTiredface

That's me! So tired! And on top of that, I have a cold. I think in the 10 years I've been working at gem show, I've only managed to avoid getting a cold twice. I was hoping that my greatly improved fitness (plus the immunity boosting tea I've been drinking all week) would have protected me, but alas, the germs got through anyway. Stupid germs.

The cold meant that I had to stay home from dance class, which annoys me for two reasons... first, tonight's focus was slow moves, which I REALLY need to work on, and second, there's no class next week. Two weeks without class, after already missing one due to weather. Grrr. I am SO mad about being sick. I don't think I can even express it without cursing, and I try to keep this blog clean.

Other than that, I'm having a great time, shopping, working, and seeing lots of friends. I look forward to sharing my finds when I've recovered, but right now I am just too worn-out to even think of messing around with photos.

Tomorrow is the Swarovski party, and I am determined to not be too sick to attend. I want to see the previews of the new items, hang out with friends (without stopping to help customers!), show off my new necklace, and dance.

Bead-moving muscles

Today I put my hard-earned muscles to use and moved beads and tables and things for 6 hours as part of the set-up process for Best Bead Show. It was actually less exhausting than the 1-hour workout that I skipped to be there ;)

Because my boss is sick, we did not go to the Beadwork party tonight. I could have gone by myself, but that would have been weird. I know a lot of the people who would have been there, but only by sight/because I've sold beads to them. I'm a shy little elf (unless I'm dancing), so I would have felt very awkward. Instead, I went out for Japanese with Chris, then worked on my necklace, which is almost done! And I strung some crystals, because that's how I roll.

Tomorrow is my least-favorite day of the show. Staying open until 8 is nice for people who don't get out of work until 5 or 6, but it's hard on us vendors! I know I will be dragging by the end of the day. Still, I hope I'll see some of you there! Come look for me at the Beyond Beadery booth.

Today was the boring day

And by boring, I actually mean, chock-full of chores. Every year, there's a day or two between when I start shopping, and when the show I work at starts, and that's when I get all of my last minute stuff done. As such, there's really nothing to blog about. I'm sure you don't really want to hear about my laundry or grocery shopping.

I did finish the edging on my necklace. The rest will have to wait until Wednesday night. I am so excited about it!

It's gem show time!

The wave of gem-mineral-fossil-bead shows hit Tucson this weekend. When I drove home from belly dance class Thursday night, I saw tents all over the place. One vendor even looked like he was doing business at 10:40pm, but I suspect he was probably just chatting with fellow vendors after a late evening of setting-up.

I'm actually taking a more low-key approach to gem show this year. I haven't even touched a lot of what I purchased last year, and right now I'm a lot more interested in investing my spare cash into belly dance costumes and accessories than in more random beads. As such, I decided to completely skip Gem Mall this year. I may come to regret this if I have a sudden rush of crystal bracelet sales, but oh well. If I have a sudden rush, I can afford to restock from a slightly more expensive mail-order source.

But that's not to say that I'm skipping the shows entirely! I'm just being more judicious in what I purchase. Today I went to To Bead True Blue, because I wanted to get the new Green Girl designs before they sold out. After chatting with Andrew and Greg and getting what I came for, I browsed the rest of the show, where the only thing I purchased was an $8 boxwood netsuke for Chris. I was tempted by some unusual jingly rings, but I'm not buying any jinglies until after I've been paid for my Best Bead job.

While at the show, I ran into frequent blog commenter Jolene, of Funky Monkey Girls! She recognized me from my profile picture and introduced herself and her Mom. This encounter reminded me that I really need to stop being so anti-social, it's silly for me to live in the same city as someone and only see them at gem show!

I'm going to try to make daily updates during the show, for those friends who are living vicariously through me, but it may be hard. My schedule for the rest of the week:
Monday: Gym, grocery shopping, finish "Luna Fae" necklace, string three packages of crystals, do laundry.
Tuesday: Show set-up starts at 10am. Beadwork magazine party afterwards.
Wednesday: Working Best Bead Show, 10am-8pm. Oh, how I hate Wednesdays! Afterwards, gaming at my place, finish "Luna Fae" if I failed on Monday.
Thursday: Work Best Bead, take off early at 5 to go to dance class in Tempe.
Friday: Work as usual, followed by Swarovski party. Probably grab food on the way home, if last year's party is any indication.
Saturday: Work, then awesome dinner!
Sunday: Show closes at 5, possibly stay for tear-down.
Monday again: Run over to To Bead True Blue, except it's called Tucson Bead Show, and hope that Christi Friesen has a bead left with my name on it. Possibly also hit "metaphysical row" in search of jinglies. Technically I should also go to the gym, and go grocery shopping -- any bets on whether that actually happens?