Website: http://www.hotcakesdesign.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hotcakes-Design-Jewelry/253535638309
Shop at FAVOR: http://www.shopatfavor.com
Showing posts with label To Bead True Blue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label To Bead True Blue. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2015
#SilentSunday Hotcakes at To Bead True Blue #TBTB #DesignerSpotlight
HOTCAKES DESIGN
Website: http://www.hotcakesdesign.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hotcakes-Design-Jewelry/253535638309
Shop at FAVOR: http://www.shopatfavor.com
Website: http://www.hotcakesdesign.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hotcakes-Design-Jewelry/253535638309
Shop at FAVOR: http://www.shopatfavor.com
Friday, January 15, 2010
It's A Tucson Stampede...Beaducation Style!
Tucson 2010
Beaducation's Stamping Classes
To Bead True Blue
and Tucson Bead Shows
Looking for a new technique to liven up your jewelry designs? Learn the art of stamping on metal from expert and Beaducation founder, Lisa Niven Kelly. In class Lisa will share her tried and true tips and techniques for stamping pendants perfectly every time. The class fee includes practice copper sheet, copper and sterling silver blanks, jumprings and use of all tools in class. Students don't need to bring any tools or supplies, we'll have everything that you'll need.
The class will take place on site at the To Bead True Blue Show. Students must check in at the main registration desk for classroom assignment.
To guarantee a spot in class all students must preregister through this website. Check the class title for the date and time to make sure that you have registered for your preference as there are 4 different sessions of this class.
Questions? Please email lisa@beaducation.com. Looking forward to meeting you in class.
The class will take place on site at the To Bead True Blue Show. Students must check in at the main registration desk for classroom assignment.
To guarantee a spot in class all students must preregister through this website. Check the class title for the date and time to make sure that you have registered for your preference as there are 4 different sessions of this class.
Questions? Please email lisa@beaducation.com. Looking forward to meeting you in class.
Tucson Tip - at $20.00 per class this has to be one of the best learning deals at the Tucson Gem Shows to register go to the Beaducation website.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
To Bead True Blue - New Location!
New Location!
To Bead True Blue
Just a reminder –To Bead True Blue is this Sunday through Friday, February 1 – 6, at its new location –Tucson Doubletree Reid Park, 445 South Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ 85711.
To Bead True Blue is the major event of its kind in the U.S., representing 500 artists and artisans who will be showcasing a fine assortment of beautiful handwork, including antique beads, designer components, nomadic textiles, art jewelry, gold and silver, precious gems, handmade beads, ethnographic art, metalwork, ceramics, hats, wearable art, and extensive selections of wholesale bead and jewelry supplies.
Workshops, forums, and seminars are offered daily. To view workshop and exhibitor lists go to http://www.tobeadtrueblue.com/. The dates and times are: February 1 through 4, 10am-6pm; February 5, 10am-8pm; and February 6, 9am-12pm.
Also, our new event called The Tucson Bead Show http://www.thetucsonbeadshow.com/, follows TBTB on Saturday through Monday, February 7 - 9.
Anna K. Johnson
Director, To Bead True Blue
Thursday, August 7, 2008
It's Time To Start Thinking About Tucson!
The questions are starting to pop up on the forums...
Any clues about what to see at the Tucson Gem Show?
How do I find a good place to stay?
So, with permission I am printing Deborah Benson's response from Sharilyn Miller's Yahoo Group "Bead On A Wire"!
Tucson 2009 Bead Gem Show
If you like crystals, do sign up for a class with Swarovski. The value for the class fee is amazing. You pay about 1/2 what you normally would for the instructor/class kit combination. And the display they have from their annual contest is so inspiring. Don't miss Rio Grande's show. They always have new tools to demonstrate. Their classes, like Swarovski, deliver more than you would normally get. Both Swarovski and Rio are off the beaten track (Swarovski is at the far northwest of Tucson and Rio is at the far east end) but worth the effort to get there. Sign up in December to be sure you get a spot in the class.
If you like crystals, do sign up for a class with Swarovski. The value for the class fee is amazing. You pay about 1/2 what you normally would for the instructor/class kit combination. And the display they have from their annual contest is so inspiring. Don't miss Rio Grande's show. They always have new tools to demonstrate. Their classes, like Swarovski, deliver more than you would normally get. Both Swarovski and Rio are off the beaten track (Swarovski is at the far northwest of Tucson and Rio is at the far east end) but worth the effort to get there. Sign up in December to be sure you get a spot in the class.
To Bead True Blue has a fabulous assortment of vendors, some strictly retail, but others both wholesale and retail. It's a great place to see trends and meet people whose products you're probably using or emulating or you want to take a class from. I always ask my store owner to go to To Bead True Blue just to see what we should be teaching in the store if not to buy. It used to be in the Manning House but has moved for 2009.
Unless you have unlimited funds, make a plan for what you absolutely have to buy while you're there. That way you can assess whether or not you should buy that wonderful lampwork bead that's calling your name but you have no plan for. 
Don't buy Bali silver at the first booth you go to. Find out what the average cost per gram is at a variety of vendors before you buy. Same with Swarovski crystals -- you'll find some vendors selling to everyone at just above wholesale and others selling very much at retail prices.
Don't buy Bali silver at the first booth you go to. Find out what the average cost per gram is at a variety of vendors before you buy. Same with Swarovski crystals -- you'll find some vendors selling to everyone at just above wholesale and others selling very much at retail prices.
Do take a copy of your resale license if you have one. It helps if you have a copy to give to each vendor with a copy of your business card stapled to it.
If you're going to have a car there, before you go, go to Google maps or Mapquest and print out maps to the various shows you plan to attend or take/rent a GPS unit. Though there are maps in the show guide, I found them confusing.
To get organized, I put together a binder with tabs for each day. Each day had a list of what I was looking for, what classes I was attending, who I wanted to see, etc. plus the maps for that day. I included some blank paper to make notes on and quick sketches of things I didn’t want to forget.
The show is overwhelming and you'll forget where you got things or what they cost unless you make notes every single night. Take time to update your plan for the next day as a result of what you saw/learned/spent that day.
If you plan to buy a lot, consider buying flat rate boxes from the US Postal Service and shipping things home over the course of the week.
If you like a glass of wine, have one before you go to bed. Your head will be whirling with so many ideas you'll have a hard time getting to sleep without some help, even if you're exhausted.
It's probably going to be 2010 before I go again; so I envy your going in 2009. You'll love it!
Deborah Benson
If beads aren't your thing you can check the previous posts on this blog:
One very helpful one would be... 2007 Tucson Gem Show - Again!
Check out the Jewelry Artist Magazine Feature - 5 REASONS TO GO TO TUCSON - By Derek Levin: http://www.jewelryartistmagazine.com/feature/tucson08.cfm
Also - check the links in the sidebar for housing and showguides!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
JCK Las Vegas - The Show Around The Show!!!!
The JCK Las Vegas Show is in it’s 17th year and like the Tucson Show it has attracted the independent Gem & Jewelry shows we all know from the desert event. Wholesale and Retail shows are popping up at most of the hotels surrounding the Sands and Venetian Resorts.
A friend and Artisan Laura Roberts of Lorelilee Creations (http://lorelilee.tripod.com/) is in Las Vegas and will be our eyes & ears at the wholesale shows here reports on the G.L.D.A., To Bead True Blue and G&LW shows are excellent and give us an insight into the trends to come. Her report follows...
G.L.D.A and To Bead True Blue @ The Mirage 5/26-5/29/08
Tuesday 5/27—went to walk the show for the first time. I was very excited because this was the first time that To Bead True Blue was there. Although I had been to Tucson, I had never managed to make it to the Manning House show and this was meant to be a version of it.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived was how empty it was. I had been to the G.L.D.A in 2007 and it had been crowded. There appeared to be the same amount of vendors as in ’07, but not nearly the same number of people shopping. As I walked the show, and spoke with various vendors, they concurred. Definitely fewer people, but it was only the second day and the vendors were hoping it would pick up.
On this day, my only goal was to walk the show, visit with vendors I already knew, check out news ones and of course check out the vendors from the Manning House show. I noticed on Tuesday that in the Grand Ballroom, there was about the same proportion of finished jewelry to beads as in ’07 (about 50/50). In the Grand Elegance Pavilion (a separate area) it was 99% finished jewelry and only 1 bead vendor. The Grand Elegance Pavilion has all the high end jewelers predominantly from Hong Kong. Really lovely things, but definitely for retail stores and not for a jewelry designer like me. The big trend I noticed in their finished pieces was multi-colored sapphires. Otherwise I didn’t really see any trends, unless you count the “Y” necklace coming back. (And for myself, I’d rather not!)
The To Bead True Blue show (Lalibella Blu Las Vegas) was in a small section of the large ballroom where the G.L.D.A main show is. There were some really wonderful vendors there, but like the other ones, it was also slow.
I left the show after a few hours, ready to shop on Wednesday!
Wed 5/28—the show was just as empty. And the all the vendors were unhappy, the traffic was way down and the spending was too. Bad news for the vendors, but good news for me and Neva (who was with me) because we got some smoking' deals.
As this was now the 3rd day of the show, with slow traffic, the vendors started to basically grab us as we walked by. Everyone wanted us to look at their items. And everyone was willing to deal.
The Most Seen Stones:
Kyanite--gorgeous deep blue faceted briolette and rondelles (same color as Ceylon sapphire) and quite expensive--slate to royal blue squares, circles, ovals, polished and on strands and much less expensive. In 2006 you couldn't find ANY Kyanite, now it's at nearly every gemstone booth. I'm thinking there must have been some new deposits of it found because I've never seen so much of it so cheap!
Apatite--possibly my favorite gemstone in the universe--lots of it in faceted rondelles, in all of the colors from pale green to deep dark blue. Also in LOTS of polished forms, nuggets, ovals, etc. The prices for anything that wasn't faceted were good, faceted stones were still pricey.
Round faceted jaspers and agates--I did not expect to see Poppy Jasper sparkle, but it does!
Tiny donuts and go-go donuts (4-5mm) CENTER DRILLED and strung on strands. Also kind of pricey, but cute.
Tiny briolette (1-3mm) of the usual suspects (topaz, ruby, etc) BUT also in Jaspers and Agates.
Red Tiger Eye from China with the most chatonancy of any tiger eye I've ever seen. That stuff glows! (I didn't buy any, I'm not sure why.)
Pearls--all kinds, all prices higher than I expected--the natural disasters in Asia are taking a toll on the pearl market.
Silver--Very high--Turkish Silver was 85 cents per gram. Bali Silver 80 cents per gram and Thai Silver was $1 or more per gram. Very painful!
Really HOT stones: Ammonite, Boulder Opal, Turquoise. Someone had a new Turquoise find from AZ, which was a pale light blue, almost like Larimar. I was tempted (it was fairly cheap) but I decided against it because no one would believe it was really Turquoise.
What I didn't see:
Pietersite--only one vendor claimed to have some Chinese Red but it had no chatonancy so I think they had it mislabeled.
Fluorite--there was some and a decent quality, but none faceted, just nuggets and rounds.
Moonstone--I didn't see to many faceted rondelles and the ones I did see were about twice as high as 2006.
What I saw too much of:
Aquamarine, blue and multi-colored--wide range of quality—also wide range of prices
Prehnite--wide range of color and quality—also wide range of prices
One last thing—there were several vendors I spoke to who were clearly upset by the attendance at the G.L.D.A. I suspect in ’09 it will be a very different show, especially if the economy doesn’t pick up.
Photo: Sarah Heston
5/30—G&LW—Bally’s Hotel
First day of the show and once again, slow. But vendor and attitude wise, a world of difference from the G.L.D.A. Some vendors from the G.L.D.A.—S.I.I. Findings, Pearl Concepts, Realm of the Goddess, and a few others. The GL&W show is about half the size of the GLDA, but its 80-90% beads with the rest being finished jewelry.
Some vendors that I remembered from last year weren’t at this show, according to Colored Stone they were either at the Whole Bead Show (also new to Vegas this year) or at the Bead Renaissance Show at Palace Station. Since as a rule I don’t go to mainly retail shows (unless I am desperate!) I won’t be reporting on those.
I’m guessing the vendors all had a chat about the G.L.D.A, because from the moment we (or any other shopper) walked in, the vendors immediately stopped you, tried to show you their wares and then started dropping their prices like crazy. Clearly, an air of desperation was here. I had a long chat with a vendor I know well (I won’t name names, because of what was discussed) and he basically told me that business was off 50% year to year at the G.L.D.A and that it almost wasn’t worth it to have done one show, let alone both. Then he proceeded to drop his prices significantly for silver by the gram to almost ’07 levels. Again, great for me, not so great for him.
Stones:
Again, a world of difference from G.L.D.A. In ’07 the GL&W had 5 or 6 faceted gemstone vendors with A grade product or better. This year there were only 2. Last year there were lots of people selling Jaspers and Agates as well as other items, this year there were only 2 big “rock” vendors. Most of the vendors had a smattering of everything, pearls, C grade gemstones, jaspers, etc.
Again, I saw a lot of Kyanite, Aquamarine and Prehnite. Lots of Turquoise as well, however, unlike the G.L.D.A, where the vendors knew where their Turquoise came from, most of this was “Chinese” (not Hubei or Manshann, just “Chinese” Turquoise) and more likely the bulk of it was dyed howlite. Nothing wrong with that, but it ain’t Turquoise.
Again, I only found one vendor with Fluorite (why is this getting so hard to find?) and it was expensive. I absolutely refuse to pay $15 a strand for blue nuggets that are only polished. It’s Fluorite!
I did however find one vendor with gorgeous Pietersite. Absolutely breathtaking in rounds, ovals, chicklets, and fat teardrop cuts. Bought a bunch of it.
Another stone that I saw at this show that I hadn’t seen at the other was Brazilian Blue Opal. I’m still not convinced it’s a real gemstone (Robyn—yes or no?) but it was pretty and fairly inexpensive. The vendor also had Peruvian blue opals, so clearly he did know the difference. But I saw a lot of this in many cuts.
There was one “rock” vendor who had tables of $3 strands and while over there I ran into the woman who owns my local bead store. She and I chatted for bit, especially as some of the $3 strands I was buying where the exact same strands I had bought from her, 5 years ago (when this was still a hobby, rather than a business) and I had paid $18 per strand! We both had a sense of humor about it—hey she should make a living and it’s not my hobby anymore!And I have to say, she gives me a 50% discount when I go in now, so . . .
Pearls—not as many pearl vendors as in ’07, but much better prices than the G.L.D.A. I saw some new styles (at least new to me) my favorite being a coin/keshi combination that was just gorgeous. However, the one color of pearl that was impossible to find (at both shows) was chocolate. I think the big companies (QVC/HSN/JTV) bought them all up, because no one had any. I was able to get copper, bronze, and champagne though. There was a large preponderance of “fashion” colors, which seemed to be selling really well, though I still can’t wrap my head around hot pink, orange, and neon blue pearls.
Thanks for listening! I’m sure there’s a lot of other information trapped in my mind. I just can’t dig it out right now!
Laura Roberts
Lorelilee Creations
http://lorelilee.tripod.com/
A friend and Artisan Laura Roberts of Lorelilee Creations (http://lorelilee.tripod.com/) is in Las Vegas and will be our eyes & ears at the wholesale shows here reports on the G.L.D.A., To Bead True Blue and G&LW shows are excellent and give us an insight into the trends to come. Her report follows...
Photo by Webbaliah
G.L.D.A and To Bead True Blue @ The Mirage 5/26-5/29/08
Tuesday 5/27—went to walk the show for the first time. I was very excited because this was the first time that To Bead True Blue was there. Although I had been to Tucson, I had never managed to make it to the Manning House show and this was meant to be a version of it.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived was how empty it was. I had been to the G.L.D.A in 2007 and it had been crowded. There appeared to be the same amount of vendors as in ’07, but not nearly the same number of people shopping. As I walked the show, and spoke with various vendors, they concurred. Definitely fewer people, but it was only the second day and the vendors were hoping it would pick up.
On this day, my only goal was to walk the show, visit with vendors I already knew, check out news ones and of course check out the vendors from the Manning House show. I noticed on Tuesday that in the Grand Ballroom, there was about the same proportion of finished jewelry to beads as in ’07 (about 50/50). In the Grand Elegance Pavilion (a separate area) it was 99% finished jewelry and only 1 bead vendor. The Grand Elegance Pavilion has all the high end jewelers predominantly from Hong Kong. Really lovely things, but definitely for retail stores and not for a jewelry designer like me. The big trend I noticed in their finished pieces was multi-colored sapphires. Otherwise I didn’t really see any trends, unless you count the “Y” necklace coming back. (And for myself, I’d rather not!)
The To Bead True Blue show (Lalibella Blu Las Vegas) was in a small section of the large ballroom where the G.L.D.A main show is. There were some really wonderful vendors there, but like the other ones, it was also slow.
I left the show after a few hours, ready to shop on Wednesday!
Wed 5/28—the show was just as empty. And the all the vendors were unhappy, the traffic was way down and the spending was too. Bad news for the vendors, but good news for me and Neva (who was with me) because we got some smoking' deals.
As this was now the 3rd day of the show, with slow traffic, the vendors started to basically grab us as we walked by. Everyone wanted us to look at their items. And everyone was willing to deal.
The Most Seen Stones:
Kyanite--gorgeous deep blue faceted briolette and rondelles (same color as Ceylon sapphire) and quite expensive--slate to royal blue squares, circles, ovals, polished and on strands and much less expensive. In 2006 you couldn't find ANY Kyanite, now it's at nearly every gemstone booth. I'm thinking there must have been some new deposits of it found because I've never seen so much of it so cheap!
Apatite--possibly my favorite gemstone in the universe--lots of it in faceted rondelles, in all of the colors from pale green to deep dark blue. Also in LOTS of polished forms, nuggets, ovals, etc. The prices for anything that wasn't faceted were good, faceted stones were still pricey.
Round faceted jaspers and agates--I did not expect to see Poppy Jasper sparkle, but it does!
Tiny donuts and go-go donuts (4-5mm) CENTER DRILLED and strung on strands. Also kind of pricey, but cute.
Tiny briolette (1-3mm) of the usual suspects (topaz, ruby, etc) BUT also in Jaspers and Agates.
Red Tiger Eye from China with the most chatonancy of any tiger eye I've ever seen. That stuff glows! (I didn't buy any, I'm not sure why.)
Pearls--all kinds, all prices higher than I expected--the natural disasters in Asia are taking a toll on the pearl market.
Silver--Very high--Turkish Silver was 85 cents per gram. Bali Silver 80 cents per gram and Thai Silver was $1 or more per gram. Very painful!
Really HOT stones: Ammonite, Boulder Opal, Turquoise. Someone had a new Turquoise find from AZ, which was a pale light blue, almost like Larimar. I was tempted (it was fairly cheap) but I decided against it because no one would believe it was really Turquoise.
What I didn't see:
Pietersite--only one vendor claimed to have some Chinese Red but it had no chatonancy so I think they had it mislabeled.
Fluorite--there was some and a decent quality, but none faceted, just nuggets and rounds.
Moonstone--I didn't see to many faceted rondelles and the ones I did see were about twice as high as 2006.
What I saw too much of:
Aquamarine, blue and multi-colored--wide range of quality—also wide range of prices
Prehnite--wide range of color and quality—also wide range of prices
One last thing—there were several vendors I spoke to who were clearly upset by the attendance at the G.L.D.A. I suspect in ’09 it will be a very different show, especially if the economy doesn’t pick up.
Photo: Sarah Heston
5/30—G&LW—Bally’s Hotel
First day of the show and once again, slow. But vendor and attitude wise, a world of difference from the G.L.D.A. Some vendors from the G.L.D.A.—S.I.I. Findings, Pearl Concepts, Realm of the Goddess, and a few others. The GL&W show is about half the size of the GLDA, but its 80-90% beads with the rest being finished jewelry.
Some vendors that I remembered from last year weren’t at this show, according to Colored Stone they were either at the Whole Bead Show (also new to Vegas this year) or at the Bead Renaissance Show at Palace Station. Since as a rule I don’t go to mainly retail shows (unless I am desperate!) I won’t be reporting on those.
I’m guessing the vendors all had a chat about the G.L.D.A, because from the moment we (or any other shopper) walked in, the vendors immediately stopped you, tried to show you their wares and then started dropping their prices like crazy. Clearly, an air of desperation was here. I had a long chat with a vendor I know well (I won’t name names, because of what was discussed) and he basically told me that business was off 50% year to year at the G.L.D.A and that it almost wasn’t worth it to have done one show, let alone both. Then he proceeded to drop his prices significantly for silver by the gram to almost ’07 levels. Again, great for me, not so great for him.
Stones:
Again, a world of difference from G.L.D.A. In ’07 the GL&W had 5 or 6 faceted gemstone vendors with A grade product or better. This year there were only 2. Last year there were lots of people selling Jaspers and Agates as well as other items, this year there were only 2 big “rock” vendors. Most of the vendors had a smattering of everything, pearls, C grade gemstones, jaspers, etc.
Again, I saw a lot of Kyanite, Aquamarine and Prehnite. Lots of Turquoise as well, however, unlike the G.L.D.A, where the vendors knew where their Turquoise came from, most of this was “Chinese” (not Hubei or Manshann, just “Chinese” Turquoise) and more likely the bulk of it was dyed howlite. Nothing wrong with that, but it ain’t Turquoise.
Again, I only found one vendor with Fluorite (why is this getting so hard to find?) and it was expensive. I absolutely refuse to pay $15 a strand for blue nuggets that are only polished. It’s Fluorite!
I did however find one vendor with gorgeous Pietersite. Absolutely breathtaking in rounds, ovals, chicklets, and fat teardrop cuts. Bought a bunch of it.
Another stone that I saw at this show that I hadn’t seen at the other was Brazilian Blue Opal. I’m still not convinced it’s a real gemstone (Robyn—yes or no?) but it was pretty and fairly inexpensive. The vendor also had Peruvian blue opals, so clearly he did know the difference. But I saw a lot of this in many cuts.
There was one “rock” vendor who had tables of $3 strands and while over there I ran into the woman who owns my local bead store. She and I chatted for bit, especially as some of the $3 strands I was buying where the exact same strands I had bought from her, 5 years ago (when this was still a hobby, rather than a business) and I had paid $18 per strand! We both had a sense of humor about it—hey she should make a living and it’s not my hobby anymore!
Pearls—not as many pearl vendors as in ’07, but much better prices than the G.L.D.A. I saw some new styles (at least new to me) my favorite being a coin/keshi combination that was just gorgeous. However, the one color of pearl that was impossible to find (at both shows) was chocolate. I think the big companies (QVC/HSN/JTV) bought them all up, because no one had any. I was able to get copper, bronze, and champagne though. There was a large preponderance of “fashion” colors, which seemed to be selling really well, though I still can’t wrap my head around hot pink, orange, and neon blue pearls.
Thanks for listening! I’m sure there’s a lot of other information trapped in my mind. I just can’t dig it out right now!
Laura Roberts
Lorelilee Creations
http://lorelilee.tripod.com/
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