Galatea - the Art of the Pearl!

One of the most amazing and popular booths in the Designer Pavilion at the AGTA GemFair was

Galatea: Jewelry By Artist.

What Chi and his carvers are doing with pearls is elegant and extraordinary! His new line of White and Golden South Seas are nothing short of jaw-dropping gorgeous!

Unfortunately it was impossible to get a free minute to photograph the booth...so when I saw this video by the Pearl Outlet I was excited to be able to share the story of Chi and his passion - Galatea!

Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show at InnSuites - Part 2: The Hall of Fossils

The Hall of Fossils is a big attraction at this show...









































These shots are from my friends Suzy and Tom Parrish...that is Suzy examining the Baby Woolly Mammoth...




























...there are also large fossil specimens throughout the grounds...


























Raelene and Geoff are friends from the Southern Rockhounds a Gem & Mineral Club from Adelaide in Australia.

Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show at InnSuites

This show at the newly named Hotel Tucson City Center is a FULL day - there is a company in almost every room of the hotel and all of the meeting areas are filled in this large 10 acre resort in the heart of Tucson.

I am going to break this into several pieces...lets start with what is outside as you enter the property...

The larger items are outside:

AGTA GemFair Seminars..

Catalog In Motion 2010 - Rio Announces Dates and Seminars!

Save the Date!

February 5–8, 2010

Learn it: Get the inside scoop from trusted jewelry experts.

Love it: Have fun with new tools, equipment and opportunities.

Live it: Bring your ideas to life.

Friday-Sunday, 9am to 6pm
and Monday, 9am to 4pm at the

Tucson East Hilton during the
Tucson Gem & Mineral Show

ONLINE REGISTRATION OPENS ON NOVEMBER 11, 2009 AT 10:00am MST.

See the CIM Schedule At-A-Glance

TGS - Planning a Schedule

OK - this is getting to be a tough one to juggle! It seems that everything is scheduled during the AGTA GemFair Tucson - February 4th - 9th!

These are the busiest 5 days of the entire 2 week Tuscon Gem Show (TGS)! Take a few minutes to read through my posts from the last two years at this massive, citywide event.

In actuality the TGS is 40+ individual shows with the busiest being the 5 days of the AGTA show mentioned above and then culminating in the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show February 12th - 15th. As you would imagine these two shows attract very different visitors and exhibitors.

That is what makes this show so popular - jewelers can find the latest trends and mine finds for their next jewelry line, faceters can find facet grade rough of the latest natural finds as well as synthetics, mineral collectors will find row after row of museum grade specimens, students will find Seminars on topics from Pearl Grading to Selling to Trends and tools, tools, tools....but the local RV club likes this event because there are lots of shows that the average tourist can also attend!

The African Art Village has rugs, trinkets and trade beads, in fact almost all the shows along the hotel row next to the freeway are "Open To The Public"! There are shows that will entice the metaphysical folks with crystals, healing information. There are amazing Home Decor exhibits featuring conference sized tables made from trilobites and orthoceras, sink basins of solid gemstone and more.

So with so much to do - how do you plan your time? Well, the first step is to check out the TGS Guide - they have a new website this year at: http://www.jewelryshowguide.com/content/tucson_show_guide_2009.html

Already know the dates of your visit? Go through the listings and save the events that are open during your stay to the new "show planner" on the site. You will notice that several show run from the opening day (Feb. 1st) to the closing day (Feb. 15th)...but you will see that there are 5 very busy days surrounding the AGTA Show. So I try to give most of those days to that show and those surrounding the Convention Center (GJX and the Idar -Oberstein shows are my favorites in that area). Here is where the scheduling problems happen - the RioGrande show is also during this time and all the way across town...as are the major bead shows "G&LW - Holidome is clear out by the Tucson Kino Sports Complex...there is a great mineral collector event with Jim & Gail Spann out at the Westward Look Hotel!

So - now you have everything you want to see in your show planner - go to each of the show sites and check for any special seminars, workshops, or events they may be offering - these events are critical in making my decision to do one show or the other.

Haven't Booked Your Trip Yet? My first question to you is - Why not? rooms are filling and good deals will be hard to come by if you wait much longer. So for you, my suggestion would be that you do the opposite of the recommendations above...fill your show planner with the events you want to see then look for the dates that those events overlap - BOOK YOUR TRIP!

Plan ahead - have fun...and remember to plan time to eat and sleep!!!