2008 Tucson Show Report

First impressions... GAUDY, oh so gaudy with dyed gemstones everywhere in colors Mother Nature never thought of. Dyed pinks in shades from neon to pale baby pink; bright oranges, neon greens, and eye-blinding purples! Well, I forgot the camera and since I wouldn't consider buying any of those colors, the visual will have to wait.

The strands that caught my eye were the matte onyx beads that you wanted to just fondle and run through your fingers. Next were the matte agates and some of which were added to my collection. Somehow, matte has had more of an appeal than the bright shiney, glitzy faceted beads.


Then there was copper, lots of copper findings at a reasonable wholesale price of 15 cents/gram. I finally found cones that will finish a crocheted turquoise and coral necklace that has been waiting for a year now.


One of my favorite vendors, Wild Things, is at the shows with 2 booths. I always end up spending more than I expected on their Czech pressed glass beads and buttons. Here are some of my finds at Wild Things:

On the back cover of my first book, "Bead Crochet Ropes" is a bracelet that Cathy Lee did with old vintage curled petals in the only color she had (orange). I was excited to see that Wild Things had new stock of the old shape in a selection of lucious colors. I got a great mossy green and sort of a purple iris color. Now to figure out once again how to string a caterpiller bracelet so the petals all curl up over one side.










While at their booth I picked up a bunch of daggers and quickly realized that they were 2-hole daggers! I asked if they had any in other colors and was told that they didn't have any 2-hole daggers. What a hoot.... I had something in my hand that the vendors didn't even know they had. The color really doesn't speak to me, but I bought them anyway because they were so different and had new design possibilities. Hopefully Wild Things will realize what a unique product they have and get some in other colors.


oh, oh.... Blogger's spell check isn't working and I'm one of the world's worst spellers.... guess I'll post anyway and go back and spell check later on... sorry!