My maiden voyage... a blog, for baubles.
Well, I had resisted the urge to jump on the "chain" wave of jewelry, for QUITE some time. I was depressed - having not gone to Tucson the last week of January on my annual bead-buying trip for the first time in 9 years... I opted for a show in Atlanta. I "assumed" I'd be disappointed because I had not found anything fab and funky here so far to really get my creative juices flowing. As usual, I was in a creative funk, which alwayssss happens the end of December, first of January. I attended this Atlanta bead show, which was very small... but found some REALLY REALLY fantastic things!
I bought some chain. I only bought one foot of each to not go overboard, but Kathy, the woman I purchased from, was wonderful. She is a former designer for boutique/department stores and traveled the world to have things created for her. She really had a LOT of great finds, if only the wallet would have allowed everything my stomach was desiring? Or is it my eyes? Pretty sure my eyes would NOT have been bigger than my stomach's desires for these goodies. Anywho, bought chain - and did i mention most of this she had cast just for her? So, not a "find anywhere" type of thing. She had these great enamel clasps and ONE enamel tag/pendant... I loved these things and wished she had more. It was something new/different and ....inspiring. I told my husband how I wanted to create my 1/2 and 1/2 - chain on one side, beads on the other. He thought I was nuts. Then I showed him one.... he liked!
I found some really cool vintage pottery pieces encased in silver, and then stumbled upon a great woman selling handmade beads from Kenya. These women - a team of 300, create each piece by hand. They are truly gorgeous, wonderful colors and each a tad bit different. I was walking by and the colors stopped me - I must say I usually like shopping alone and in silence, I move quickly and buy what I want. Don't deliberate much - either I like it or I don't. But again, this booth stopped me. She asked me if I knew "the story" and I had not. Figured I'd listen to her pitch and motor on. But, when she told me about these 300 women in Africa, earning 4 times the average wage for the region... offered free healthcare and childcare as part of their benefits package - I was sold. I told her as much and she said, "Really?" I was like - "Yeah!" I'd love to help women out in MUCH less fortunate situations then myself - are you kidding? And they're beautiful. Done. Very cool addition to my arsenal of goodies.
I also found a couple new vintage dealers. Some things I had seen before, some things I had not. Again, the prices for vintage goods have gone through the ROOF in the last 5-7 years. Amazing, but I still get suckered in everytime, regardless of price. The gal I bought the chains from, had absolutely STUNNING claps. Stunning. But people would drop dead at the prices and my wholesale discount was only 10% so I had to pass... but I did manage to snag a few from another dealer. Still pricey, but oh, so pretty I couldn't resist!
These jewels pictured here have made their way to two retailers as we speak, STUFF - www.pursuegoodstuff.com in Kansas City and two of them to Lucinda's in Wichita, Kansas. I hope they like them! The pictures, as usual, do not do them justice... I was proud - they were different, in a way, from what I have done before. The chain mainly... but thought they were quite unusual. Enjoy!
Come see me this Thursday, March 5th from 7-10 p.m. 
