Trip Report: Rings & Things Trunk Show
Kathy N-V
Boston. With me were my mother and my daughter, both primed for me to get
lovely beads for them. :-)
We went to the hotel, and I gave a nasty look to the Pepsi truck driver who
had parked his rig across most of the handicapped spots. We drove to other
side of the lot and found another nearby spot. Amusingly, the truck driver
came over to check my car to see if I had a handicapped placard! (it does)
Sheesh. For all the spots he was hogging, he should have had six placards!
Anyway, we passed through the hotel lobby, where several long suffering
husbands were waiting for their women to stop spending money on those
dratted beads so they could leave already. (You could tell all of this just
by their expressions) We went to the ballroom, and some dude met us with a
black tray to hold our purchases and set us loose.
There were about a dozen good sized tables covered with strands of gemstone
beads, and maybe four tables of tools, seed beads, findings and that kind of
stuff. The strands were half off the listed price plus an additional 15%
discount, and the supply kinds of things were at full catalog price.
It was really fun to be able to paw through the beads and pick out the exact
strands I wanted to buy. The prices were okay, not great, but not horrible,
either. I managed to find some things to buy, in case you were worried.
:-)
There was a table in the corner for the kiddos to make beady creatures, but
my daughter wanted to look at the trade beads instead. (She really loves
trade beads, and says they speak to her) Because she is twelve and not
independently wealthy, she bought a couple of strands of crackle beads, and
sighed longingly at the trade beads. Because I am not wealthy either, I
ignored her pointed sighs.
My mother was a whole 'nother story. She wanted to get some semi-precious
strands for me to make into jewelry, but she couldn't decide what to buy.
She lacks the ability to "see" what a piece will look like by looking at the
beads. I was able to assure her that the coral cubes she bought would look
nice, and I tried valiantly to dissuade her from getting some 20 mm leaf
jasper spheres, to no avail. (They look like "shooter" marbles)
I was looking for some turquoise heishi, and I did end up with some, but I'm
not overwhelmed by its quality. The turquoise available was not the best
quality, and even the ex$pen$ive sleeping beauty stuff was not in great
shape -- maybe someone cherry picked all the good turquoise before I got
there. I talked Mom out of buying some expensive turquoise 10 mm rounds,
because I had some at home that were far nicer.
One of the best parts of the show was the other shoppers' jewelry. Aside
from one snooty woman who sniffed at me because I don't know how to bead
crochet, everyone else was great. I wore my swap pendant and bracelet from
Barbara Forbes-Lyons, which was a great success: buckets of compliments! DD
was wearing her favorite beaded bottle pendant (lurid S/L chartreuse with
swarovski dangles), and she got lots of compliments too. I did get a
chuckle out of the people who thought that my 12 year old made it herself --
the beads are 15/0s, and my DD tells me she can't even see that size bead.
(Child has bad eyesight, but refuses to wear glasses except when reading)
Another funny moment was when my DD asked me if I was going to buy some
Swarovski bicones in a color she particularly liked. I told her I'd pass,
since I had the same at home. A woman overheard us and said that buying
duplicates and hiding them from the husband was the best part of any bead
sale. No such luck for me -- DD told her Daddy what I spent (to the penny)
the moment she saw him.
I got to talk beads with lots of nice folks, admire some very nice boro and
dichro beads (everyone but me seemed to have them), and recommend Sooz's
links list. I picked up quite a few metal spacer beads, a couple of glass
bead strands, a string of amethyst nuggets, and the aforementioned turquoise
heishi. Not too much damage, about $150, although it was dismaying to see
my stash fit in a lunch baggie.
We checked out, and had a nice chat with the staff from Rings & Things.
They all seem really nice, and with the exception of one guy, are very into
making kewl jewelry. DD bought us all candy beaded watches for the ride
home, and we headed back to the car. On the way out, we passed the same
haggard husbands with the same defeated looks, and reassured them that their
women weren't really spending the whole 401K stash.
Of course, the trip through Boston rush hour traffic was horrid, but we got
home eventually. We no sooner made it in the door than my mother was asking
me to make her purchases into necklaces, and that now would be the best
time. Uh-huh. I did manage to take a quick trip to the washroom without
too much panic on Mom's part before making her stuff.
I made the 20mm leaf jasper spheres into a 24" necklace with hourglass
shaped Bali type spacers. Thing weighs about four lbs., but Mom assured me
that one has to suffer to be beautiful, and that she was more than willing
to suffer for her necklace. After that, she asked if I had those 10mm
turquoise beads ready for her. I made a double strand choker with vermeil
spacers and a 14K lobster clasp. With the dozen of so remaining beads, I
threw together a quick beaded watchband with Bali silver spacers on a silver
faced watch I had kicking around. Mom was thrilled, and told me that her
coral necklace can wait until tomorrow. (gotta love her)
I put Mom's necklaces on Acculon 49 strand wire, because all the beads were
so heavy, with double crimps at the ends, just to be safe. Mom watched me
very closely, offering lots of "helpful advice." It cracked me up when I
finished and she told me that "gee, there's a lot more to this than just
putting some beads on a string."
Well, duh.
Then Mom took her favorite granddaughter off for a weekend away, so I have
some quiet time. I'll try to figure out what exactly I can do with the
leopard jasper triangles that DD wants made into a necklace, and perhaps
bead a watchband or two for myself.
Or I could make a coral necklace for my mom. :-)
Your intrepid reporter,
Kathy N-V
--
A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to
you when you have forgotten the words.
Sooz
waiting for their women to stop spending money on those dratted beads so they
could leave already.
I have 3 words for these fools -- Read A Book.
>I gave a nasty look to the Pepsi truck driver who had parked his rig across
most of the handicapped spots.
And I have a knuckle sandwich for THIS fool. (Heck, you shoulda parked behind
him and honked the horn til he moved!) Arrgh!!!
Sooz
Friends help you move; really good friends help you move the body.
Nita
cheers
--
Nita,
~ White Raven Designs ~
view my current auctions on line at........
http://www.stores.ebay.com.au/id=41299363
"Kathy N-V" <kath...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:B939667E.1147C%kath...@hotmail.com...
kelly
Kelly, whose client is in a wheelchair and who doesn't get around go good,
herself...
mkahogan
jasper spheres, to no avail. (They look like "shooter" marbles)
great story. You should be a writer. I mean that in all sincerity.
I really enjoyed reading this.
Kathy (the other one) :)
"Kathy N-V" <kath...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:B939667E.1147C%kath...@hotmail.com...
Cynthia
miniatures show here in Phoenix. Same situation, spend a hundred bucks and it
all fits into a ziplock bag.
Your mom and daughter stories cracked me up. Interesting how things are "so
simple to do" if you aren't the one doing it!
Cynthia
Barbara Forbes-Lyons
Sounds like you had a great time - I'm so glad!
Barbara
Marilee J. Layman
wrote:
>We went to the hotel, and I gave a nasty look to the Pepsi truck driver who
>had parked his rig across most of the handicapped spots. We drove to other
>side of the lot and found another nearby spot. Amusingly, the truck driver
>came over to check my car to see if I had a handicapped placard! (it does)
>Sheesh. For all the spots he was hogging, he should have had six placards!
What, you didn't conspire with someone to block him in? Whenever
people park in my handicapped spot I just block them in. What do I
care if they have to be somewhere else soon?
--
Marilee J. Layman
Bali Sterling Beads at Wholesale
http://www.basicbali.com
Kathy N-V
wrote on 6/23/02 5:03 AM:
> On Sat, 22 Jun 2002 03:25:55 GMT, Kathy N-V <kath...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> We went to the hotel, and I gave a nasty look to the Pepsi truck driver who
>> had parked his rig across most of the handicapped spots. We drove to other
>> side of the lot and found another nearby spot. Amusingly, the truck driver
>> came over to check my car to see if I had a handicapped placard! (it does)
>> Sheesh. For all the spots he was hogging, he should have had six placards!
>
> What, you didn't conspire with someone to block him in? Whenever
> people park in my handicapped spot I just block them in. What do I
> care if they have to be somewhere else soon?
Oh geez, my husband did that once. We were at Wal-Mart and some jerk parked
in the spot without a placard. Since we saw him pull into the spot, DH
confronted the jerk and was told to do something physically impossible for
his pains. Totally uncalled for, since DH was very polite initially,
telling the person that his placard wasn't showing and was he aware that the
spot was one reserved for the handicapped? Jerky Dude gave some lame excuse
like "I'm not going to be long," or some such.
So, while I was inside shopping at the Wal-Mart, DH got every loose shopping
cart in the parking lot and put it around the offending car. Not one cart
was touching the car, but they were linked together in a way that it was
going to take a loooooong time to remove them. The cart collecting employee
came over and asked DH what he was doing. DH informed the employee, who
then joined the cause. Between the two of them, there must have been 40
carts surrounding this car. Some of the carts were partially lifted over
the guard rail, and all the other carts were linked to those carts.
I didn't know about it in advance, but I can't say it made me really unhappy
to contemplate this guy having to spend a half hour moving carts to get his
car free. I hope it made him think the next time he considered using a spot
that he didn't need.
Kathy N-V, who really wishes she didn't need the spot, either.
Obligatory Bead Reference: I made the coolest tubular peyote spiral chain
this afternoon. It's going to be the handle for a beaded handbag that I
made in blue and white beads, also in a tubular peyote spiral. I can't
believe how quickly a 6 bead spiral works up -- way faster than a normal
spiral with the core beads and the outside beads. It looks slightly
different than a normal spiral, but it's just perfect for this project. I
promise I'll get my scanner hooked up this week so I can actually share some
of my projects with the group.
--
"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original
dimensions."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Sooz
cops and have the offender towed.)
Alison
What I truly truly hate is the person who's parked in the handicapped
spot in such a way as to block 2 parking spaces. This has happened to
me at 2 different stores (I have plates and a hang tag). Also - my
drugstore has underground parking and the handicapped spots are not
the closest spots to the door! Go figure.
Alison
Marilee J. Layman
wrote:
LOL I just park my car across the top of my parking spot and walk up
my curbcut to the sidewalk. I can have cars parked there towed
without warning, so I always tell them that, and that the next time
they park there, they're getting towed. You wouldn't believe the
excuses I've heard -- in the part of the development where I live, I
have the only accessible condo. All the others are at least one
flight of stairs away from the parking lot. I had one new neighbor
say that he had to carry in groceries to his condo, so he needed to
park there -- he should have thought of that before he bought a condo
that takes one flight of stairs down and two flights of stairs up to
get to from the parking lot!
>Kathy N-V, who really wishes she didn't need the spot, either.
Yeah, they never seem to understand that I would *love* to be able to
walk from farther away. I frequently offer to cut their leg off so
they can park in a handicapped spot, too.
Kandice Seeber
to. And a Pepsi truck has no right to do this....
--
Kandice
Air & Earth Designs - Beaded Jewelry and Accessories
http://airandearth.netfirms.com
http://kseeber.rubylane.com
"Marilee J. Layman" <mjla...@erols.com> wrote in message
news:2klahus8schgb75qi...@4ax.com...
Kandice Seeber
employee who helped! :)
--
Kandice
Air & Earth Designs - Beaded Jewelry and Accessories
http://airandearth.netfirms.com
http://kseeber.rubylane.com
"Kathy N-V" <kath...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:B93AD834.11724%kath...@hotmail.com...
BeckiBead
>> "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original
>> dimensions."
I think this refers to my stomach. LOL
Becki
Proof That God is a Man: Did you ever think about the fact that women can get
pregnant without even having an orgasm?