The previous two times I'd attended the show, I had always started at the last row, working my way up to the first row. Last night, I changed that, starting at the first row! This morning, I went back to the last row, where one of my perennial favourites always is--the Green Girl Studios booth! I always spend a while there, fingering each bead or pendant, making my selections while listening to the always-interesting conversations around me or making my own conversation with Green Girl people Andrew, Cynthia or Greg, narrowing down my selections and waiting my turn to check out.
This time, I had brought a special necklace I had made, which incorporated a few Green Girl components into it. I call it 'The Blue Door'.
I think that if you wear one of their beads, they give you a free bead when you buy something. They gave me a free bead. :D Here is all of what I got at the booth, including the free bead:
Later that day, I stopped by Jessica Herrell's booth. I remembered her well from last year, her clever bar code beads, as well as amazing sense of style and colour in her rainbowed series. She remembered me too; I did do lot of enthusiastic yet strangely articulate raving at her booth last year, and suppose it's the sort of thing that tends to stand out from other kinds of raving.
I stopped by Lisa Peters' booth. She makes ceramic cabochons, and like last year, had a couple necklaces displayed that incorporated a few of her ceramic pieces, beaded by one of my online beady friends, the talented Carol Dean Sharpe of SandFibers. Lisa's so friendly, and becomes even more so if you tell her you're a friend of Carol's. I found this out last year. :) Back to the story, I overheard her telling her assistant that Carol was there, so I was able to arrange a meeting with Carol! She was just as delightful in person as she is online; I was so glad to have met her.
I managed to stop a couple times and eat, go back to the booths I'd marked to buy things.
After the show floor closed, I finished up my purchases with NinaDesigns (I bought several key charms, one keyhole and cute compass charms), and, remembering I had a ticket to the Lampwork Madness Flame On that night and that I did not know exactly where this event was taking place, tagged along (with permission, of course, plus I'd just bought one of Andrea's feather beads) behind Andrea Guarino Slemmons and Bronwen Heilman, because there's no way that at least one of them wasn't taking part in the flame on.
I followed them to the big space previously set up for classes, right next to the show floor, where several tables and many torches were set up for the participating lampworkers to work their magic with hot glass. Here's Andrea at her torch, making her signature heart pendant:
Later on, after Andrea's heart was all made, renowned floral lampworker Leah Fairbanks took over, adding her inimitable floral surface decorations for a TRULY one-of-a-kind art bead collaboration! They had only collaborated like that once before, and each of the beads were, I believe, donated to charity, probably the same breast cancer charity that Bead & Button supports. Here's Leah working on the bead:
Earlier at the show, I had picked up one of Bronwen Heilman's black disc beads, and wondered aloud when I would see a disc bead that was coloured like a record, with a red inner circle and black outer circle. So many people are surprised to hear I know what a record is. I'm always a little surprised at their surprise--records are iconic, man! And a lot more historical than, say, 8-tracks. I understand approximately how a record works (and a sight better than how MP3 players work, even if I do own the latter and not the former) but no matter how many times it's explained, I still don't quite understand what an 8-track is, aside from a short-lived precursor to the cassette, with which I am thoroughly familiar. Here's Bronwen at her torch:
After an hour or so, I decided I must cut my night short and get back to my hotel at a half-decent hour, as I had a 7:30 flight to catch and sense had already told me I should have gone to bed EARLY--like when the show closed. But this only happens once a year and I was determined to pack as much into it as I could. Maybe I should have skipped the flame on, but I don't regret going! Gotta live hard once in a while.
As it happened, Bronwen and Andrea left around the same time as I did, headed in the same direction, so we walked a few blocks together. Seemingly still full of energy, they were discussing dinner/nightclub plans with each other, which at that point I could barely comprehend, as my body was now DEMANDING stillness and sleep! We parted ways at my hotel--a fitting end to an amazing weekend!
1 comment:
I was reading through this post and thought it was funny so many people were surprised you knew what a record is. My fiance and I actually have a record player and listen to new records all the time! So you're not the only one :)
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