Once there, we found the hotel, checked in, and went out to dinner. I reserved us two suites at the Marriott Residence Inn near the airport, and got a great deal (AAA rate). We loved the hotel as the rooms were spacious, had little kitchens and living rooms, were comfy (but had slightly noisy air conditioners), and the hotel served a free hot breakfast every morning.
Friday morning we set off for downtown Tucson, and parked a couple blocks away from the Convention Center. We made our way to the first show, and while looking at the registration requirements, realized this show was for the very SERIOUS jewelry designers, i.e. the ones who used diamonds, gold and other very pricey materials. So... off we go across the street to another show at a huuuuge tent. Inside the entrance, I went to register and whoa, it was another show for buyers of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc. Too high end for us, we went back to the parking lot and begged for our $5 bucks back (and got it!).
So off to the next stop. To Bead True Blue. Aaaaah, this one was just right. We split up and searched the rows and rows of vendors, finding wonderful things. They had several ballrooms filled with goods, and a large tent out in the parking lot as well.
My first purchase of the day was a mass (12 strands) of cream colored 'nibblets' (flat rectangles, about 4mm) with irridescent round spots on them. Hard to describe, but really different and cool.
We shopped at that show for maybe four hours, and then headed over to the Kino Sports Center where the Best Bead Show was located. That place was packed with glass bead artists, Soft Flex Wire company, vendors selling pearls, glass beads, ceramic beads, findings, books, you name it. I visited two of my favorite shops, Out on a Whim (WhimBeads) and Beyond Beadery. I made massive donations at each shop and my shopping bag got very full.
I also saw my friends at San Francisco Arts and Crafts, and found fun seed bead mixes at their booth. I spent maybe a half an hour chatting with them, as I had not seen them in a couple years. They are really nice people so I enjoyed catching up.
That evening, back at the hotel after dinner, we spread out our purchases for a little 'show and tell.' It was interesting to see who bought what, and what new things were discovered.
On Saturday, we went to the wholesale shows at the Gem Mall and the Holiday Inn Holidome. These are massive tents, football-field sized, and packed to the gills with bead vendors, finished jewelry, crystals, pearls, glass, silver, semi-precious stones, findings, tools, books, gifts, and oh, did I mention, BEADS...
Again, we split up and spent the entire day at the two shows. I got pearls, glass beads, ribbon necklaces, Chinese silver beads, ceramic beads, some funky bracelets to give as gifts, some cool snakeskin jasper (turquoise and beige), some picture jasper, a few other types of stone beads, some Vintage German glass buttons, a little more Chinese crystal, and LOTS of Czech crystals and glass beads. In the evening we shared our goodies with each other again, and decided that we had to go back to two of the shows tomorrow before heading back home, to pick up a few more things. I had the perfect picture jasper beads that would go with the cabachons that Diana had gotten, so she needed to stop at the Gem Mall and get a strand for herself. I also wanted a funny button that Kay had (You did WHAT? With WHO? For HOW many BEADS?) so that meant a stop back at the Best Bead Show.
Sunday morning when we got up, it was raining cats and dogs. After breakfast we checked out and headed over to the shows for our last-minute dash. I spent some time chatting with Jeanette Cook of Beady Eyed Women, and she graciously allowed me to photograph her in her booth.
I have known Jeanette since the early 1990s when we were both early members of the San Diego Bead Society. She is a lovely gal, and talented as heck. Her booth was filled with colorful beaded jewelry, and she was selling her kits to make necklaces, earrings, bracelets and brooches. I love her sense of style and color combinations. She is a really cool lady.
We drove in the pouring rain for a couple hours, and finally drove out of it. The weather got much nicer as we made our way into CA, and we even saw sunshine and puffy clouds. We stopped in a teeny town called Dateland where I tried a date shake (yes, real dates in a milkshake) and it was GOOD!
I dropped the two gals off at Diana's place (Kay was visiting from the Bay area) and drove another 45 minutes to Escondido.
When I got home, the girls were over watching the Superbowl with Harvey. We had food and watched football, and afterwards played Wii games.
A fun-filled weekend, now I am exhausted!
No comments:
Post a Comment