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A fellow artist in need

My goodness. The photo is devastating. Such a tragic event, I'm sure.

Kimberly Wilcox recently lost her studio to an electrical fire.
I learned of this from Lori Anderson's Blog today.

The good news is that the artist community is reaching out to help Kimberly!

First and foremost - go donate anything you can. Yes, even $1 will help, I'm sure.

Then visit Lori's blog and Fire Phoenix Creations for giveaways associated with the donation process.

You can read the original story on the Daily Art Muse.

Photo of the studio

Share this with your friends: on your own blog, on Facebook, by email.
Pull together to help a fellow artist rebuild her livelihood.
Posted by Amy B. at 1:08 PM 1 comment: 

Reflections Due to a Shopping List

I've been a Bead-Addict since December of 2003.
Not ashamed, in fact, I'd wear that shirt if I had one.

By the middle of 2004, I had opened an online store and started sharing my quantity finds with the rest of the world.
eBay was my stomping ground & I have met and made a ton of great friends and connections.
When the time was right, I opened a retail brick & mortar bead store, Bead & Glass Boutique.
The space was rented in November 2007 & we actually opened the doors to the eager public in February 2008.

The time between finishing the interior renovations and the actual opening of the Boutique was a Bead-Addict's DREAM.
"Permissible bulk bead buying"

I digress......
Prior to having a brick & mortar space, I was a trade show hunter.
Armed with my bottles of water, energy bar, sneakers (regardless of outfit), hair in a ponytail, a cool backpack with wheels, my top-spiral bound pad of paper, pen, calculator, an unsuspecting credit card that didn't know it was about to get slammed, and my resale certificate.
- I'd drive to every show in the area. Most of the hunted treasures were geared for resale.
- I worked closely with the vendors, negotiating real wholesale pricing, not just the pricing you get when you show a tax certificate.
- Other shoppers would look at me as if I were absolutely insane. Why would one person need hundreds of strands of gemstones? Full bowls of sterling silver toggles? and have the full attention of the booth owner?
- I'd keep what I wanted to play with & the rest would soon hit the eBay virtual shelves.
- I'd take a class, maybe two. One year, I took 6 classes. (I must have felt rich that year)
- I got to know my vendors well. Spending time in their booth shopping, chatting with their other customers, even booth-sitting while they needed a break.

Once I'd returned home, prior to allowing myself to play in the treasure pile, my business hat went on.
Everything was sorted, counted, and priced out based on cost.
The next couple of days was a massive amount of hovering over a tripod taking photos (oh my back ached!), editing photos, and making the listing for eBay.
Countless hours were spent on shamless promotion in eBay groups - sharing the newest treasures with others in the hopes they'd have to have it too !!
And they did !
They clicked and they bought ..... a lot.
Nights became longer as the packing & shipping was time consuming.
Lost sleep was just something I got used to - and for a LONG time, didn't mind one bit!
My venture was successful.

Bear in mind I also have a full time professional career, one that carries a tremendous amount of responsibility, accountability, and integrity.
Hence, the marketing, promotion, packing, shipping, etc was all done between the hours of 8pm and 1am.
OMG you say? Yes...OMG - I was a bit out of my mind.
They clicked, they bought, I packed, I shipped, I power-shopped again.

Three years into this cycle, I tired out. The long nights were wearing at me.
It was time to wind it down. Then my fiancee offered to help.
With both of us being entrepreneurial in spirit, we had discussions about expanding this venture & actually making this a real place to shop.
Found a location, did our homework, rented space and almost 3 years later, here we are...

How time and perspective changes everything.......

Let's fast forward to present day.
There is a retail trade show coming to the Greater Philadelphia area (King of Prussia) this week.
This show starts today & runs through Sunday!
It is a retail bead shopper's heaven.
(It is NOT a true wholesale show.)

The difference a few years makes as my bead days have evolved:
- I still attend this show every year.
- I don't buy from vendors there like I used to, as I've now established wholesale accounts with BIG suppliers.
- I don't usually take classes there, although there are some I'd like to sit in on. There's a time factor involved.
- When I find something new that I'd like to carry, I still have negotiations to work out with the booth owner.
- I still wear sneakers, bring the wheeled backpack, lots of water.
- I now also wear an IPod in my ears to avoid having to deal with the massive crowds that for some reason are no longer appealing.
- And from time to time, when it hits me, I power-shop.

So as I prepare my visit to the epic event in this area for bead-addicts alike, I too, still make a shopping list & highlight the vendors I need to see.

This year, I also would like to establish IRL connections with some of the celebrity beaders I've gotten to know a little on Facebook in recent months.
I would like nothing more than to bring them into the Boutique for lessons with our customers !
So I'll put it out there to Jill Wiseman, Shelley Pleines Nybakke, Leslie Rogalski, and Lorelei Eurto -I hope to see you, even if to just say HI. Of course, if conversation turns business, I'm always up for new opportunities!

This year's visit includes restocking some elements that I will only pick out by hand.
I'm also going to stop by some of the metal specialist vendors and pick up where I left off with my personal journey into metals.
And last but not least, a visit to ABR for some fun new glass supplies !!

So...time tells the truth of changing habits.
Onward & upward

BeadFest - here we come!

Now you know why I titled this the Fast & Furious Beader.... Is anything ever done in a normal pace?

Posted by Amy B. at 10:45 AM No comments: Labels: BeadFest, Jill Wiseman, Leslie Rogalski, Lorelei Eurto, Shelley Pleines Nybakke


More fun flower beads This is a quick & dirty shot while they were patiently waiting to be cleaned...

There is another one from this batch - but he/she must have been hiding in the soaking tub. Perfect Autumn colors (pumpkin orange, light topaz, medium topaz, burnt red sienna) - so pretty!

One was broken (top center), and I won't go into HOW...but let's just say some people need to keep their hands off of things that don't belong to them!

The lower right, pink & lime green was "spoken for" until she changed her mind, three times.

So now these will all be in the Boutique for public viewing! :)
Along with their little friends that coordinate for your jewelry making designs.

(Unless I get to them first & make necklaces and earrings, etc...)

Posted by Amy B. at 10:03 PM No comments: 

The Art of Zentangle, Opening up Creativity

I'm a believer living in the house of "everything happens for a reason." Be it good or not so good - its happening because its supposed to.

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a random happenstance.
I don't even remember how I found them, but I'm sure it was an internet "down the rabbit hole" trick.

Here's my discovery:
Zentangle is a form of doodling with random repeating patterns (if its even possible to be random yet repeating).
Its really neat !
At first, I wanted to dive in & buy all the fun pens and paper that make your doodles everlasting.
Noooo...Reel it in.
I used plain paper & the stinkiest marker I could find.
(now I know why they recommend those good pens - I'm sure those fancy pens won't give you a headache!)

So - I drew my first few over the last couple of days.
A partially completed page shown below...

Am I feeling more ZEN? No.
Am I good at it...haa haaa - NO.
But I learned that it will take your mind off of any stressful moment you're having!
And to get a good pen that doesn't have stinky ink & won't bleed through your plain paper.

I did realize that if you're having any kind of creativity block - this might be the way to bust out of that slump.
NO rules, just draw !!

(and for all of you OCD fans, caution....)

Doodle away! Posted by Amy B. at 5:01 PM 1 comment: 

New Beads & Back to Fabric ! Sneak peek at some of the cutie pie beads I made over the weekend

Now just need to get some daylight hours where I'm not glued to a desk to go get some bright pics !
Want to guess which one I'm keeping for myself? hmmmm???

With a full work schedule & a busy schedule in the Boutique, I really only get decent time to torch on declared days off from the shop. So this last batch of beads might be it for a few weeks.


Now I'm back to the fabric for embroidery!
Remember those pieces I said I still had to cut apart & sew them together after I fused the interfacing to them?
Well, an energy drink super charge kept me up late last night, so I did come cutting & sewing!
Today I started actually stitching beads to the fabric.
I'm really excited to see how it turns out. The little flowers are so stinkin' cute !
Will get "photo journal" of pics as I go - will share soon!

OK - kitty snoozing, fiancee already went to bed. Time for beading !!
But just a little - no more late night energy drink buzzes! (oy!)

Posted by Amy B. at 10:58 PM 2 comments: 

Week "Off" Condensed Version

My so-called self-declared week off turned out to be a little bit of week off, and a little bit of the things you're not supposed to be doing when you are "Off."

Rule #1 - do not answer the office phone, or check voicmail, email, etc. (Fail)
Rule #2 - do not book client appointment (Fail)
Rule #3 - keep your compulsive self out of your office, the paperwork will wait (Fail...really failed)
Rule #4 - do not go to the Boutique and expect not to work (Semi-Fail, after all, I do not consider the Boutique as actual work most days)

All in all, though, I have to say, I think I did pretty - OK - for not leaving the country. (the only way to really get away)

I took a class in the Boutique with one of our guest instructors. She taught a beautiful Scalloped Pearl bracelet that uses 4mm Swarovski Pearls & 11/0 Delica or Treasure beads. Since it has a magnetic clasp (gasp!) - Voila! Now its reversible. I LOVE LOVE this bracelet!

Spent three sessions at the torch - two good long ones, and one abbreviated one. The shortened session had a lot to do with the frustration of copper foil & glass. Grrrr. Then I remembered the "trick" that John Winter taught in a class I sat in several years ago. I just needed patience, and apparently enamel, of which I had neither that day. HA!
Results coming soon - they've been cleaned, just need pics. Some are just really too cute!

Spent one day sweating like crazy while I moved boxes and boxes of things out of our old house. We're finally nearing having it rented out, so its time to get all of our remaining treasures out of there! While moving isn't my thing, there is something about purging old things that makes you feel good. No remorse - I haven't seen or used some of the leftover things that are in that house for year. Lots of it went straight into the trash or to the good will pile. Time to lighten up in life :)

Had a great lunch out with two girlfriends, laughing, chatting, and dumping life stories on each other - that's what friends are for!! Thanks ladies !!

Had a nice night out with GB and friends at a the Auburn Road Winery. It was a really beautiful night outside & the atmosphere is just so quaint. Nice place & they have a few good wines to sample too! Noted, however, next time - bring dinner with you - #1, its allowed & encouraged, #2 - they don't offer much on Saturday nights. Cheese & a baguette just wasn't enough to soak up the good wine.

Hence, the day after was spent lounging and watching movies.

So, all in all, a decent "week off."

Now I just want a real week off to truly recharge, relax, and get a tan (ok, burn) but try to get a tan.

Posted by Amy B. at 1:10 PM 1 comment: Amy B.
