BeadStyle : bead and button show

New Xilion bead

Cathy Jakicic — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:48:00 GMT

Though there’s been buzz about this for awhile, the official press release arrived this week about the new Crystallized – Swarovski Elements Xilion bead.

Called an enhancement of the popular bicone shape (5301), the Xilion (5328) has more facets and a hole with rounded edges to “amplify sparkle” and protect threads.

According to the release, the Xilion’s “harmonious design and dimensions make possible beautiful combinations with its predecessor, the bi-cone bead 5301.”
Good news for bicone fans, especially those with a stash. More good news – you can call your bicones ”vintage” soon. That makes a sexier label for the jewelry designs you sell!

The Xilion,which will be phased in gradually, will be available in 66 colors, 20 effects, and in sizes from 3 mm to 10 mm. The 2.5 mm bicone will still be available.

My favorites from the Bead&Button show

Jane Konkel — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:21:00 GMT

My favorites from the Bead&Button show

High Caliber Collar:
Rebecca Starry from Anchorage AK, entered her necklace in the Bead Dreams competition. She used a right-angle weave technique and huge bullets to make this stunning necklace.

Brenda Schweder, Cathy Jakicic, and Karin Buckingham:
Kalmbach book authors.

Robert Dancik:
Robert uses faux bone to make beautiful jewelry that reminds me of scrimshaw. He also makes crazy cool jewelry like the bracelet he is holding which is a series of plastic fingers. One of the fingernails is painted red. To view a trailer and clip for his workshop go to ccpvideos.com/r/dancik.

Celie Fago:
I am captivated by her work. And chatting with her was awesome. She has magnificent energy.

Bob Burkett:
The first time I met Bob was in Tuscon four years ago. I’ve admired his shibuichi pieces ever since. He’s got this unassuming personality and so much talent.

Spinner Rings:
These rings are Jill Erickson’s. I took her spinner ring class. I did not photograph the ring I made, because I didn’t finish it yet. Surprise, surprise.

Amazing View:
This photo was taken from the 8th floor of the parking structure attached to the Midwest Express Center. Milwaukee has some incredible views.

Charms and Found Glass:
I visited with Cathy Collison, owner of Glass Garden Beads. The tokens say things like, “Poughkeepsie & Wappingers Falls RY Co: and “This Token Awarded For Skill.” The glass pieces are cut a tumbled pieces from vases. You can see a project using Cathy’s bottle cap beads and found glass pieces in the July issue of BeadStyle.

Chain:
It was difficult to hold myself back when buying chain. Many vendors had a huge variety of really unique chain. The price was right on this chain from The Chain Gallery.

Green Girl Studios:
Each year I spend a few bucks with the Green Girls (Cynthia, Andrew and Greg). I adore them and their beautiful pewter pieces.

I survived my first trip to the Bead&Button Show!

Erin Dolan — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:04:00 GMT

Yes, it's true: My very first Bead&Button Show experience has come and gone, and I not only survived, I thrived (if I do say so myself)!

What a week it was. Stacy and Cathy both gave insights into their show experiences in earlier blog posts. One of the great things about the show is that every person you talk to has a new story to share about a purchase they made, a class they took, an auction item they bid on, a person they met. Every show experience is different. As a beginning beader (I still consider myself a beginner, though I've been at BeadStyle magazine for almost one year now), I was nearly lost in the energy of the show floor, not to mention a bit lost among the sheer volume of booths!

My week at the Bead&Button Show began officially on Wednesday. I took a precious metal clay class with Irina Miech (she owns Eclectica, a bead shop we often source in the magazine). I, novice that I am, made a ring, a pair of earrings, and a gorgeous pendant! Okay, so I had some help from Irina and the support of my fellow students, but I still felt pretty accomplished! It's amazing how fast a seven-hour-long class goes when you're having so much fun and learning something new.

I was back at the show on Friday, working at the silent auction and shopping the booths, though I didn't actually buy anything. I got the lay of the land and tried to get a feel for how the floor "worked." I tried not to look too much like a fish out of water! It was fun talking with artists and show-goers, getting advice and hearing stories of others' first-time experiences.

Saturday was spent again at the silent auction booth and my first beading demonstration! I was nervous going in, but I had a blast with the people at my table, and we stuck to the absolute basics (stringing and plain loops, with a few people progressing on to wrapped loops). Saturday night was the much-anticipated Bead Social, and Sunday was a day of rest.

I'll take some pictures of my labors of love from Irina's class and post them next week. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did at the Bead&Button Show! See you next year!

Master class mastered!

Cathy Jakicic — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:49:00 GMT

These picture are from the master class I took at this year's Bead&Button Show and the resulting graduation ceremony. I took Valerie Hector's Chinese bead weaving class. It was wonderful!! I though after three day my brains and all urge to bead-weave would just leak out of my ears when I went to bed, but I was completely energized by the experience and can't wait to do more.

Most of the credit for this goes to Valerie. She's a remarkable teacher. Intelligent, funny, patient, prepared, and very encouraging.

And her knowledge and curiousty in the area of Chinese bead weaving and culture was really impressive. I also have to give a lot of credit to my classmates.

As anyone who takes (or teaches) a lot of classes can tell you, the students are always the big wild card. I'm happy to say that every single person in the master class was delightful - creative, generous, and fun.

For those of you at the show - what was your favorite class?

Surviving the Bead&Button Show

Erin Dolan — Mon, 11 May 2009 21:04:00 GMT

**This post was written by Stacy (we were experiencing some technical difficulties, which is why her name doesn't show up as the author of this post).**

Last year, following my first experience with the Bead&Button Show, I blogged about some of my rookie mistakes. Now, as the show approaches again (May 31 – June 7), I’m digging up my former list of do’s and don’t’s and revisiting the basics of Bead&Button Show survival.

Last, year…

1)    I turned my back on a strand of beads I was thinking of buying. I never saw them again. Some of my coworkers have suggested making an initial circle around the show floor, marking interesting booths on your show program, then going back to the booths you marked. That way, you get a sense of all the cool stuff out there, and you have a better idea if that strand of beads is a must-have or just a maybe compared to everything else you saw.

2)    I didn’t bring enough cash. Most of the show vendors take major credit cards, but only if your purchase is more than $20. Since I was just picking up a strand here and a finding there, I often had to pay in cash, which quickly dried up. One of my Bead&Button magazine friends says she decides beforehand how much she’d like to spend at the show, then brings that in cash. Not only does that minimize overspending, but you won’t have to quibble with vendors who won’t take your plastic.

3)    I carried around my class supplies, including a task lamp, in a tote bag while shopping. My shoulders quickly became tired, and I was walking lopsided for a few days. This year, there will be none of that. True, walking to my car takes time and energy I could spend on shopping, but an overflowing tote will sap both a lot faster. Also, there are lockers you can rent, or you can turn your rolling luggage into a veritable shopping cart.

4)    I wore fashionable rather than comfortable shoes. Not only were my feet screaming sore while I was shopping, but standing around booths and teachers during demonstrations was unbearably painful. When I say wear comfortable shoes to the show, I’m not talking about your most comfortable pair of sandals or your least painful pumps. I’m talking athletic, orthopedic, therapeutic – the most comfortable shoes you own! I’m already devising ways to work my running shoes into a professional outfit where they don’t look out of place, but if I can’t, so be it! In a way, wearing ultra-comfy shoes to the show is one of the most professional moves you can make. I’ll be wearing gray and blue New Balance running shoes – if you see them in the crowd, come say hi!

Check out our video interview with beadmaker and jewelry designer Melissa Cable

Cathy Jakicic — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:39:00 GMT

Check out the video section for an interview with jewelry designer Melissa Cable. Click on "Video," and you'll find Melissa under "Interviews."

Melissa's riverstone-inspired beads and the resulting necklace are featured on page 124 of the September 2008 issue of BeadStyle magazine. Linda Augsburg caught up with Melissa at the Bead&Button Show for a chat about creating lampworked beads; her bead store, Beadclub; how she got started beading; and how she got published in BeadStyle. Come back for interviews with Kerri Fuhr and Stacy Frost, who are both referenced in the sidebar in Melissa's "Inspired by riverstones" article. They will be posted later this month.

Handmade beads from Olive Glass

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:44:00 GMT

We're finalizing our September issue and designing the last few projects for Parties, but I wanted to post a quick note about one of my Bead and Button Show buys.

These handmade furnace glass beads are from Lark and Corrie at Olive Glass. I love their squiggles (I've made many a Christmas ornament with them and with the pillow beads — check out the November 2005 issue). But I stayed focused on the matter at hand: finding different shades of blue for a baby-shower bracelet for our Parties issue. These beads are 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, and 1 inch long, and I especially love the texture of the teal beads, which remind me of flowing water.

Be sure to look for my bracelet; Parties hits newsstands at the end of August.

See you at the Bead and Button Show

Naomi Fujimoto — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:29:00 GMT

The Bead and Button Show is finally here! We'd love to meet you, so come visit us if you're in Milwaukee. We'll be teaching plain loops and wrapped loops at our earring make-and-take: visit Cathy on Friday (12-1), Naomi on Saturday (3–4), and Jane on Sunday (11–12). Also stop by to meet the staffs of Art Jewelry and Bead and Button.

This week promises to be a busy one. Tonight we're having Turkish food at Tulip to celebrate the master classes held by Sonoko Nozue, Tim McCreight, and Stephanie Sersich and Dustin Tabor. The three-day classes always attract interesting students from around the world, so we spend dinner talking about our travels and the beautiful jewelry everyone's wearing.

After that, I'll be teaching an intro class on Wednesday and Thursday. And then there's a Meet the Teachers reception tomorrow and shopping from Thursday to Sunday. (We'll be shopping for our last batch of Beading Parties projects and projects for the November issue.)

See you there!