Panic Is Here

Today was spent in sheer panic. This is my first show alone.

I suddenly realized this show attracts alot of PMC people. I have a line of stamps I made for the PMC corp and now just sell on my own. They were designed with PMC in mind.
I checked inventory and duh...wouldn't just know it? Not a set of stamps in sight! So I had to press a few dozen of those.

I also even made a few beads today. I have a new style of cupcake, cake and fish that I'm just loving. But no photos yet.

Considerable time was spent going through my show boxes and cleaning and repacking. Box #1 has to have my tablecloths, acrylic risers, my large female form jewelry holder, a tea pot I've adapted for beads, towels, my calculator, forms for my contest and basic office supplies.

I will also have boxes and bags, basic jewelry tools, packing tape and an assortment of other "necessary items" which are almost packed.

And the very last thing in the jeep: my dolly. Can't lug all that crap with my back! I'm amazed that people actually show up at a show like this without one and want to borrow mine! Plan ahead people!!! I once loaned my dolly out and spent the show tracking it down. UGH!

Anyway, I'm about to collapse and I still have beads to clean, price and pack.

See you in San Diego!

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Art Bead Scene July Challenge Summertime Friends.

In the midst of packing and making beads for the show, as if that isn't crazy enough, and having an earthquake hit while I was torching, I decided to enter the Art Bead Scene (see links on the right) monthly contest. The theme for July is Summer Vacation.

I showed you this piece in the works the other day... it's been in my head for well over a month now. This is how Summertime Friends came together.

I tend to like elaborate designs. But knowing that all my customers may not feel that way, I wanted to design a piece that would have a substantial stand-alone focal which could be "frou-froued" up for a special event.



The seahorse is wire wrapped with sterling silver wire, Swarovski crystals and roundels. There is a loop behind the seahorse which allows the frou-frou bits to be attached.



I love making my own sterling and lampworked tassels and this part of the piece was designed with a tassel feel in mind. There is an octopus, a fish and a starfish as focals in this part of the piece. All were wire wrapped onto sterling chain with Swarovskis and Bali Silver. I used sterling split rings to attach the individual chains to a larger jump ring. I found this was a necessity to give the individual chains more separation. The jump ring connects to a lobster clasp which can then attach to the seahorse or onto a simple chain.




I would love some feedback on this... Do you guys like her???

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Packaging and Display

Today, I cleaned bunches of beads, finished my "Showcase Piece" and continues packing show supplies.

I thought I would do a little show and tell of one of my favorite ways to display things for the show. It's always a good idea to give your booth a little vertical display. It adds interest for the passersby and gives the seller more "real estate" to present their wares.

One of the best uses of vertical display I've ever seen was by Bronwyn Heilman. She uses little business cards with her name and website on them. She punches a hole in the card and runs an elastic barb through the hole, into the bead and back through the hole. She adds a little Velcro dot and places several of these onto a vertical display.

Here's my version. I photoshopped the card with my name, website info, email, etc. I chose neutral gray so it wouldn't clash with any of my beads. I also designed a bookmark along this size to hold bead sets.


Here the bead is attached and ready to go.


On the back is the name of the bead and the price.



Here it is on the display.


For travel, I wrap bubble wrap around the board both vertically and horizontally and all the boards get packed in a plastic box. At the show, I unwrap, pop the little display lock into place (keeps the board from falling over) and place it on the table.

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Fun with Fire

Today was a major torch day. I've lost track of what I have in the kiln. I know I made a few big hole beads, some focals, more gingkos (I'm loving that shape!) and I do remember was last focal came out really small... I tore the bead release pretty early on which dictated size. I thought it was rather lovely in spite of my not liking tiny lampwork focals at all.

I started dealing with lights for the show. The last show made me realize that the lights I had were too small and dim. I found new ones I really like and now have to clean the shades and make sure all the bulbs fit and then bubble wrap those.

I also started inventory on the supply boxes from the last show. I like having these hyper-organized before the show. My pet peeve of show set up is when people walk in and lay crap on the table. It makes double work. So I have my boxes numbered and box #1 MUST have table cloths and lights. After that, I don't care what gets put on the table!

Here is one of the focals I made and cleaned the other day.


And, I thought it would be fun to show you the necklace in progress I keep referring to. Stay tuned for more info on that one.




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Slow Going

Well, my day job called today. I had some pressing issues to deal with in the shop... like paid for rubber stamp orders. And Sales Taxes are due, so it was a packing and shipping and paperwork day.

It's 5 p.m. and I'm just getting to work on show stuff. The one thing I did accomplish during all the tax paperwork was getting my mailing list / contest entries all printed up for the show.

I like to use the face-to-face customer contact as a way to build my mailing list and email lists. I offer free beads and special deals to my email clients only....their reward for allowing me to put a couple of emails a month in their in box.

And one of the ways I entice them and new customers to my booth is to have something going on in the booth ALL the time. I do that by having an hourly drawing. I give away zipper pulls / cell phone charms, earrings, friction clasp necklaces and even gift certificates to my website. I keep a big board with winners names listed during the whole show in the back of the booth. That makes it fun for me and keeps people coming by the booth.



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Countdown to Panic

Updated with photos 6:05 p.m. 7/27
I will be leaving for the San Diego Bead Show in exactly one week. And what wonderful, productive things did I accomplish today? NOT A DARN THING! At least that's the way I feel.

I'm still really tired recovering from my bout with bronchitis / pneumonia. And by 10 a.m., I couldn't hold my head up. I napped until around 2. That's not to say I wasn't productive there... while sleeping, I worked out an issue for a necklace design.

Does that ever happen to you? You wake up with a solution front and center in your mind? It happens to me a lot. O.K. productive nap. Check!

It was way too hot to torch or work on the stamp orders I have so I simply couldn't get out to the shop. I did get a few beads cleaned from my marathon torch session. Clean beads. Check check!





Then I realized that my buddy brought all the tissue paper (to wrap up sold beads) to our last show and she's not coming to this one. So I cut up tons of pretty purple tissue into little neat rectangles. Check!

Now, I'm executing that necklace design and made some more zipper pulls / Cell phone charms. Check!




So maybe, I don't need to panic...just yet!

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Getting Ready

A large part of getting ready for a big show is assessing what you need. I'm always torn between what I want to make and what I think may actually sell. And then, this close to the BIG DAY, I just want to make sure something, anything is on the table! LOL!

Since it was late the other night when I came in from the studio, I spent my time going through my extensive collection of beads and then making simple but cute zipper pulls / cell phone charms.



I can whip these together pretty fast as long as I have the right color Swarovski.

Yesterday, I had a blissful day on the torch. I literally torched for hours and hours. No interruptions, no customer phone calls. Those beads are soaking and need cleaning so I thought I would put a batch I thought I would get listed on my website... but there is no time when my show stash needs building.

Big Hole Bead with lots of florals.

My latest cupcake designs

I'm still stuggling a bit with cased florals and this will be my last practice bead before the show.

I'm loving making these seashells!

Focal versions. I love the glass that makes the mollusk part... it's so shiny!

And my new favorite... off mandrel abstract gingkos!

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Obsession Bead - Part Two

I thought I might be fun to show you the bead I was referring to in the previous post. Here is the little wedding cake beads I had made for me to turn into pendants (as shown).


And here are my versions. Which brings up a point...If you're going to "steal" someone's idea, put your own twist on it. Make it different. Make it better. Make it more detailed...or less. Just make it yours. Otherwise, you're just a thief!




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I am getting ready for the San Diego Bead show (first weekend in August!) and the next few posts will focus on what it's like getting ready for a big show!

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Didn't Mean to Disappear...

Really, I didn't mean to launch a blog and disappear, but life had other plans. I have bronchitis and pneumonia. There's a longer explanation over on Creekhiker. In the meantime, I have a bead in a competition with my Etsy Bead Group, Lest Beads. The contest is Red White & Blue and here's my entry:


Patriot by Hollysfolly
Originally uploaded by HollysFollyGlass

Contest is over!

Thanks for voting and I will be back soon!




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The Bead that Launched an Obsession

For every lampwork beadmaker, there is one bead that makes her sit up and take notice. One that makes her say, I want to make that!

For me, it wasn't even a glass bead I like to wear! But it was one I knew I could sell!

My rubber stamp line is rather unique. It was launch by a chef and created explicitly to get images onto pastry and is safe to touch food products. I've done quite a few food shows.

Somewhere along the line, having made jewelry since my teens, I got the idea that selling little pendants made from lampwork shaped like cookies, cakes and candy would make a great impulse item at the food shows. Think of it: these ladies would be at these shows for days on end, learning new skills and buying product for their business and suddenly, at my checkout, they saw jewelry that reflected their line of work! The pendants sold very well!




And the one that sold best had a little lampwork wedding cake bead on it. A lot of pastry artists make their living off of weddings. My customers all confessed to cutting it down to the wire, putting a wedding cake together immediately before the wedding. Often having to change out of flour / sugar coated clothes to get to the wedding on time. My little pendants made them feel put together even though they may not have had time to shower! Jewelry has that effect on people!

I made arrangements with a lampworker to buy wholesale pastry beads. And here's where my tale diverts into a tale of two art worlds.

I had studied cake decorating for years. And while the rules have changed now into more of an anything goes on a wedding cake, most traditional cakes are all white. White icing, white decorations. A cake decorator would never put white roses and green leaves. Uh-uh, NO WAY!

As soon as I started taking glass classes from better known teachers, I realized green leaves are just part of the repertoire. Make a flower, make a green leaf...

While my little wedding cakes with colored flowers sold just fine, the whites ones with the green leaves languished on the table. A baker, my target market, would not buy it because to her eye, it wasn't realistic!

I would have to beg and beg my beadmaker, NO green leaves on the wedding cake. The beads would arrive and there would be green leaves. Back and forth we went until one day I just knew I had to make my own!




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