Redid the Showcase at the Antique Mall...

Time to houseclean my One of a Kind Antique Mall showcase. I found another of those clear plastic T-bars at Winners last weekend, by Jacob -- I think that's the brand. Clear T-bars really do make things appear to float and magnify any light. My pal Lynn of Fashion Your Space also suggested moving the black necklace thingy I use for the guys' necklaces over to the left hand corner, instead of it being the first thing you see on entering the mall, i.e. a big black blob in the right hand corner.

Now on the left, The Big Black Blob functions to stop your eye from leaving the showcase...

To me, this little vignette at the front is starting to look reeeeeally interesting, with the resin skull pendant, the 1881 bushcraft book, surrounded by turquoise and in the background the coin silver and hammered earrings, etc.

But those giant white tickets -- ewww. They really need some serious rethinking. I need space to write a description and need the Antique Mall info, as well, so they have to be big. The other half of it is these tickets don't go with the customer, but are part of the inventory system, so I also need to come with a way to make duplicates without having to write everything out twice...

One of the things to keep in mind is the back doors slide in from each end. Because staff need to get into the case during the week to pull items out for people, I have to keep accessibility at the forefront when I'm placing the T-bars and the black bust and it's getting a little jammed up on the back left.

The copper-wrapped Kingman turquoise dangle and purple seed bead necklace has been sold... but I can always make you another one!

Seemingly overnight, it's become hot and humid here in Southern Ontario. Go Spring!!! With a fan blowing all the time now and the street doors left open, I took the opportunity yesterday to clean both the phenomenal accumulation of dust as well as the many nose prints off the glass.

If you happen to see something here that interests you, please don't hesitate to email me with any questions. I live very close by and I can zip over any time (between 10 and 5), check if the item you're interested in is still available -- or I can do up something custom -- and get back to you with a price.

If you make jewellery, I sell many of these beads via email or you can see me at the upcoming Gem Expo at the Hyatt Regency on King Street in Toronto, July 25th, 26th and 27th. Don't forget to get on their email list for discount tickets and prize draws.

Thanks for looking!

Pictures from the Grand River Bead Society Bead Show & Sale...

...this past weekend (Oct 5th & 6th). I had a great time at the show. I usually do (except that one year when I had a massive toothache the whole day). Special thanks to pals Jane and Lynn who came to the show and ended up dragooned into watching my booth so I could take a break, wander around and buy more beads (it's impossible to ever have enough). If anyone else has more pictures I'll be happy to post them.

An infinitissimally tiny sampling of the 25 vendors at the show.

Beaded butterflies by Brenda Franklin Designs:

This photo doesn't begin to do justice to the colours in these beaded butterfly pendants.

World-travellers and prize-winning peacocks, collaborations by glass artist Mary Ann Helmond, MA Beads, pictured here, and seed bead artist and kit designer Roxann Blazetich-Ozols, Beadaddict.

Mary Ann Helmond with Big Blue II and the albino White Peacock

Jewellery by Marilyn Matheson, Yellow Bird Creations:

Oooh-la-la -- corsets and chain maille from Marilyn Gardiner...

...where you can sit down, relax and try on a design (the corsets are for display purposes only) before buying the kit.

Design concept by Lynn McLean of Fashion Your Space. If my own table ever looks tidier or more well-organised, it's due to Lynn's design eye and clean-upping ways. 

Waves of beads from Rainbow Beads:

Bob Parry, Robert Hall Originals:

My go-to guys for bulk Argentium sterling and pure copper wire... and more and more and more beads.

Salim, Blue Sapphire Beads. Blue Sapphire are the hosts of The Gem Expo!

Saw these on the drive to and from the show:

Early Sunday morning as the fog was lifting... 

This was quite something looming out of the dark mist the night before,
eyes blazing, caught in my truck's headlights.

Why are places like these never open at 6 or 7 in the morning? They have PIES. I LIKE pies and pies really, really like ME. They cliiiinnnngggg to me (see me up top there?).

Knee-deep in punkins just south of Guelph, Strom's Farm 

Man, oh, man, if it weren't for the incredibly steep stairs... I've always wanted a live-in-the-back storefront gallery/studio space. Spotted this for rent near the river in Cambridge. Wood-burning stove, brick patio in back, another patio over the garage... but stairs. 

See you at The Gem Expo in Toronto at the Hyatt Regency on King Street November 22, 23 and 24th!

Thanks for looking.  

Nathalie's necklace... cleaning up... & rings...

Since it has now arrived at its destination, I can show you the necklace that Nancy made back in December for her dear friend Nathalie in Mississippi. Nancy spent hours and hours contemplating beads in the current incarnation of my "studio"... aka hopelessly chaotic front room.

Tourmaline is an extremely important stone to Nathalie and Nancy picked some nice colours and shapes and echoed and complemented them beautifully with several spiral silver-plated, pewter and horn Dzi bead elements. After Nancy put the beads into pleasing order, I did the wire-stringing and crimping. At the moment, I'm teaching Nancy to wire-wrap beads.

It's been a long, unspeakably lonely and sad six weeks since Max died. He was with me one quarter of my life. Yes, time and life tick on... but. The hardest part to get through are all the firsts -- first time to make something to eat and no one to trip over, then no one to clean the plate off later; first time to wake up to no fuzzy face beside you on his pillow; first time to do the market and no one to come home to. He died at the crap end of winter when we're all sick and tired of the snow, the dark and the cold... and the cold... and the cold.

Spring appears to finally have arrived this week: it's above freezing for at least a few hours every day even if it doesn't feel like it, but the front room is filled with light longer and longer into the evenings. Nancy and Lynn (of Fashion Your Space) are helping me turn this room into a workable and working design studio instead of a hodge-podge of tables piled high with who-knows-what-'cause-I-sure-can't-find-what-I'm-looking-for. Most Monday mornings will find the three of us working away: 2 hours x 3 people = 6 hours per week worth of endless boxes and bags of stuff hauled around for years finally opened, examined and purged. That lawn sale I was always planning to have? Phht. Ain't gonna happen. Week after week those things are off to the consignment store, the Goodwill, to a new and appreciative home or out into the garbage. Each week I feel lighter and lighter walking into the back room and seeing empty space and feeling no desire whatsoever to fill it up again. It's very true: once you start getting rid of no longer useful stuff, the catharsis -- and high -- is unbelievable.

Great inspiration for cleaning up and creating a functional working space can be found here: http://jewelrymakingjournal.com/category/jewelry-making/jewelry-studio/ and of course there's always Pinterest. The studios that some people create!

Last week at the market I made this choker and a handful of rings for a client:

Pewter side-drilled skulls, copper wire spiral tubes, 2mm black Greek leather



"Mystery stones", possibly dyed quartz(?), wrapped rings using 16 gauge tinned copper


Thanks for looking!