Well I’m back from the Melbourne Bead and Gem show and what a great time that was! Had a ball ‘sharing’ digs with Jo from Cosmic Beads and Wendy from Guru Creations. I was away from home and the ‘day job’ for just over a week and came home exhausted! I combined the trip to the Bead and Gem show with an opportunity to visit with friends and family beforehand and even managed a little bead shopping as well! A visit to the Camberwell Sunday market was incredibly interesting and I’m sure I could have found lots of ‘treasures’ if I’d had more time to search. The Market really is a treasure trove! I did however buy some beautiful vintage buttons to use as clasps with loops and some Art Deco style metal sliders. I also took my ‘bridesmaid’ to visit a bead shop near my parent’s home which is like walking into a lolly shop for beaders. All the beads are displayed in beautiful pedestal style glass bowls with lids and arranged in colours giving a stunning effect. Even though I was heading to the Bead and Gem show a few days later I still couldn’t resist buying a couple of things! I have to say that experiencing the Bead and Gem show from the ‘other’ side ie exhibitor was awesome everyone was so friendly and being at the show everyday from start to finish provided lots of shopping opportunities! My class was quite successful with seven students (two who had come from New Zealand especially for the show) and they all seemed to enjoy the lesson and the feedback was very positive. As a result of the success of this I have now registered to teach the same workshop at the Sydney Bead and Gem Show in October. There is also a possibility that the design will be released as a kit – but more on that later. Now I’m back home and preparing for my next ‘event’. I have been asked to run a beading lesson and display my jewellery at a local church ‘Ladies Day’. It will be my first time doing this and because it will probably be a large group I have kept the project very simple, just a simple strung bracelet. The down side is that with house renovations getting in the way my jewellery production has been in a slump so I need to work up some stock this week – looks like a few late nights coming up!
Cheers Sharyn
PS No photos today, unfortuantely I had to take the ‘old fashioned’ camera with me to Melbourne so have to wait until I finish the film and have it developed! Mmmm might have to save up for my own digital camera I think!
