TIME FLIES...

when you're a busy girl. :o)

Wow...where to start??

Well...we just got back from a 3 week road-trip to the west coast, so I thought I'd get myself back to blogging & tell you what I've been up to lately!!

Bead & Button was FANTASTIC!!! I LOVE doing shows...I love meeting & talking to shoppers & other artists... I love seeing other people's work... I just love the whole experience, period!! It was a really great show... slower than other years, from what I understand, but I did really well... that's really exciting. I can't imagine how I would've done in the past if this was slow! :o)

People LOVED my acorns & birdhouses... especially the acorns. It's so much fun watching people try to pick out the one they want... they definitely have their own personalities. I sold a kaleidoscope, too... I just had it there as a sample of my work & someone bought it! :o) I sold lots of beads and a bunch of my handmade changeable bead pendants... the simple ones AND some of my cast twig ones, too! Yay! I also sell 4"-5" long argentium and fine silver headpins, those went well, too.

I had my oldest sister, Jeri, from Colorado, there to help me... it was fun to have her there... but geez, I almost had to chain her to the table to keep her from wandering off to shop!! :o) Every time she went to the bathroom I didn't see her for a half hour or more! Stinker. She kept her phone w/ her, though, so when 8 people swarmed my booth at one time, I would quickly text her "HELP!!" & she'd be right there! LOL. It worked just fine. I finally got a little time on Sunday to break away & visit w/ other artists that I only know from online. I just love that! I enjoyed meeting Lori Greenberg (& her cool mom!), Donna Mehnert & Kimberly Affleck... all very talented ladies that I was excited to meet! I especially loved meeting & getting a big bear hug from my favorite Facebook man Rashan Jones! It was so cool to finally meet him & see his work in person! He is a fantastic glass artist & we traded beads! :o) Several online friends & other artists stopped by to say hi & check out my work, too. I was so excited that Lisa Atchison stopped by to meet me! I just love her work & she's been so sweet & supportive online... & she's so freakin' cute, too... I was so pleased to get to meet her in person & see some of her beautiful work, too! Who else?? Amber Ballard, Robin Koza & Carol Watson stopped by... I just love them... it was so much fun meeting them & really look forward to getting to know them more online. Lots of acorn / bead trades that weekend!! :o) Stephanie Ann & Kerry Fuhr are now acorn owners, too. Those are some sweet & talented ladies...I was thrilled that they asked to trade! What a fun weekend. Samma Parcels stopped by, too... it was really nice to meet her.

Some of my favorite chicks from the Missouri Bead Retreat showed up, too.... Kimberly Polka, Serena Thomas & Marilyn Roberts. Had dinner w/ Kimberly & Serena one night... what a blast!! It's so good to see them... I miss them.

I had Kristi Evenson's (Coliebug Beads) work there w/ me, too... remember, this was her booth... sadly she didn't do as well as she typically does... not even close... I felt bad, but I was reminded by mutual artist friends that people like to buy directly from the artist... especially the normal large wholesale orders she would get... of course they wouldn't want me to set that up for them. I still felt like I let her down, though. Crazy thing, though, she had a banner made up w/ her new business name on it (CB&CO)... it was gorgeous & matched her work much more than her old whimsical name/logo did, but it really confused people. She was listed as Coliebug Beads in the program & people know her as such, so they didn't "get" the new banner. Some people would ask... but it became REALLY obvious when a friend of hers came by and asked if it was Kristi's work. She said that she kept walking up & down the aisle looking for her & would pass our booth & see her work & get really really ticked off each time, thinking that we were ripping Kristi's work off!!! LOL! It was funny, but really made us see that we were really confusing people.... so we put back up the Coliebug sign that B&B supplied us with and used my labeler to make large labels on her display board that said "Coliebug Beads aka CB&CO"... that seemed to help alot! People loved her work (handmade silver & copper findings) & actually, it went really well w/ my glasswork, so we had people putting the two together. Very cool!

Anyway... Kristi decided that even if the two shows end up on the same weekend next year, like she thinks they will, she's going to do B&B. She apologized, but I told her it was completely understandable... she relies on her B&B sales, especially the wholesale orders & new business customers she gets each year since they will probably buy from her throughout the year... that's huge for her. I love that I was able to have the experience & get myself out there...& I'm happy that I was able to help her at least keep her much desired booth space. From what I understand, since I was under contract w/ B&B for Kristi's booth space, it will make it easier for me to get my own space next year, even w/ the long waiting list... soooooooooo, I've applied for my own booth... cross your fingers that I get in!!

So, there you go... Bead & Button was a fantastic experience & I can't wait to do it again! Hopefully I won't have to wait too long!! :o)

Will write more about our road trip & what I'm up to next tomorrow...

Till then....

~ Julie