Notes to Self ~ How to Spend Your Summer

I found something interesting in my inbox when I opened it this morning. It was an announcement from Lezlie Winemaker about her studio tour in Thornhill. It's the 13th annual Mother's Day Studio Tour. And she has called for lampwork students to register. It's something I've wanted to learn but Bead FX, where Lezlie will be doing the workshop, is so far away.

Do you know Lezlie? Silly me! Everybody knows Lezlie. I've told you about her in past posts here. She's the driving force, the inspiration, the personality in DreamGlass.ca. She has strong family support that allows her to travel the globe to show her works of wearable art. Her mum and auntie held the fort at the Spring One of a Kind show in Toronto while Lezlie went to the trade show in Las Vegas.

On Saturday last, I attended the Toronto Bead Society's Spring Bead Fair as a volunteer at the Society's table. What little I saw of it was marvellous. Did I see the people I wanted to see? Only from afar. I got to my destination with difficulty and only 5 minutes late. Will I volunteer again? I expect I will but I'll be taking somebody along who can help me: it took too much out of me just getting there and home again. It's a must see on any beader's list of shows and is held twice a year: Spring and Fall. The next show will be October 31 to November 1 2009: the venue will be the CNIB, 1929 Bayview, Toronto.

There was a slough of shows and studio tours and the like with their flyers at the Society's table. There's a lampwork trunk show on Saturday May 30, 10 to 5. And the Toronto Gem & Mineral show is coming to the Don Mills Civitan Arena ~ 1030 Don Mills Rd in Toronto ~ July 24 to 26. New to me but comes highly recommended is the Textile Museum of Canada's More Than Just a Yardage Sale. Did I say 'highly recommended?' It is the 'must see' of all shows. The sale is Friday May 29 ~11 to 6~ and Saturday May 30 ~10 to 1.

A personal favourite is the Jaboli Open House June 25 to 28, 10 to 5 at 575 Watt Street in Fergus. You are invited to tour their workshop and have Tea with Nana. Jaboli is a business of and for gentlewomen. Adjectives to best describe their work? Incredibly detailed. Original. Friendly. Ageless and age appropriate.

I've not attended the next 2 shows but they would make a lovely day trip: Fairy Lake Artisans Festival and the 31st Thorold Arts and Crafts Show. Details for the Thorold show can be had by emailing cathy.henderson@sympatico.ca.

Some of these flyers we collected when we visited the Milton Farm Craft show in Milton. This show is held 2x a year and this year I was there on business: it was a bonus that I enjoyed it. This year's spring show had some new vendors and there was more space per vendor than usual. The traditional rain fell on Saturday and we missed it because we went on Sunday: it was a glorious Sunday. Marg and I picked up the work of Asem Nada who, with his wife Laura, is La Glasserie. I commissioned some glass leaves and they are beautiful. These leaves are about 2.25 inches from tip to bail and almost 1.5 inches at their widest part. I've commissioned more leaves from this talented man that should be better suited for earrings.

Interesting Find: Jeff and Dye's Hermit Studios. They have a jewellery business with some original work AND some interesting techniques. Have you heard of Song Feathers? Hermit has them.

I have been busy, haven't I!!

Notes to Self ~ Getting Ready

I am SO excited: I'm that close to opening the artisan jewellery booth at Toronto's Bead Oasis Show. I have so much to do and not enough time to do it. I can't just turn my back on my online responsibilities and I can't just turn my back on things like labels and inventory and ....

AND I have to keep in mind that I need more rest than most people and I have to take it so I don't exhaust myself BEFORE the show. After will be okay: I can collapse for a day or two.

And then I read a Twitter from Teri_B: she's opened a discussion about home parties for artisan jewellery. Yes, of course, my brain started thinking about home parties. Couldn't help it: Tupperware's home party model kept cropping up. Why re-invent the wheel, or, in this case, the artisan jewellery home party! But I can't get the idea out of my head.

I did something exciting yesterday. I asked for aestheticians and beauty salons for counter space for my artisan jewellery: 1 stop shop for Brides. They can coordinate the jewellery for the mothers, the attendants, the bride and maybe even the groom. And it's a simple solution for the gifts of the attendants. Why not colour coordinate the jewellery with the rest of the colours? You know, the flowers, the tablecloths, the bridesmaids' dresses, the cummerbund or ties and pocket handkerchiefs of the men. That can be accomplished with enough lead time. So the bridal party comes in to check out the salon several weeks before the wedding and sees the artisan jewellery, and says, 'AHA!'

This morning I got up early ~ well, early for me ~ and finished up the graphics for the backside of my business cards. I have almost run out of my other business cards so I've taken the opportunity to revamp the design etc. Now they are happily printing.

See?? I got something done this morning. The trick is to get something done this afternoon that gets me closer to being ready for the SHOW.

Even this bauble babble is helping. It's getting things out of my mind that are taking up too much space and distracting me from my goal. I'm getting older, y'know, and feeling much older than my chronological age. And today I'm feeling particularly brittle.

Next week I have to drive to Hamilton for an MRI. Marg is coming with me: I've had MRI's before and come away feeling like everything has been sucked out of me. Since this MRI is in Hamilton and at 7PM to boot, I am going to be in worse shape than usual. And Marg has to go to work the next day. Next week is going to be really crappy. All the more reason to get a lot done this week.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I should have started way before now. I have to tell you, that's a very smart idea. But I always avoid things that scare me until the very last moment. This occasion is no different.

Good for me!! I think I can focus again on the task at hand. Thanks for your help, good ole Blogspot.

Notes to Self - Stuff to Share

Hiya everybody. It feels like forever since I was here. And I've got a couple or three things to tell you about. And it's all here on this blog!!


1~ Are you stuck on a design? Either you've got an idea that just isn't working or worse! you have no idea at all!!


In the right hand column I draw your attention to several featrues: Microscopic View of the world, Astronomic Pic of the day, and Masks from around the world.


Microscopic ~ it is amazing the shapes and colours of things so small the eye cannot see them. Do a quick rough sketch of a 'thing' and then start bringing together the beads and threads and such you will need to render this 'thing' in beads. You are not likely to go away and come back to do it. The bugs'eye view changes every time you move away from the page. Yup, there are that many wee things that they can populate every blog view with a different wee-un.


Astronomic ~ not astrologic. We gaze at the heavens and marvel and ponder our place in that heaven. Here you will find things about the sky: the stars, planets, weather, ... Maybe you'll see the Northern Lights or the Southern Lights. Or a view of the wake of Halley's Comet. Start sketching. Don't try to define anything. Just move the pencil around, keeping your eyes on the screen and not on your sketchbook. After you've done that you can look at what you've done and think about it in terms of beads. Would it make a lovely beaded embroidery? Or a piece of artisan jewellery, something that will make a statement?


Masks ~ I spent 25 years in Canada's western province and territory ~ 2 years in Yukon Territory and 23 years in Vancouver BC. I revelled in the artistry of the Pacific Northwest First Nations people: their work is wonderfully graphic. Clean lines, limited colour palette. Spiritual meaning in their totems; whether on a pole or on a piece of artisan jewellery. The most famous among these First Nations of BC is, perhaps, Bill Reid. His work is in the BC Museum of Anthropology and graces the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC USA.


Masks are not limited to Canada's First Nations. Borneo, African, American, Mexican, .... The list is as long as ~~ Well, it's immeasurable. As in the Astronomical and the Microscopic exercises, try to draw a mask without looking at the paper. Then do another drawing but this time looking down occasionally. Draw what you see, not what your brain tells you it sees.


Those are great exercises, aren't they. It gets easier the more often you do it. And talk about cutting down that artsy block! Pretty soon you will be drawing that mess on your workbench, a still life of a coffee mug filled with scissors, pens, a fan, ....


2 ~ On a different note, I've just come across a new widget. For artisan jewellers there is a Wire Gauge Calculator, from Irma Pretorius of Wire To Jewelry that will translate a) millimeter to inch and gauge, b) inch to gauge and millimeter, and c) gauge to millimeter and inch. It's a handy tool because there are only 3 countries in the whole wide world that DO NOT use metric: Myanmar, Liberia, and USA.** You can copy it from this site and add it to your blog or e-store. It's FREE ~oh how love the sound of FREE!! Get it for yourself. And offer it to others free of charge. And keep in mind that this is the Beta version of the widget.

And that pretty well sums up what I wanted to say.
Happy Beading Helen Glass0Beads

**from Rena Klingenberg Jewelry Business Blog

Notes to Self ~ Feb 09 Update

Yup ~ lagging behind the artisan jewellery wagon and taking on too much new glass bead stuff. What have I been up to? Well, I joined JewelryGeeks.com ~ only handcrafted artisan jewellers on that site. Then I started a group there, Love Beads, with an invitation to all jewellery geeks interested in seed beads. Only 2 criteria: you must be a member of JewelryGeeks.com and you must be willing to participate in the group. Easy, right?! Are you kidding! If you have as much on your plate as I have on mine, you know how difficult participation really is. So far the membership is drawn from Australia, Canada, and the USA. With good luck, we may have other countries and cultures join us: it adds flavour to the 'stew'.
I received an order for earring findings near the end of January and I wanted to source the goods in the Toronto area. Well, my customer was given a jewellery supply catalogue to determine just what she wanted: she was shopping for items to give to her Mum who is the jewellery repair person at a local seniors home.
I placed the order and waited. My friend returned from holiday and I still didn't have her order filled. I got in touch with the warehouse and its shop and nobody knew what I was talking about. And that left me hanging in a most undignified way.
So I sent my order to another, even closer, shop. They made up the order lickety split and, when my friend and I showed up, didn't bat an eye when we busily added to the order. We couldn't have been better cared for. The bonus for my friend is that the shop is within her Mum's stomping ground, there are coffee bars in the same block, and she can take her Mum there without me. In my books, that's great.
I got home and sat with the treasures I bought and fatigue swept over me. I laid down for a nap and over 4 hours later woke up in time to go to bed. I don't understand the sudden weariness because I was driven there and back and the outcome was so favourable. Well, now I'm doing what I had hoped to get done yesterday afternoon. And I'm feeling if not rested at least not as tired.
I started making up bracelet kits the other day in preparation for my big Almost Spring Bead Oasis Show 2009 in March, here in Toronto. I think my bead count is way out of order so I'll have to go back, just to settle my worry, and do another bead count.
And I've made up some earrings kits, too. I'm almost finished with the card and instructions to go along with the supplies. I moved from giving all the findings for the kit to explaining how to make your own findings for this pair of earrings. It sure cuts down on the time and effort making these kits.
Because I am not good with 'time,' I know I'm running out but can't grasp the idea that I have no time left. Tomorrow I will be turning my dining room table into my booth just to determine the layout of the goods. That will also tell me how much of this is stocked and how much of that is needed. I'm sure that exercise will go a long way to calming my nerves.
Is it any wonder that I haven't even started February's bead challenge!!? But I'm good for it ~ I promise you that.

Notes to Self - New Year New Stuff

My 2008 went out with a bang. I found a lot of stuff worthy of note: some is advertising me, and some is showing you some really pretty new stuff ~ not by me but I wish it were.

1. Jewellery Geeks : A place for jewellery makers of all sorts and using all kinds of media have banded together. I joined up and I am impressed with the kindness and generosity of its members. No matter how dumb you think your questions are, there are always people who can show you the ropes. I know this because I've asked some dumb questions.

~ self advertising: I've started a new group at Jewellery Geeks called Love Beads. It is a private group but so far nobody has been turned away. That is, as long as you are first a jewellery geek yourself. Send me a message telling me of your desire to join our ranks.~~

2. You really need to see this woman's work. DeMarie Rossi is a glass maker of considerable talent. She lives in California and is a Jewellery Geek ~ Glitzy Glass Studios. Her website is http://www.needbeads.com/.

This picture is of just one of her beads. Didn't I tell you she is gifted?! ====>>

3. I am working on a new format for my Glass Beads newsletter. SORRY, more stuff about me.

I am developing a magazine or ezine format which will give me a chance to showcase more artists.

4. Sorry. I've been looking at that marvellous pendant of DeMarie's and daydreaming and trying to calm the urge to do something beady.

5. I've been trying to Twitter about all kinds of stuff that I find. I'm now receiving tuition on social marketing from Mr. Tweet. S/he is my personal assistant and is with me to guide me to greater popularity.

By the way, #5 is about me, yes, but it also can help you a lot. Give Mr. Tweet an opportunity to help you; you won't be sorry.

6. Read the next post ~ it's about BJP and me.

And that's all I can think of right now.

Almost Spring Bead Oasis Show 2009 - Toronto

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH My toes are wiggling with delight!!! Oh Happy Dance LALALALALA.
I have just got a booth at my 1st real show - and only the 2nd venue for me in 2 years. This Bead Oasis Show comes to Toronto twice a year: Spring and Fall. The Spring show is the larger of the 2 and considered the more lucrative for the vendors. And I have business friends who sell at this show. That just excites me even more: being a bigger part of the Beadin' Clan than heretofore. And how nice of the organizers: they let me pick out my booth instead of telling me where I will be. I'm IN IN IN IN IN IN!!!!!
It was at the Fall Bead Oasis Show that I learned how to make wire coil beads: a class by Jelcy Romberg. She is a talented person who is also an inspiring teacher. From my booth I can see one of the entrances/exits and my neighbours are innovative beadworkers. One of those bead business friends is within earshot - if you could hear over the general excited buzz of attendees. I want to be a sponge and soak up just as much as I possibly can. My sister has agreed to help me: without her I couldn't manage a show.
So. Wiggle your toes in shared delight for me. And any ideas, observations, warnings are gratefully received. I would prefer to learn from others' mistakes/experiences than make the mistakes myself.

Notes to Self: Stumble Photography

Well, you know I make artisan jewellery. And you understand I like instant gratification. I want my first attempt at a new technique to be perfect. And I want my photographs to be clean, clear and detailed. At the first go. Am I being unreasonable? I don't think so. (Caveat: my 2 sisters and I are very 'high maintenance')

I guess part of it is the age in which I was raised. It wasn't that long after the Depression and the end of World War II when I was born. Waste was frowned upon. We were far 'greener' than today. We learned to make do with less and to use our imaginations to find new ways of doing things. This led to hoarding : I have a lovely collection of cardboard boxes for which I haven't found a use ~~ yet. And I have a great collection of plastic buttons. As Mummie would say, 'I haven't finished with them yet.'

I thank God for the inventor of the digital camera. Please let him into heaven just because of his invention. Gone are the days of the Brownie, the SureShot, the SLRs. We no longer have to wait for our pictures to be developed. I can take as many pictures as I want, I can edit them myself. And I can post them on my websites and in my blogs.

But even this convenience, while it goes a long way to satisfying me, doesn't quite fit the bill. I want to be able to take a picture only once and, with a bit of tweeking, have a wonderful picture. I don't want to spend all this time experimenting. Whoever tells you they have a camera that does everything for you doesn't get it: there's a lot of work after the shutter is pressed.

But, I think I've hit upon something: the backdrop and a display rack that is working the best is a small Inukshuk (an Eskimo signpost). Her name is Judy; a nod to dressmakers' mannequins, or judies. My Judy looks like a surfer, doesn't she!?

Judy stands 5in tall (13cm) and can hold my glass bead artisan jewellery: earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. I've not tried to display any brooches on her, yet. But I've made a couple of amulet bags done in the tubular peyote technique and they stand up well with Judy.

I played around with pretty glasses as my backdrop but I just could not get them to look pretty in a picture: a case of 'you look better in person than you do in the movies.' Even my absolutely gorgeous lead crystal sherry glass in the shape of Scotland's thistle looked dowdy. I wanted a glass to go with my blog name: Glass 0 Beads. It just didn't work out.

I've begun taking photographs of my artisan jewellery straight on instead of from above. I tried to lay things flat but the pictures looked flat, too. I tried on an angle, 45 degrees above: that didn't work either. When I tried straight on, no angles, I had the most success. Now I can use that success as a springboard from which to experiment.

The editing software I am using is Picasa2 from Google: it's free. I like free. It is easy to use and allows for some great experiments. The first thing I learned how to do is cancel, or undo, some of my experiments. Learning that allowed me to try all kinds of things. I knew I could get rid of the unsuccessful photos of my glass bead artisan jewellery and that took a lot of tension out of my experiments.

Now I have to spend some time getting new photos of all of my artisan jewellery. I hate having to redo things. But at least I won't be experimenting with the retakes. I'll do what I know works.

Anyway, I am much happier now that I can take pictures, edit them, and post them on Lampwork and Beads and Glass 0 Beads. Give me a bit of time to see the fruits of my labours.

I am a happy camper again.

Up to my eyeballs in beads ~~Helene ~~Glass0Beads

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Notes to Self - New eSMArts Member

Holy Doodle!!

I've just been accepted into a new group over at Etsy - the eSMArts group. In common is the handmade nature of our work and the desire to market our own 'stuff' as well as help others of the group sell their 'stuff'.

Well, how welcome do I feel? Very welcome indeed. Imagine my surprise and delight when I opened up this blog today and discovered my 'followers' had jumped to 5. Yup - FIVE. Don't I just feel the best !!

I began to check up on my new followers and discovered the blogspot. Okay - I did say I was new at the game. And I didn't say I was the sharpest pencil in the box.

Again - Holy Doodle!!

I found one of my pieces of artisan jewellery pictured among some really amazing 'stuff' and it didn't look out of place. OOOOOOO I do feel good.

Thanks, you eSMArt-ies you.

Now, how can I live up to their example? I have to find a way.

Check out some of their sites: you won't be sorry. The 'stuff' moves from fabric to jewellery to paper to ... Now's the time to start your Christmas shopping and where better than in the comfort of your own home at your own computer with your own coffee, tea or hot chocolate steaming in the mug beside you.

If you don't know what to get for Great Auntie Jewel or Uncle Neddie, these Etsy stores will offer you some suggestions. And, of course, a gift certificate is the receiver's gift of choosing exactly what s/he wants. Perfect for that mother-in-law who returns everything you have ever given her.

Artisan jewellery is somewhere between Estate Jewellery and Tiffany's Fifth Avenue. It is the estate jewellery of the future. And you can find some pretty spectacular items in the Etsy Shops.

Well, that's what I think. Helene...

Make Your Own - Crimp Beads

Look what I found: it's in the October '08 issue of Bead and Button magazine. How to make your own crimp beads. You understand why that is so exciting, don't you? It means you can bead into the wee hours of the night and not worry about having crimp beads. You can make your own.

It's all thanks to Melody McDuffee's work with the Krobo people of Ghana, West Africa, in the Soul of Somanya project. You'll find the instructions in Bead and Button, October 2008 edition: Wirework - Quick Crimps.

I've tried her method: it's easy AND it works. And all you need is wire, a hammer, chain nose pliers. That's it, that's all, that's everything.

The article that accompanies the technique is interesting: offering a skill and a market, the Krobo people of Ghana are becoming self-supporting.

If you give a fish to a starving man, he will eat 1 meal: but, if you teach a starving man how to catch the fish, he and his family will eat for a lifetime. Well, the same principle applies to the Krobo bead makers: they are learning a trade that will sustain themselves and their families for a lifetime.

You can contact Melody at (251) 342-9076, visit the website 'SoulOfSomanya.org', 'MelodysArts.com, or email her at 'SoulOfSomanya@gmail.com.