Bead & Button Part II - The Loot

Despite the fact that I had my camera with me for once, I'm sorry to say that it never occurred to me to take photos of any of my friends or colleagues on the floor of the show. Gah. Robyn Hawk (aka A Fly on the Wall) actually tweeted me to take some pics, so I did do one big video pan of the marketplace - but now I can't seem to upload it correctly to the blog. Double Gah. And I call myself a blogger. It's just shameful. If I manage to figure out how to get the video up, I'll add it to this post later.

Needless to say, I had a great time - met several friends from email and Internet correspondence for the first time this year and also saw friends that I have not had a chance to see since the last Bead & Button show. I still didn't manage to get through the short list I put together before the show, though. Anyway, since I didn't have the presence of mind to photograph all of these lovely people while I was there (triple Gah), what I do have to show today are photos of some of their beautiful work and the general embarrassment of riches that made it home with me.

Above is one of the special fine silver polymer and resin pendants that Cynthia Thornton of Green Girl Studios makes for her shows. I saw the batch for this year's Bead & Button on Andrew's blog right before the show opened and immediately coveted the bird girls. I feel very lucky to be able to add one to my collection of treasures - thank you, Cynthia!



I've been getting into scarab symbolism in a big way these days, and you know how I love cyberpunk and steampunk, anyway, so I pretty much knew I'd be picking up one of Melanie's scarabs. However, I didn't realize how completely fantastically her Toolbox Treasures turned out (she fired them right before leaving for the show)! Isn't that big center pendant just gorgeous?



I love Diane Hawkey's work. I used one of her Beastie head beads (pictured above left) in my current favorite necklace (that I wore to the show), and I picked up another one for a new design on Sunday. Also, her rough-cut faceted beads are staples in my bead box - I use them for everything!



Here's a small sample of what I bought from Gary Wilson. Anyone who's seen my Bead Dreams piece will know why I wanted these. Above right is a bit of coprolite (fossilized dung) - I'd been looking for a nice bit to use in jewelry for several months now. The drilled bead in the bottom left is a very nice piece of dinosaur bone.



I always stop by Joan Miller's booth when I visit Bead & Button. I have a tough time at her booth, because I love pretty much all of her designs, so narrowing down my choices is pretty difficult. I love that new skull bead! I don't know if this is a one-off or if Joan intends to add it to her catalog, but I think it has great character.



Joan had work from other ceramic artists at her booth, including a variety of Kristie Roeder's beautiful ceramic and glass discs and donuts. I have big plans for this donut!



The only real disappointment I experienced at the show was when I learned from Kathy at A/D Adornments that she has decided to discontinue carrying gemstone. While I realize that A/D Adornments is best know for its chain, she always has interesting stone in unusual cuts. Here's some hexagonal-cut amethyst, garnet, kyanite and rough cut ruby that I picked up from her bargain bin. If you have the good fortune to see A/D Adornments at a show in the near future, be sure to check out not only her astonishing selection of chain but her remaining inventory of stone, as it is well-worth the look.


Finally, as I was wrapping up, I stopped by Barbara Becker Simon's booth. Although I've admired her lampwork and metal clay beads from books, this was my first time seeing her work in person (which is always the fun part of attending Bead & Button, right?). She had the projects from her new book on display there, which I found very interesting, but I ended up walking away with this cute cocktail ring.

Well, that's it for me. Needless to say, I'm on a bead diet now, but I certainly have a lot to play with for the forseeable future!

Thanks for visiting.