Archive for March, 2010

“i” share the Design Gallery

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

A quickie tip for you fans of R&T’s great big Design Gallery!

Found a design in our Gallery that really speaks to you?

Hello knitty!

Hello knitty!

Just have to share it with your friends?

See the little yellow dot with a letter “i” in it, in the top left of the frame around that design in our Gallery?

Click it.

Scroll down — At the bottom of the page now, you’ll find the “URL”.

That’s the link that takes others straight to that design! Copy it, paste it into email/Facebook/Twitter, and share…

…because we brought enough for everyone :)

Reviewed: Crunchy Granola Charm e-book

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Here’s a readily available e-book that’s well worth the $5.95 to download it!

Crunchy_Granola_Charm

For some peaceful, easy beading...

If hippie chic is your bag, get into “Crunchy Granola Charm: Easy 60s-Inspired Jewelry to Make on Your Way to the Revolution“.  Yvette Doss‘s e-book lays seven approachable projects on you, with mellow pointers on how to put it all together.

Attractive photos from various angles open your mind to the true nature of each design.  In a great touch, Yvette also provides a soundtrack by suggesting some “Music to Bead By”.

She also keeps things nice and grounded throughout, listing a few possible places to buy the parts for each project.  Ribbon, natural materials like wood beads, and organic forms all contribute to a consistent and fun style in Yvette’s jewelry pieces.

For a source of inspirations, or as a gift for that earth-muffin friend or relative who’s interested in beginning to make her own jewelry, “Crunchy Granola Charm” is a good place to turn!

Read any good jewelry e-books lately?  Let us know in a comment!

Skulls sell

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Not an op-ed piece.  A tip from actual jewelry sellers!

Skulls sell!

Antonio's gemstone skull necklace

The magic words: "Can I buy that from you?"

Skull beads, that is.

I work with Antonio.  We were at R&T’s bead show the other day, and Antonio pointed out a strand of big gemstone skulls.

“I made a necklace with those, and people were walking up to me in Seattle asking to buy it off my neck.

So Antonio bought another strand at the bead show! :)

Skull beads are a “thing” right now.  If you dig ‘em, or your customers do, then you’ve got to check out lampwork glass sugar skulls (etc.) –

!Calaveras!

!Calaveras!

–and new Viva Mexicana skull charms.

Also available in silver tone

Also available in silver tone

There’s time to order these and make fun styles before Cinco de Mayo.  Wrap your cranium around that :)

Attend BeadTour. Talk online. Win!

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

You know, R&T’s bead truck is making a springtime visit to your town.  An easy contest helps you get the most out of our bead shows :)

Beads: not the only treasure at BeadTour

Beads: not the only treasure at BeadTour

Attend our BeadTour show in your town.  Enjoy R&T’s exclusive bead deals!

Talk about it online:

Facebook it

• Blog it

Twitter it

√ When I see your report of our show, I’ll put your name in the hat.

At the end of our spring bead-show run, we’ll draw several winners to receive these coveted R&T BeadTour t-shirts!

beadtour_t-shirt

Social networking has its rewards...

(Giveaway drawing: July 1st, 2010.)

Which show are you going to?  Here’s the spring BeadTour list:

03/12: Houston, TX
03/13: San Antonio, TX
03/14: Austin, TX
03/16: Dallas, TX
03/17: Oklahoma City, OK
03/19: St. Louis, MO
03/20: Kansas City, KS
03/21: Des Moines, IA
03/22: Omaha, NE
03/24: Denver, CO
03/26: Salt Lake City, UT
03/28: Boise, ID
04/03: Missoula, MT
04/10: Bellevue, WA
04/11: Portland, OR
04/17: Seattle, WA
04/18: Mt. Vernon, WA
04/25: Minneapolis, MN
04/27: Green Bay, WI
04/28: Milwaukee, WI
04/29: Chicago, IL
05/01: Grand Rapids, MI
05/02: Detroit, MI
05/04: Louisville, KY
05/12: Sacramento, CA
05/13: San Mateo, CA
05/15: Orange County, CA
05/16: San Bernardino, CA
05/18: Phoenix, AZ
05/20: Albuquerque, NM
06/06: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
06/08: Tampa, FL
06/09: Orlando, FL
06/10: Jacksonville, FL
06/10-13: Milwaukee, WI – Bead&Button
06/12: Atlanta, GA
06/13: Charlotte, NC
06/14: Raleigh, NC
06/15: Richmond, VA
06/16: McLean, VA
06/17: Baltimore, MD
06/19: Philadelphia, PA
06/20: East Hanover (NYC area), NJ
06/21: New Haven, CT
06/22: Boston (Dedham), MA
06/24: Rochester, NY