Archive for June, 2010

A Victorian Romance: cameos & velvet ribbon

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Like haiku poetry, cameos are miniature works of art…but you can wear these.

“And full on the bauble-crest alway–
A cameo image keen and fine…”*

WWVD?  What would a Victorian do?

  • Velvet ribbon is the period-perfect stringing material for showing off a cameo pendant.
  • With the availability of ring blanks, you can set a cameo in one to wear on a finger.
  • These cameos make a delightful centerpiece when attached to a leather cuff bracelet.

“A pleasant picture, purely set,
Its mood all fair, though grave.
The virtue of an amulet
To my remembrance gave.”**


What’s your inspiration for using cameos?  Comment below & share it!

* From “The Cameo Bracelet” by James R. Randall, circa 1860

** From “A Cameo” by Irène Hardy, 1892

Bike to Work kudos…and cautions

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Here’s a tip of the hat to the 6 members of the winning Bike to Work Week team at our company…

Team “Rings & Things – GIRLS” whipped the boys with a superior turnout and participation this year, showing enviable esprit de corps and laudable community consciousness.  Kudos!

PS: One of the above team members unfortunately got hit by a car today while biking to work; we’re anxiously awaiting further word and hoping for the best.  As we’ve mentioned in this blog before, there may be quite a ways to go before car drivers are fully aware that they’re sharing the streets with cyclists and cross-walking pedestrians…

Thank you, Mr. Truckdriver

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

An appreciation of the hard work that a bead-show truck driver does:

COLORADO:  Had an exciting day yesterday!  Had a fire in the cab!
The sound system amp under the driver’s seat caught fire.  Cab filled up quickly with smoke.  Lynn managed to pull over to shoulder even though he could barely see and smother it (barely any flames — just lots of smoke and heat).

TAMPA:  While the boys were loading in a downpour there was a lightning strike that hit the parking lot about 20 feet away — very loud!

FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT:

(our truck driver even finds time to write poetry to us)

Well,
Here’s to the folks in the warehouse,
for quickly preparing my load.
They don’t make me wait, to load up my freight,
so I can get back on the road.

And,
Here’s to the crew at the weigh station,
for watching, and waving me through.
We talk bad about ‘em, but can’t do without ‘em.
They’ve got a job to do too.

And,
Here’s to the waitress, back there at the truck stop,
who smiles and calls everyone “Hun”.
Her name tag sez “Thelma” or “Noreen” or “Velma”.
She’s worked there since ’71.

Yeah,
Here’s to the people I’ve met on the road,
and all the great people I’ve known.
But most of all, here’s to the ones that I left,
Here’s to the folks back at home.

And here’s thanks to our truck driver for safely escorting 5 tons of beads across the country…several times a year!

PS: credit should go to trucker poet J. T. Huffaker :)

Go global!

Friday, June 4th, 2010
Brand new from TierraCast!

Get your symbol without a lot of $$ symbols

Global Spirit is ankhs, mazes, peace signs, hearts, crosses, female symbols – - Just about all the basics to meet your customers’ needs, done in TierraCast’s signature tasteful style.

These sell themselves, so I’m just going to go into the “hamsa hand” a bit:  Also known as the hand of Fatima, this one’s a traditional defense against the evil eye.

So it’s functional as well as decorative :)