Vote for Rita Hutchinson

It’s voting season, so why not vote for the design: “Mystical Trios: Magical Butterfly Necklace”, by Rita Hutchinson?

Thanks a GR!

(Bead-supplier talk, for “thanks a million”!)

Come sail away...

How about talking DS (dear spouse) into a getaway trip for your holiday gift?  The Bead Cruise will spoil you like a Princess, though it’s actually a Royal Caribbean boat

Some of the big names in craft jewelry will be aboard to teach you.  How about workshopping with color expert Margie Deeb, “Beads, Baubles and Jewels” regular Mary Hettmansperger, Barb Switzer, Beverly Herman and our own blog partner Melanie Brooks?

Not to mention stops at a private island and in the Virgin Islands.  And gift bags, workshops, cocktails, along with all the comforts of luxury cruising.

Here’s the website to “accidentally” leave up on the computer for your significant other to see…www.beadcruise.com

Lucky #1

Angela Bannatyne is the very first winner ever in our ongoing “I Want to be a Blog Partner!” contest.  She’s already written her first blog post about it.  Go have a read!

Every three months, we draw a name to be a guest Blog Partner.  We’ll send goodie packs of R&T items for review, for use in jewelry-making, or to give away–your choice.  It’s a great chance to check out some of the latest and the greatest in the realm of beads & findings!

The next drawing is at the end of October.  If you put your name in at our Blog Partners program page, we’ll keep it “in the hat” till it gets drawn.  So you don’t have to keep re-entering!

Best of luck!

The start of the world's longest beaded necklace (image from the Scranton Times-Tribune)

We heard from Mary Ann Corey, the co-founder of a nonprofit organization called The Portable Playhouse (TPP) . This is an art-therapy program for thousands of women and children recovering in hospitals and cancer centers  in several states.  They use glass, crystal and silver beads to create one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces that the patients get to wear and keep. They’re in 2 New York hospitals and 7 New Jersey hospitals, with many more in the surrounding areas and across the country waiting for this program. To date, they’ve worked with over 37,000 women and children, “beading one smile at a time.”

Seeking new and creative ways to implement and fund this unique program, TPP decided to launch a nationwide campaign to bead the world’s longest necklace.

Under the guidelines of the Guinness Book of World Records, along with the generosity of a  New York bead company, TPP will attempt to exceed the standing record of 355 feet. People wishing to participate in this fundraiser can visit the World’s Longest Beaded Necklace website and donate a dollar per bead. The bead(s) will then be added  to the necklace in their name or in the names of a loved one.  TPP will then record the names of the donors as one of the world record holders. This campaign launched on July 30th and the necklace will be being beaded at headquarters in Forest City, PA until December 31st.

More importantly, this fundraiser will help spread awareness for the need of art therapy programs during this traumatic time in patients’ lives.

Over 40 hospitals locally and nationwide are waiting for TPP’s services.  With the anticipated success of this fundraiser, hundreds more are expected, thus the reason for this national campaign.

Your support will be most welcomed, because as beaders, you all know the therapeutic value of beading.  TPP needs to bead miles of smiles…  So please forward this information to as many people as possible. Thanks for your consideration!  For any additional information please contact TPP’s “bead” headquarters anytime.

“Bead Happy!”

Congratulations to 3 Bead Dreams winners who get hefty Rings & Things prizes!  Bead Dreams is Bead & Button’s “juried competition of exceptional bead artistry from around the world.”  We sponsored the Objects & Accessories category, which was brand-new this year!  Bead Dreams defines it as “a non-jewelry item or accessory, including, but not limited to, purses, shoes, sculpture, or wall hangings in any bead-related media.”

Here are the winners and their creations:

1st Place (Prize:  $300 Rings & Things gift certificate)

Satoko Toyoda's "Sparkling Treasure Chest"

2nd Place (Prize:  $200 Rings & Things gift certificate)

Heidi Kummli's "Fortune Teller"

3rd Place (Prize:  $100 Rings & Things gift certificate)

Melissa Grakowsky's "Ceremonial Headdress"

Do you suppose their creations will be featured in an upcoming Bead Dreams calendar?

Bead Dreams calendar featuring 2008 winners

Enjoy a shopping spree on us, winners!  We’re looking forward to seeing more great entries in next year’s competition

One good cause that gets a lot of support at Rings & Things is Bike to Work Week.  That’s this week, so there’s still time to promote it here!

Bike to Work Week 2009 in beautiful Spokane!

The Rings & Things Girls challenged the Boys to recruit the bigger Bike to Work Week team this year.  With the week almost over, the Girls have eight bikers registered.  The Boys had, um, seven.

The Girls win!

A big old hand signal and a tip of the bike helmet to all of the winning team’s members!

As you know, it’s not always easy to arrange everything so that you can commute by bicycle.  One of the Girls suddenly found herself without a bike, but went out and rented one to come through on her pledge.  Others had various adventures too…the weather at the BTWW kickoff breakfast in Spokane’s Riverfront Park being one of them.

Thanks to Nate for providing a group portrait of our commuter heroines with their favorite wheels:

Did you bike to work any day this week?  We’d love to hear your story too.  Leave a comment!

Russ the Bead, perched high atop the Rings & Things bead truck

5 things you didn’t know about Rings & Things’ BeadTour:

• “Our trunk shows grew out of doing a hotel room show nearby a trade show. In that case it was an order-only glass or ceramic craft show. We couldn’t sell any stock and had lots of one of a kind strands that sold best at delivery shows. We had a booth at the show and invited our customers to walk a block to the hotel and see our delivery goods there. It worked. [General manager] Kim said “Ah HAH!” and the R&T trunk shows were born.” — our owner Russ
• Our crew packed up one show & immediately left town to avoid AM rush hour next day in another city. But busy small-town streets ate up their head start… Then, at our hotel, no one could find any of the boxes of stock that we’d had shipped to us. We spent an hour and a half tracking the shipment, watching video surveillance tapes and finally, finding them in the restaurant storage. One box (of 16 boxes) was marked “Plated Chain” so the hotel had put it all with Plates and China in the kitchen!! Our general manager Kim was disappointed that our crew’s lunch was not served on “plated chain.”
  (We maintain a whole web page of more funny things that’ve happened at our shows!)
• We’ve done about 600 shows in dozens of cities in 36 states, selling [secret number deleted ] tons of beads every year.
• Our bead shows are a great way to personally meet a bunch of the Rings & Things people you deal with by phone, email, and Internet.  So you can come say hi and pick our brains about nearly any subject!
• If you really really look, you might see Russ the Bead (above) at our shows!

Have a favorite “R&T” bead show story?  Any questions about our shows?  Comment below…and be automatically entered in our raffle!

March news: New monthly lottery, right here on the Rings & Things blog.  Here’s how it works:
* You enter by leaving comments. Comment on any March post(s).
* At the end of March, I’ll randomly draw 2 winners of surprise goodie packs! …So read the blog regularly to see if you won!

The season is about to begin for Rings & Things’ BeadTour 2009!  We’ll be coming to your area at least once between March and November.  This is your chance to use your insider connection with us and stock up on great new stock that isn’t in our catalog.

That’s right, we’ll bring literally tons of new beads and findings to our bead shows, to help you grow your business.  There will be so much of this “cash & carry” stock that I can’t possibly describe it all!  But I won’t tease you either (much)–here’s a photo album of some neat beads we’re bringing your way.

Serpentine and agate beads (Rings & Things BeadTour '09)

Quartz, onyx, and nephrite beads (Rings & Things BeadTour '09)

Purple, light blue, and green magnesite beads from Rings & Things BeadTour '09

White petal-shaped, lavender/dark-blue/garnet potato, and chocolate keshi freshwater pearls from Rings & Things BeadTour '09

Dyed light/brown/black/red mother-of-pearl beads from Rings & Things BeadTour '09

Bluish and greenish aquamarine, and dyed aquamarine crackle agate, beads from Rings & Things BeadTour '09

Can’t get enough eye candy?  Pictures of popular items from our recent Fall ‘08 bead shows will give you an idea how quickly we rotate cool new beads into stock.  (Warning: I took most of these, so they’re not as pro as Val’s photos above.)

Wood jasper beads from Rings & Things BeadTour '08

Paua shell beads from Rings & Things BeadTour '08

Dragon's-blood jasper beads from Rings & Things BeadTour '08

Double-drilled mixed gemstone beads from Rings & Things BeadTour '08

Have a favorite find from a past Rings & Things bead show?  Want to suggest a new bead?  Leave a comment!

Exciting news: every month, we’re going to hold a lottery right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it will work:
*At the beginning of each month, I’ll announce a new lottery.
*You enter by leaving Replies, also known as blog comments.  Comment on any post(s) this month.
*At the end of the month, I’ll randomly draw 2 names to receive surprise goodie packs!

Exciting news: every month, we’re going to hold a lottery right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it will work:

• At the beginning of each month, I’ll announce a new lottery.  (That’s what I’m doing right now, hint hint.)
• You enter by leaving Replies, also known as blog comments.  Comment on any post(s) this month.
  
• At the end of the month, I’ll randomly draw 2 names to receive surprise goodie packs!

These packs will include a themed selection of Rings & Things stock.  Of course I can’t tell you now what they’ll contain, but an example might be a bunch of items for making bracelets, or maybe a variety of beads in ocean colors.  You never know.

Leave your replies here to be entered in our Feb. 28 drawing!

Look through them and vote for “My favorite crafting space” by Leaving a Reply comment.  You’ll help one of these lucky contestants towards one prize, and you will be entered into a random drawing for another prize.  (The prizes are crafts organizing tools from Rings & Things!)  Both winners will be announced in this blog on Friday, February 6th.

A)     Tamdoll:

“… I have a whole room to myself for my crafting space. The only problem is, it’s a disaster. This is a picture, on my blog, from !2007!   The colors of fabric and yarn may change from year to year … but it’s still a mess!  Once a month I’ll clean it all up, but then it just reverts again.”

B)     Eugena:

“This is my treasure, and I feel like a magpie in her nest! No, seriously, this is the surface of my desk right now. Recently, I started using watch parts in my polymer clay and resin jewelry, and I am very excited both about the process of taking apart old watches and the results I am getting with these parts. Right now I am working on a few new pendants in Steampunk style, a tutorial for them, and a new video.”

C)     WillowWalker:

“I share a large studio space with my dad. This is where I do all the glass work! Yes we are messy. I take after my dad. I’d rather be doing than cleaning any day! Believe it or not we do clean up rather well!  I do wire wrapping where ever I may be. My favorite spot is in the recliner watching T.V. I do it while I’m at craft shows, in the car etc;!  My work space”

D)     DelpfineWelch:

“I have a workshop where I do the lapidary and metalsmithing. If I’m doing any kind of wire weaving, I usually do it in front of the tv. My husband watches the movie and I watch some and listen more!”

E)     spiritnsoul:

“I love seeing where others work !! You can see some of my space at http://www.darisjudd.blogspot.com”

F)     Teal Cuttlefish:

“We live in a very small house. I store my yarn and beads in several places, and have a bookcase full of craft supplies. Since I’m disabled and do most of my work in bed, I have a small set of shelves by the bed, as well as my computer. When I’m working on a craft, I sit on my king-sized bed and use the rest of the bed for workspace. It isn’t ideal, but it gives me a chance to be creative. Sometimes the critters want to help — especially Karma, the 5 month old kitten, when I’m working with yarn. Other times one of the Basset Hounds wants to snuffle my beads. They have very large noses, especially when they want to snuffle!”

G)     LaraJordanJewelry:

“This is my past metal work/ beading space. It was limited, but functional. Keeping it clean was the difficult part. When I start creating I focus on the design, creative process and the completion of a project. Watching sketches of my design become reality is an amazing thing. The true reality is~ I make a huge mess during this process.”

H)     glasstastic:

“Hi, what a fun contest. Here are some before and after pics It was a storage disaster. But I cleaned it up, loaded the closet with the storage. Rearranged the wall-o-shelves, and added some organization to my workstation.  To the right of my workstation is my computer. I take photos of my items using lighting in between the two storage towers. And I just turn in my chair to the computer and download everything. In front of the wall-o-shelves, which is to the left of my workstation, is another table for working. I have the whole 10×11 foot room to myself. There’s really no room for anyone else! lol   My philosophy is…you can NEVER have too much storage!!”

I)     earthenwood:

“I did a few posts to show my studio last year. It is constantly changing, though, to adapt to my needs as a full time bead artist. Here is my studio tour series.  Thanks for this great contest! Good luck all! It has been great to see and hear about your spaces!”

J)     kattalyne:

“My craft space is where ever there is a flat surface in my house. It could be the dining table or the coffee table or the tv tray on my lap. I make do where ever I can. So the world is my craft space. ”

*You can read each contestant’s full description at the original post.