Next week I am going to Fire on the Mountain, a gathering of lampworkers from across the country in Asheville, NC.  I haven't been before so I'm not exactly sure what to expect, but three days hanging out with beadmakers is sure to be a lot of fun.  Brad Pearson is demo'ing, so maybe my dot beads will improve.  I love the intricate patterns that can be achieved with masked dots (using the base color of the bead to hide portions of underlying color).  I'm really looking forward to seeing the country as I drive south & west, hanging out with folks with a parallel passion, and seeing my good friend, Terry Hale.

ISGB's annual conference, The Gathering, is in Rochester NY this summer (July 28 - August 1).  It's a great opportunity for everyone living in the Mid-Atlantic to get to a Gathering--or at least to the Bead Bazaar, which is like Glass Bead Oz!

 I am offering a class in glass flowers on the Monday and Tuesday before the Gathering ... I'll be sharing everything I know about color mixing, sculptural manipulation of glass, heat control, and using flowers in jewelry.  If you want to check it out, see http://www.isgb.org/gathering and look for classes.

 Until next time ...

Nolly

In the Mid-Atlantic, we're having the second significant snow in a week, so there's not much to do until the weather breaks and we can spend a day in the driveway.

I've just posted some new finished work in the Gallery; I made it for my spot at the ISGB booth at Buyers Market of American Craft in Philly this weekend, but since I didn't get to the post office yesterday and likely won't get there today either ... well, it should be there by Friday morning, if the Post Office still adheres to their famous motto.

In the meanwhile, I thought I'd put them up so that anyone interested can see my new work--and new beads.  I expect that I'll be offering the disk flowers from Clarksville (2/20 & 2/21) through the spring season.

If you look through the gallery items, you'll notice that I reference two of my finding sources in each listing:  My Elements by Yvonne and Kabela Designs.  The reason is that both these fantastic companies are owned by fellow artisans, hard-working and dedicated folks who provide the best in unique findings for jewelry craftsmen.   You can't go wrong adding elements from either of my friends into your designs.

The wind is blowing a little too hard to allow torchwork today (the ventilation system might be compromised), so it's time to tackle the taxes ... yuck!

I hope you have happy plans for this day away from the world.

All the best,

Nolly

My niece, Carrie, is going to help me--she's young and strong, with the added essential benefit of being polite, funny, and able to write receipts that are intelligible as well as correctly calculated.  Thanks for joining the team, Carrie!

Another I've made is to hire Darlene Mansue, who sold so effectively for Marsha Neal Studios, to represent my work at all the Innovative Beads Expos that can't get to myself.  Darlene, doing business as D7 Studio,  is charming, helpful, skilled, and everything I could ask for in a show partner.  Although I'll miss seeing so many of my good beady friends at shows, I'll be in the studio producing more interesting work for your projects and collections.

 I had the opportunity to be at BeadFest in Philly a couple of weeks ago; it was so much fun to be in the aisles, shopping with everyone else and to take a riveting class with Susan Lenart Kazmer.  Look for some items that will work in your riveted projects in the coming months.  

Right now, my beadmaking is focused on beads that will work on bottle stoppers, utensils like canape sets and bottle openers, as well as some fun necklaces that I've been able to price in the $40-$60 range because I'm using my old hoard of semi-precious stones and Bali silver.  I got these items at great prices before silver went up, so I can pass the savings along to my customers who like one-of-a-kind jewelry. 

I'm also using beads from my "left-over" trays ... those few remnants that hang on after a series is mostly depleted.  Perfect beads, in similiar color groups, but not matching ... I can get in that symetrical groove, so it's been fun trying to make attractive pieces that are a little out of sync.

I'll get some pictures and post them soon ...

Thanks for reading,

Nolly

My daughter, Katie, always one to bring on Christmas at the earliest possible moment, had Bing Crosby & Frank Sinatra singing White Christmas this morning as she began to assemble the Christmas tree.  Nathan was happily cutting the strings which bound the branches over the summer, and tying up everything in sight, which is sort of a genetic pattern.  Maybe we're decended from sea-going men! 

We're all gathering at the hospital to spend time with Barry in shifts.  He'll be exhausted tomorrow, but he'll have plenty of support to walk him up and down the corridors.  His major task is to keep moving so that his stomach will wake up and start taking care of business.

It's a good day for the Gelsingers; hope yours is too!

Nolly

Barry, my husband, had a surgical procedure called a "Whipple" last Thursday and is still in the hospital recovering.  That makes life kind of crazy, trying to make Barry as comfortable as possible and everything else on hold.