Time For Bead Shows - Part I

It’s that time of year again and with the harvest, football and cooler temperatures comes the buying season for jewelry makers and designers. For shows in your area, check with your local paper or hobby/beading store; make sure to check with the show to see if it is wholesale only or open to the public. Those that are wholesale only require the buyer to usually have a business license, state sales tax ID, and business card; so make sure to check out the show before attending so that you won’t be turned down if it’s not open to the public.

To mention just a few of the wholesale shows, you can check their websites for listings and more information.

Parker Trade Shows
International Gem & Jewelry Show
Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers, Inc.
The Whole Bead Show

The Gem Shows Blog is a very extensive listing of both public and wholesale shows around the country.

Swarovski Crystal Beauty

When it comes to crystals in the world, no one does it better than Swarovski. The beautiful cuts, shapes, sizes and colors that revel beyond the rainbow; if you are looking for one of the widest selections of Swarovski crystals components, give Art Beads a try. You can choose between beads, pendants, findings and much more in every shape, style, size and color imaginable.


This selection of crystals in polygons are one of my favorites, the long slender sleek look of the bead highlighted by Swarovski’s cut makes this one almost a two-tone in the light Colorado topaz (one of my favorite colors); the Olivine is a great compliment for fall colors in the deep hues of color.

A first for to my color of Swarovski crystals is the cosmic oval ring; here in Tabac, every which way you turn it there is color of all kinds; deep colors of the night almost. These will look great as dangle components to earrings (keep watching, they’ll appear soon!).


Everyone has the regular staple of roundel, bicone and rounds in Swarovski; these just arrived in a Period, dark Indigo which is a stunning color of midnight, and a new one in Red Magma; all these can be mixed into any jewelry design as an accent or a major piece of the earrings.


A wide selection of pendants and these are no exception in brilliant colors of Golden Shadow and Silver Shade briolette; mix with the bicones or cosmic ovals and you will have dazzling design for earrings.

Many thanks to Art Beads for the special gift of Swarovski beads; they will inspire me to create several new designs for fall.

Stones Misidentified or New Name

Nature gives us some of the most incredible stones, fossils and minerals. How they are identified, classified and names remains a mystery to some sorts. Many stones are called by several different names; is it really a new find or is it just a matter of the miner or lapidary cutting the stone on a different plane or grain that gives it a new name? Though it is rare to have new finds these days, some experts will say that many stones are ‘re-born or re-invented’ 5-10 years later with different names. And just like everything else, this gives the stone new life under a different name.

The question being asked is “Is it right or wrong in naming the stone differently?” Again, that depends on which person, expert or source you ask. From what I’ve learn, as long as you keep it within the family, such as agates to agates, jaspers to jaspers, and all the mineral make-up is the same, etc., is there really harm done to the stone to as they say ‘re-invent the stone and give it a new name’.

Here’s what I’ve found so far…..

These stones to the right I purchased from a reputable dealer that I’ve done business with for some time. When purchased, they were sold as Dragon Skin Jasper. True, they are jasper; however, they have also been sold by many other vendors as Variscite, Dragon Skin Jasper, and Sea Sediment Jasper in varying colors of red, pink, purple, green and blue.

These stones to the left are sold quite often as Turquoise. While this is true to some extend, they are at not natural stones, but man made beads. Researching them, they are actually composites of all the tiny fragments left of Turquoise, combined together and molded into a mosaic bead. Giving this bead a very unique effect with a mosaic look, it is what I call a ‘half-n-half’ meaning, it is bits and pieces of actual stone all rolled into one by man.

Lastly, I have yet to see these in bead form, but these pendants referred to as Turquoise Copper to the right have recently made an entry onto the scene. Inquiring about them, what I’ve found is that the jury is still out on this one. Some experts say this is a man made stone by mixing copper and turquoise together and getting this distinctive look; others say this is a true natural stone that was mined back in the 1960-70’s only to die out and then recently reappear today.

So, is it a new find, man made, or an old find getting a new name; just like everything it is re-born, re-packaged and re-marketed to the world. Just remember to ask questions, do your research and make sure to purchase from reputable dealers, vendors, miners and minerals companies.

Custom Design Bling

The request from a customer came to mix a lot of crystals with bronzite and a pendant. Needless to say, it’s been a challenge, but then I love a good challenge! The customer had a good idea of what kind of set she wanted, just left it up to me to “Create something like you always do, just make sure it has lots of bling”, she said. Working to get the right mix of stones and crystals together, the hardest part was trying to find a pendant. First, I was trying to find a bronzite pendant to accent the entire piece, but I just couldn’t quite come across the right cut that looked good with the piece (though I get one from the resident gemologist, but I have other ideas for that one!).

What I did finally come across was the Ocos Agates I’ve been working with and the sparkling color mix on this one just struck me to mix with the necklace. So I laid it all out, included a lot of faceted crystals for a good amount of ‘bling effect’; the golden topaz brings out the gold flakes in the bronzite and the amethyst crystals bring out the brilliant pink/purple colors within the Ocos Agate, just accenting the druzy crystals, and handcrafted the agate with artistic non-tarnish brass wire. I added a touch of gold open spacers; fancy gold toggle and small accent dangle earrings, at her request, to complete the entire set.

The result is this uniquely handcraft custom bling, “Absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking”, she says; onto her next request, long and simple with a splash of gold and multi-color crystal bling. Like I said, I love a good challenge!

Browse and purchase custom handcrafted natural stone jewelry at our website.

Shades of Natures Fall

The beginning of Fall for most people is Labor Day weekend; it signals the end of Summer, vacations and the beginning of school, work and the holidays and cooler weather. This year’s color combinations are a range that reflects the shades of Fall; brown, rust, cream, green, purple, red, orange and the staples of black and white. In natures stone world, you’ll see the usual agates, jaspers, turquoise, magnesite, onyx, coral and pearls, all splashed together with crystals, glass, and metals.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the Fall designs from our studio; for these and many other styles browse and purchase from our website.

Ocos Agate Pendant WW Brass & Silver Bronzite Sandy Opals Swarovski Crystals Set

Lampwork beads Magnesite faceted Crystals Copper Set

Sponge Coral Glass Pearls Brass Wired Earrings Set

Wild Horse Magnesite Ivoryite faceted Crystals Silver Set

Turquoise Barreled

There is lots of Turquoise in this necklace set; the matrix of this China Turquoise (stabilized) is grand! Containing all shades of black, brown, blue, green, beige, rust, white, cream and many others, the barrels are a perfect match to the matted beige seedbeads; all three layers are coordinated with long dangle earrings in the same stones.

Turquoise: Spiritual attunement, cleansing, healing, protection, valor, soothing, peace of mind, guidance through the unknown, romantic spontaneity.

Browse and purchase many unique natural stone jewelry designs from our website.

Everyone’s Having Labor Day Specials

It’s the end of the Summer and check out who’s having a Labor Day Sale! Many of my favorite suppliers, bloggers and shops are having great Labor Day Sales….just check some of these out!

Timeless Designs Sale Markdowns up to 50% off – look for the “Sales” tag for your savings!
ArtBeads Labor Day blowout sales with 15% off everything storewide!
Fusion Beads is giving 10% off orders over $100 and Free Shipping; check out their website for details!
GemMall has Free Shipping on orders over $50; check out there other discounts!
Jewelry by CnC offers pendants, slabs, jewelry, and lapidary; check them out!
Magpie Gemstones offers Free Shipping and price break discounts!
Riverbend Lapidary having sales on rough slabs and lapidary materials!
Stones N Silver is still having their storewide sales with 10% off!

So get on over to your favorites and see what’s on Sale for Labor Day!