USA and the Bead & Button Show 2014
Phew, what a whirlwind time it’s been; my feet hardly touched the ground! I can’t believe I’m actually back home now, the days just flew by. I had a great time at the B&B, with lots of new students in my classes and some old friends too. Of course I met up with the darling Pittsburgh Sissies, but didn’t manage to spend nearly enough time catching up with them. I must admit to spending some money on b-e-a-d-s (shhhhhh) on the first evening – well they were just THERE and I couldn’t wait.
I was somewhat jet-lagged but fought through, and the heightened adrenalin levels helped on the Meet the Teachers evening! One of my regrets is that I didn’t have time that evening to get round to chat with many of the other teachers, but it was incredibly busy.
On Sunday the 8th, after a last, quick whiz around the market place, my friend, Vicki, drove us to Columbus, Ohio. The drive took almost 8 hours, so hats off to her for sticking with it; I owe her my extreme gratitude for all her help over the course of the B&B show and for putting me up at her house (or maybe that should be putting up with me)! Over the next two days I taught two workshops at Bloomin’ Beads, Etc. and had a really lovely time. I confess I was treated like a queen and taken out to dinner – where I proceeded to run through my repertoire of Monty Python sketches. I can’t have been all that bad, because we went out to dinner again the next night! Many thanks to Gail Bloom, who owns Bloomin’ Beads, Etc. for inviting me to teach there, and to the rest of the staff for their help throughout the 2 days; I look forward to our next time together.
I flew to New York on the 11th, threw my stuff into the room and whizzed down to CJS Sales warehouse. Unfortunately my flights were dreadfully delayed so it was quite late in the day when I got there, I was also ravenously hungry, so I couldn’t stay for long. However, I managed to get in a quick visit the next day and made some delicious discoveries. Again I was on the hunt for flat back cabochons and I wasn’t disappointed. Carl and David were there and, as always, very kind and hospitable.
I taught two workshops at York Beads, during which time I got to know more of the staff there. They are a wonderful mix of people from the philosophical to the completely bead-crazy, all of them warm and welcoming. I was completely blown away on the 13th, when they all came marching up the stairs to the mezzanine room where I was teaching, singing Happy Birthday to me and bringing a mouth-watering New York cheesecake with them. Their thoughtfulness meant so much to me and I won’t forget my time there!
That evening my friend Adele Rogers Recklies met me at the shop and we went to the Metropolitan museum together – well we valiantly worked our way there in the monsoon, both arriving like drowned rats. Despite Adele’s brolly, my dress was plastered to me and I made a pool wherever I stood. Nevertheless, it was most enjoyable as we worked our way around the Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition, which was quite astounding, and on through the Mediaeval, Byzantine and Egyptian galleries. Superb.
My final day in New York was spent with some members of the Bead Society of Greater New York; I was teaching my Lorenzo bracelet. There was a lot of laughing going on as well as beading, and I was delighted to see that some of the students were using their own bead colour choices. I always love to see that, because everyone always seems to choose colours that I hadn’t dreamt of combining – so I’m looking forward to seeing those finished pieces!
Comments (2)
Thanks for the shout out to CJS Sales! We always luv when you visit!
Thanks Elyse, I always look forward to my visit, like a child in the best toy shop in the world!