Rio Rewards PMC Certification Class

Tomorrow is the second PMC Certification Class I've offered at my store. I feel like there's so much work to be done to prepare for it! Namely, clearing out the back room, so that I have someplace to work while the class is going on. By day 3 last time, I felt like I was in the way in my own shop! So I want to make sure I have space to work this time.

I'm excited to see Chris Darway again. He is a wealth of information and it's great to be able to pick his brain! I'll also have him check the temperature of my kiln, as it seems to be firing ultra hot.

Right now, I'm completely procrastinating from cleaning the back room. I've got to do it, I just don't want to. Siigh.

Will try to post some pictures of the Certification students in action, so stay tuned!

Dog on a ...cool, shingled roof...

Hoo boy. I was sitting here at my desk and looked up when I saw some motion on the roof across the street from me. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a little dog on the roof! He didn't look like he was comfortable up there. I racked my brain, trying to figure out how to get in touch with the owner. As I called the Manlius Insurance Agency (to find a phone number, not for insurance) a customer of mine stopped in at Accents, and then I called Ling Ling's as well and got the name of the building's landlord. Meanwhile, a kindly tow-truck driver (perhaps less kindly if you're illegally parked and on the towing end of the deal) backed his truck into the alley next to the building, and with a lot of coaxing and some stale dog treats (Arrow hasn't been to the store since his escape several weeks ago, and consequently the treats have gone stale) was able to get the dog close enough to grab. Quite a bit of excitement. We had representatives from Accents, Ling Lings and the Manlius Insurance Agency, all whistling, "kiss-kissing" and "good-boying" to coax him our way. Glad it ended positively, I had horrors of him falling or trying to jump off. Time to get that boy fixed. He's in search of a little lady to corrupt and will, apparently, go to any lengths (and heights) to find a mate!

Trunk Show Bonanza!!!

Well, the economy is slow. No doubt about it. It's been a little stressful actually. There's been a good deal of laying, sleepless in my bed, wondering how to generate more sales while not being able to invest a lot in additional inventory. So you can imagine my delight when today I was presented with a great way to bring in spectacular new inventory with minimal investment! Serendipitously a vendor from New Mexico came into my store today to see if I might be interested in the gems he sells. After seeing the exquisite gems he had, I inquired if he would be willing to do a trunk show, and he was amenable to that. We agreed upon a two-day trunk show in November, and this is going to be the largest and most incredible show this store has had to date. Eric is a wholesale vendor at the Tucson Gem Show and and will be bring 100's of POUNDS of beads in for your convenience. No need to travel to find great deals and unique beads, he's bringing them to us! He also deals directly with several Southwestern Turquoise mines, including the Nacozari, Sleeping Beauty, Kingman, Campetos and Mexican Blue turquoise mines. He has a ton of REAL turquoise that he purchases directly from the mine and he is currently processing over 3000 pounds of turquoise. 3000 pounds!! He will also be available to answer questions about Turquoise and show you how to spot the difference between the real thing and phony imposters.



So, have I piqued your interest yet? Good! Because that isn't it. He has authentic Zuni Pueblo jewelry from New Mexico, a huge selection of precious and semi precious stones in different cuts (think the little tiny sparkly faceted cuts that look great with the little black dress!) authentic Baltic Amber (gorgeous huge hunks of it), Buddhist beads, natural shell heishi, finished pendants and bracelets in silver and Argentium. He'll even be bringing in LOOSE beads so you can pick up a few things here and there to finish projects. I'm pretty excited about it. He will be more than filling the bead bar with goodies, and will be bringing in racks of beads as well. Whew!



Mark this date in your calendar: November 18th and 19th. On November 18th, the store will be open late and we'll be serving refreshments. More details will come, but I just wanted to share the good news right away!

Mystery Delivery...

So this morning I came into the store almost two hours early! Not because I was feeling especially chipper, but because I dropped off my car this morning to get some brake rotors replaced (ugh) and my ride had someplace to be at 11. I was working on earrings for Courtney's wedding in the back room, and I heard the door handle clicking, as if someone was trying the door to see if it was unlocked. (It was about 1 hour before I open, so I had locked myself in). I went out to see who was there, but there was no one at the door or in sight down the road in either direction. I didn't think much of it, and went back to working on the earrings. When I opened for the day, I stepped outside to hang the wreath, and found a shopping bag on my doorknob, with three vintage beaded necklaces inside! They are funky and look like something I might have taken from my grandmother's costume jewelry stash to play dress up. No note, no explanation. It was kind of cool! So if you are the deliverer of these goodies, thanks! You brightened my day.

Accomplishments..

Ok. So once every two weeks is not as good as once a week, but better than once a month, right?

Today I am pleased to report that both the newsletter and class calendar are finished and have been mailed out! Now comes the large task of inventory-ing a BUNCH of new gemstone beads that arrived yesterday. These beads are part of the month long TRUNK SHOW at the store. My friend Nir of Nirvana Beads selected a great range of colors, shapes and sizes of gemstones. Green opal, amethyst, agate, lots of goodies. If my dang camera wasn't broken, I'd share some pictures.

My cousin is hard at work on a major project for her PhD in computer sciences, BUT! She is also working hard on putting together yet another website for me. I am thrilled that I will soon have a site dedicated to my memorial jewelry of dearly loved pets who have passed away. I will let you know when it's finished, but the site to be on the lookout for is www.commemorativejewelry.com. I just cleaned up the piece I made for Gonzo. Since I wear it all the time, it was getting a little dingy, so I polished the chain, did a little sanding to take out dings and scratches and re-patina-ed it. It looks great and it still is a comfort to wear. It's surprising how much I still miss him, and how much my memory of him has faded. I can't remember how tall he was, or his bark, the way he wagged his tail or tilted his head. It gets blended up with Arrow, who is a hellion and much more hyper and naughty than Gonzo was. The other day he ran away from Carlton and was gone for two hours. Then he just sauntered back, like "ok! Ready for supper!" It drives me nuts that I can't trust him off leash. Sigh.

Ok, back to the inventory. Keep your fingers and toes crossed that I can get my camera fixed!