Studio St. Jean

Stubborn Enamel

2012-02-07T16:27:00.000-08:00

Ever torch firing your enamel and it seems like it is taking for evvverrrr! Well there are a couple of reasons, but one I discovered this weekend working with some students in Charlotte. I had my first torch enameling class on Saturday and we were enameling 2" pieces. No problem, the enamel was flowing within seconds! Sunday I'm teaching another torch enameling class with 2" pieces and the enamel is taking forever to flow! What the h@#? Why such a dramatic difference? It wasn't due to the usual influences, bigger piece or not enough heat, those were constant, what could it be? What was the difference? On Saturday we used "transparent" enamel and on Sunday we used "opaque" enamel! That had to be it, so I went to my neighboring artist whom specializes on ceramic glazes etc. and asked his advise. He called an associate that used to work for the company that sold Thompsons Enamel their glass, and he said I was right on! The opaque enamel flows or fuses at a higher temperature than the transparent. The particles that make up the opaque-ness float in the glass like sand floating in the ocean while the particles that make the transparent colors dissolve or saturate in the glass like the salt in the ocean. Therefore, they fuse at different rates, this also accounts for the ability to blend transparent colors and not the opaque colors.
So long story short, if you don't have a large enough torch to get your enamels to flow, maybe by using transparent colors you may be more successful. Just sayin'

Towel Tales

2012-01-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

I am a very fortunate woman! My husband Norm does the laundry! How did I manage this you may ask!? Reverse the male psychology of "acting dumb and making stupid mistakes!". Genius! When your relationship first starts, turn all of his underwear and socks pink a couple of times, he'll take over the laundry duty! See, I don't mind pink underwear! Well anyway, the down side to this is the nagging I get about stains on my clothes. I have a bad habit of wiping my hands on my backside in the studio. Eventually enough pickle on you shirt tails and your shirt is full of holes and stains. I have the solution now, I pin a hand towel to one of my belt loops or the front of my apron with a big antique diaper pin. When I instinctively go to my backside with my wet hands, they brush against the towel and I remember to use it instead of my shirt tails. So whom has who trained? On the Eco friendly side of this towel tail, I use far less paper towels now too!

Oh Phewy!

2012-01-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning with such great expectations! I have made quite a few sketches of what I was positive would be the next years new projects, well I was greatly mistaken! Out of four that I tried to do, only one came out remotely like it was supposed to and that turned out to be pretty lame. Now don't get me wrong, they were all great in theory, they just didn't work off of paper. I have one that I've not given up on, but I've modified the original idea so much it's barely the same thing. I'll try to work on it some more tomorrow.
Today's tip comes from, "do as I say not as I do." I have been known to tell my students not to tape their pieces to their templates before using the rolling mill. There's a good reason, and I was reacquainted with that reason today when I taped my pieces to a particular spot on the template that I wanted to make sure got imprinted. I spent the next 35 minutes peeling tape off of both the sterling silver that I was texturing and the brass template. I was fortunate in the fact that it didn't adhere to the rollers of the rolling mill too. So....once again, I do not personally recommend that you tape your pieces to your texture plates or anvils for that matter, when texturing unless you enjoy picking mashed and mangled, very sticky tape off your piece when you're through texturing. If so, keep a good supply of GooGone handy. But even that didn't help me get the tape out of the deep impressions made by the texture plate. On a happy note, the texture came out very deep and exactly where I wanted it. This is the project that turned out ok. It makes a pair of earrings that is inexpensive, easy and looks great, but would not be a very good class, it's really done much too quickly for a class. This will have to be a magazine submission. Very simple and low tech.

Brass patina

2012-01-02T18:05:00.000-08:00

As we all know, liver of sulfur does not do too much for brass. There are a few other ways to get that antiqued look to brass that liver of sulfur gives copper and silver. If you want to purchase a commercial product I would suggest Silver Black, apply it to your brass with a Q-tip and you have a great looking patina. If you don't want to purchase yet another chemical, use Apple Vinegar! Yep, the stuff from the grocery store! It's cheap and very effective. All you have to do is fume your brass in a container with the vinegar. Don't submerge your piece, just seal it in the same container. One student of mine came up with a great way of doing this. She purchased a plastic pencil box, the kind with a lid that is about an inch above the rim of the base. I've found these at the dollar tree. You pour your apple vinegar in the bottom portion of the pencil box and then stretch a section of panty hose leg over it. Place your brass to be patinated on the "panty hose hammock" and close the lid. The shape of the pencil box allows for space between the vinegar, panty hose/brass and the top of the lid. Your brass piece never touches the liquid, but it gets the full effect of the fumes. Now here is the one major draw back with this process, the longer you leave it the darker the patina. It's not instantaneous like silver black. Letting your piece fume over night gives you the best results. Give it a go and let me know how it works for you. Enjoy!

2012-01-01T13:53:00.000-08:00

I've discovered two handy tools in our studio. They are not new, but I've never used them in the way that I am using them now.
The first is quite simple and I need to knock myself in the forehead like the old v8 commercials for not thinking of it sooner, duh! Okay, here it is, drum roll, 2" masking tape! Yep, you heard me, 2" masking tape. Just cover your piece of metal with the wide masking tape, draw the design you need to saw out on it and saw away!!! It doesn't move while your sawing but is easy to remove when you're through. I use a pencil, so it doesn't smear and I can erase, love it!
The second is this little 3" grinder that Norm got for me at, you guessed it Harbor Freight. It is a small bench top grinder with an attached flex shaft. On the left hand wheel there is a semi soft "fiber" wheel. I am now using this instead of my sanding sponges to take the sharp edged off of my metal! It's amazing, just run the edges on it and Presto they are rounded, no more sharp edges! And so fast!! Humongous bonus, it is under $30.00! This is my most favorite tool of 2012! Okay, it's my first most favorite tool of 2012, I'm sure there will be many more to come, at least I hope so! Happy New Year!

Update in the life of the St.Jeans through random ramblings.

2011-10-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it is once again fall. I can't believe yet another year is spinning down to a close. So much happened this year it should have been spread out over at least two years, but no, we St. Jeans cram as much in as we can. Let's see, book 2 is with the publishers and being edited and they are doing the magic that they do. The title is Metal Magic- Etch, Enamel, Pierce and Set Stunning Jewelry. It is going to be debuted at the Bead and Button 2012 show. We are on our way to the last two National shows of the year, Beadfest Arlington and Wire Masters Laguna Beach. We are driving so that we can haul all of the tools, so we are dissecting the U.S. out and back in a 3 week jaunt. Chase is not with us this year, we found an awesome private school for him to attend at our new home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He loves it and is blooming! Unfortunately that means he has to stay with his grandparents while we are on the road, or that I have to do them without Norm. Norm has really stepped up and become the best Mr. Mom on Earth. This spring and next fall I will probably be enlisting an intern or assistant. We just can't stand both of us being away from Chase for too long. So if you like to travel all over the US let me know, there's no pay, but I'm a lot of fun! Ha Don't everyone apply at once. On a happy note, our daughter decided to marry her long time boyfriend...they've been dating on and off since they were in about the 7th grade. They got back together about 3 years ago and decided to make it permanent. Their wedding was on the same day that my book was due, so it was like I gave birth and gave away my oldest all on the same day! The wedding was perfect due to Nora's fabulous new Mother-in-law whom is also named Kim. My family keeps it simple for me, I have a very difficult time remembering names so my mom and my mother in law are both named Patricia, my son and my son in law are both named Chase, and my daughters mother (me) and her mother in law are both named Kim. How's that for accommodating!? We've moved permanently to our beach cabin....well....ok...trailer! All right I've said it, I now live in a trailer, but it is on THE BEACH! It's cute and we're lovin' it. No more mortgage or hassle. It does take longer to get EVERY WHERE. We have to drive 2 hours just to get to the interstate. But it is worth it. We have a studio in Little River, which is just another section of Myrtle Beach. It's known for it's shrimp and crabs. Of coarse Norm won't eat either one! We haven't had time to unpack the boxes and set it up yet, but it's going to be great once we do. We are in a strip with two pottery studios and a little cafe'. They even have a raku pit and have a big firing party every quarter, of course I've missed two already, but I get to one eventually. When my daughter was little she used to say, "I hate ebentually?" I think I'll go take my A. D. D. medication now and let you be! Bye.

2011-06-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy...so where do I begin. Okay, we're moving to Myrtle Beach. We are down sizing yet again, and moving into our little beach get-a-way full time. We travel so much that we are hardly ever home, so we decided to just move to our vacation spot! Makes since don't you think, cause when we're not on the road that's where we want to be. Gotta be out of the apartment by July 31, gotta be out of the studio by August 31. In the mean time, I'm schedules to film 2 episodes of Beads, Baubles and Jewels in Cleveland on Tuesday, go to my 30th high school class reunion in the middle of July, write instructions for a Bead and Button project for Octobers issue, work on my project proposals for Beadfest Santa Fe, Beadfest Wire, and Bead and Button 2012, and I also found out today that I may have a late September deadline for book #2 in which I haven't even started yet. In the mean time I'm keeping up with my 2011 teaching schedule which includes 5 more weeks of William Holland, Beadfest Bead, CREATE in Chicago, Beadfest Houston and Wire Masters in Laguna, Beach. Some where in there I have to set up the new studio! Can I do it? Yes I can!

My Week filming with Beaducation

2011-01-30T18:31:00.001-08:00

The week before last, Beaducation flew me and my husband, Norm out to San Carlos, Californian to film classes for their on line store. We had a good flight leaving cold weather in Charlotte, North Carolina, despite having a 2 hour snow/ice delay in Detroit, Michigan. But I had the best Udon soup I've ever had while waiting for our flight, so I didn't complain. The flights were pleasant, we flew Delta. We were met at the airport by the wonderful and charming Kate Richbourg. She whisked us off to the Beaducation office to drop off my tools and go over the schedule for the next day. It's 8:00ish her time, but 11:00ish our time, so I'm like a zombie. Then we go to a cute new pub for dinner. It's now 12:00ish in my mind. Great food though!

The next day I was picked up by Kate leaving Norm with a peck on the cheek and on his own to occupy his day. We were in a great location for him to walk around and explore and the weather was gorgeous. All the Beaducation staff were great! Especially Rocko! The French Bull dog! Filming went well, I was a little nervous and giggled through the front shots, which they say they will black mail me with in a blooper series. But when the day was over, I felt good, everyone made me fell special. I was treated like a star! All three days or filming were a blast. I was made to feel very comfortable, it was very laid back, I truly enjoyed myself.

Let's talk about the food...the first night was good, but the food just got better as the week went on. We had Thai, Mexican, English Pub, Sushi, and Mediterranean. Needless to say it was very difficult to stay on my New Years Diet, but I wasn't too bad. I came home only 3lbs heavier than I went, and I had it back off in one week. Norm and I had a great time, and I would love to be invited back some time, next time we'll take Chase, so he and Norm can ride the train into San Fransisco!

Snow Days

2011-01-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

When snow days come about, we all revert back to our childhoods when we used to patiently wait for the announcement that school was canceled. We plan all the things we are going to do on our unexpected day off. Catch up on unread books, tackle the unorganized closet, get caught up on just about everything you've procrastinated on for the last year! And before you know it the day is over and you've done nothing but cruise facebook and read jokes people have been e-mailing you for the last month. Now I need another snow day to do the things I was supposed to do before this was proclaimed a snow day!

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T13:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. Not that 2010 was all that bad, but I feel we're going into 2011 a little bit better off than 2010. Several doors closed in 2010 and I thought it was drastic. But by those doors closing, they allowed several new ones to open. It's often frightening to step through those new doors, but I'm optimistic, and I have the best partner in the world. Norm, he boosts me when I'm down and levels me out when I'm biting off more than I can chew. I often tell people that I'm the helium balloon and he's the guy on the ground holding the string, he has to pull me back down every now and then. I'm going to say goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011, and jump in with both feet and take off running. Come run with me!

2011 Begins Now!

2010-12-26T15:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's not officially the new year yet, but I'm snowed in. Our son is in Christmas toy overdose, Norm just spent the last 9 hours putting a StarWars Lego tank thingy together (which I hope survives the playfest Chase has planned for it, he really likes to "destroy" things like on the movies), which by the way we got sucked into a two day StarWars movie marathon which is thankfully finally over. I've gotten semi caugt up on all of my e-mails. As of January 1st, Expressive Impressions will no longer exsist! We are turning the page in that part of our lives, no more beads! We are selling off our remaining inventory at a great discount, if you're interested contact Norm. We are working on getting the new website up by the first of the year, but I don't know if we'll get that done or not. If you are interested in getting on our monthly newsletter let us know. Our 2011 calander is really full again this year. There are a lot of exciting new things happening for us. My book comes out in February, the pre sales are going great! Amazon and Barnes & Noble are pre selling it as well as Kalmbach Publishing and us. They will be featuring it in the Bead and Button Booth in Tucson as well. I am flying out to San Francisco to film 4 on line instructional videos for Beaducation that will be on sale through their website. I am teaching again this year for the Create Your Style with Swarovski Elements Tucson Event, and I am very excited! I will be in a couple new shows this year, The Adorn Me! show in Houston, the Beadfest Wiremasters, the Great Lakes Bead Society and possibly CREATE! by interweave a mixed media show! Well keep watching for me, I keep popping up everywhere! I'm living my dream! Give me a holler at kim@kimstjean.com! or become my friend on face book! Kimberly Phipps St. Jean

Okay, it's finally here!

2009-11-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

Well I've been talking about it for almost 2 years, and it is really and truly here. I've gotten a signed contract, and an advance check in the mail. It is finally time to really start working on "the book." I got a brand new computer today, it has nothing on it. It's like getting a brand new spiral notebook with all the bright empty lined pages staring back at you. I've got the first load of tools at the "beach bungalo"as Nora dubbed it. I've invited my good friend Karen down for Thanksgiving weekend and New Years Eve weekend to help me come up with some of the 30+ projects that I am going to need. Norm and I have one more weekend show together in Atlanta week after next, then I am working completely on "the book" and Chases school work until March. I would like to have a few other friends down between now and then as well to kick projects around with me too. My deadline is April 15, 2010but my goal is to have it pretty much wrapped up by the first of March. Starting in March I have two big national shows to attend. I am teaching at the first annual Adorn Me show in Houston, Texas and at the Beadfest Santa Fe Show in New Mexico. In April my William Holland Lapidary Schoold schedule starts back up. As usual, I will probably not be very loyal with keeping up with the blogging, but I'll try. Ta!

Heading Home-for one day anyway!

2009-08-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess you've guessed it, since I'm updating my blog, that means we're in the car heading somewhere. Actually, we're heading home. We're only home long enough to unload, reload, teach a couple classes and then we're off again. I'm going back up to William Holland to teach an intermediate cold connections workshop, which is actually more of a mixed media workshop because I include a little soldering for bezels, pin back, earwires etc. We had a very fast few days at the beach. We didn't actually make it on the beach, but our place is just 2 streets up from the beach, so we saw it plenty. Norm bummed his knee up some how, so he was on crutches. We just sat in the golf cart and watched the beach. It's just the being here and away from everything else that's relaxing. I'm not much of a sunbather anymore. I get skin cancer too easily, and I'm not going to play that game again. I'll live much longer pale. Hopefully! But I do love to walk on the beach in the early evening and at night.
I'm hearing back from quite a few of my Philly students. I really enjoy hearing from them. The ones that are writing seem to be very happy with their newly aquired skills. That's the most I can ask for!

Beadfest Philly

2009-08-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we are on our way home from Philly. The Beadfest Philly show was great! I still can't believe it when people come up to me and say, "You're Kim St.Jean, I love your jewelry!" It still seems like a dream! I was actually interviewed on Beads and Baubles this weekend! It will be aired this spring. I'm so psyched, I'm ready to start submitting and working on new designs and articles.
We went to dinner with one of our good friends, Kim Paquette, of Create Your Style with Swarovski. She pursued a differnt line of jewelry for a while, but now she's back and we are thrilled, and to make it even better, she's now our sales representative. We talked at length about the Create Your Style with Swarovski's Ambassadorship, and I am excited to be doing more with my ambassadorship. I challanged a fellow ambassador, Fernando DeSilva, by gifting him with a couple of fold formed metal pieces. I asked him to design something fabulous with it. I have metal on the brain right now, so I'm kind of in a crystal slump. I'm hoping that Fernando will be able to get my creative juices flowing again by showing me how to incorporate my metal into something glitsy and glamorous using Swarovski Crystallized Components.
I wanted to say "Thank You to all of my outstanding students, and all of our great customers. I traded watch parts with Linda at Susan Lenart Kazmers booth for her new resine "Ice" and I can't wait to give it a try. I bought the new Upper and Lower case script and Upper and Lower case Typewriter font letter stamps, and a new annadized(sp)aluminum stamping block that doesn't dent and is light and QUIET! I will have these for sale in my classes as well as the letter stamps. I also got 29 different brass texture stamps for the rolling mill which I am also going to begin selling in my classes.
In short, a really fun show!

r

I went to bed and it was March, I wake up and it's August!

2009-08-10T19:06:00.001-07:00

Well, I was reminded again by someone that I haven't made a blog entry since March. I really can't believe it has been that long. I had all good intentions of keeping up with it better this year, and here it is August and I haven't made an entry in 5 months "ish." Is "ish" a word in Websters Dictionary yet? I really think it should be. Is there a suggestion box for Websters Dictionary? We're speeding through 2009 at ludicrous speed. I am working everyday on 2010 show proposals, and I got one the other day for 2011, yeah...freakin' 2011! I'm still waiting for 2009, and it's whizzing past me. What ever happenend to the lazy hazy days of summer when we were kids. And speaking of being kids in summer...were there this many mosquitoes when we were kids? I don't think so. Do you remember riding your bike behind the DDT truck as it sprayed the neighborhood for mosquitoes? Now, those were the good ol'days! DDT, no bike helmets, drinking water from a garden hose...oh, where was I. O.k. back to work, I'll probably write agian in 5 months or so!!

Another One Bites The Dust

2009-03-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Well...it's 11:00pm, and we're back in the big red van heading home. Atlanta was a good show, a little down from past Atlanta shows, but lets use the new excuse for everything here lately..it's the economy. This has become a very handy excuse for just about everything. In the same building as the show we were in, there was the Atlanta Arts and Crafts Show, a bridal show, a car show, and a pharmacuticals(sp) show. So there is no shortage of shows, just a shortage of show attendees. Actually, that's not correct either, the number of attendees was about the same as usual, they just spent less money. I don't know if it truly is because of the economy, or if it is due to the hype about the economy.

Thomas Mann was exhibiting in the Arts and Crafts show. I really wanted to go and see his work and meet him, but I was busy with classes, and that shows hours were the same as ours, so I was never able to get there. As we were packing up, another vendor asked if I met Thomas Mann when he came in our show. I didn't even know he had come in. He stood in front of my booth and talked with our show promoter, and I didn't even know he was there. I am so bummed out. He was right there, he may have seen my jewelry, and I didn't even know he was there. Oh well.

Chase is asleep, Charla is asleep, I'm hoping that Norm is not asleep, and we're plugging along. We'll get home tonight around 1:00am. I have 9 students coming in tomorrow at 11:00am to start a two day cold connections work shop with me, so I am looking forward to getting home and sleeping fast so I'll be up to meeting and succeeding all of their expectations!

On the road again

2009-03-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back in the "Big Red Van" again. This time we're headed to Atlanta, Georgia. We are doing a Down The Street Bead Show." I'm really looking forward to it because Barbara McGuire is also an instructor there, and we have a lot to catch up on since we last saw each other. Barbara has got several irons in the fire, and I'm a part of some of them, so watch out, here we come. We are going to be doing a workshop in Beaufort, South Carolina over the weekend of March 27-29. I've not been in Beaufort since my college days. I took Marine Science there in 1990. Wow...put away the way back machine. Anyway, we are doing a poly clay/metal combination workshop. That's going to be fun! Barbara also has another project she's working on, but I've got to talk with her some more before I can relay that info to you.

It was a very fast trip home. We barely got our laundry done, paid bills, and made some much needed supply orders, before we were off again. I did get to make a few pieces of jewelry yesterday before we packed up. I will be displaying some of my finished work this weekend as well as teaching four classes. These drives are good for me, becuase thanks to a wireless broadband card, I can now work even as we're driving down the road. Oh...lucky me! There was a day when I could lean back with my earphones on and listen to a good book as we drove, but not anymore, no, no wasting any time here. Now if I could just figure out how to work while I'm sleeping I'd have it made. Just think 9 hours a day totally wasted! I do have to admit, I design in my sleep, but all to often, I forget the design details before I wake up. I keep a sketch book by the bed, but that doesn't alway work. However, when I was using Ambien to sleep, my designs where even better, but the long term price is much to high to pay. Now I just fall asleep out of pure exhaustion.

Those of you who are waiting to hear about "the book" will be glad to hear that I have at least turned it in, and the publishers are discussing it, so keep you fingers crossed.

Well we're hitting Atlanta traffic, and I'm not too thrilled about having an airbag shove a computer up my nose, so ta for now.

Melbourne, Florida

2009-02-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

Melbourne Florida is a charming little town. We have been here three days. We try to make it a habit when we are in new places to try non-chain food establishments. So far, Melbourne has offered us some real treats. Norm and Charla arrived several hours ahead of Chase and I on Monday, so they found a great little pizza parlor called "Sweet Tomatoes." Not to be confused with the big salad/soup bar chain. It was just a little restaurant with good home made pizza. Chase and I arrived in time to have a slice too. Tuesday we went to a restuarant called the Harbour Diner which boasts in having the best burger in town. Well the claim was true! I consider myself a conosuer in burgers, this was hands down one of the best burgers I have ever had, and it was definately the biggest burger I have ever had. It was 12oz, yes, that is 3/4lbs of beef! It was cooked evenly all the way through too. I like a medium steak, but I like a well done burger. I was skeptical when I saw others coming out of the kitchen and saw how big they were, I feared it would be uncooked in the center, but much to my amazement, it was cooked completely. It was awesome. I ate the whole thing...there went the diet...but it was worth it!
Last night we met up with some friends that we haven't seen in 8 years. They have had three children since we last saw them and we have had Chase since they moved from Charlotte. It was great linking back up with Kevin and Vicki. It was as though we hadn't been away for more than a month or two, we fell right back into comfortable banter. No awkward moments of unfamiliarity that you sometime have when hooking back up with old friends. Far too often you lose what ever it was that made you friends in the first place, and find you really have nothing in common any longer. I really enjoyed our visit, and was thrilled to meet their new family members.
Today was my cold connections class with the Melbourne Gem and Mineral Club. They have a very active club with over 100 memebers. Our class was from 9-5 and we had 18 students in attendance. This was a great group of people. Some large groups that I teach are easier than others. This was an easy group, and very friendly. Everything went smoothly, and we all shared tools like good boys and girls. Everyone left with very good finished or close to finished projects. Each was unique and appealing. I look forward to working with this group again someday.
Tomorrow we are heading out for Tampa. We have a 3 day show there with The Down The Street Bead Show. I'm hoping to get to hit some thrift stores and hardware stores on the way. I'll let you know if I find anything good.
Happy Trails!
Kim

Driving

2009-02-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well, Chase (our 5 year old son)and I went to get the oil changed on my van yesterday, because I can't remember when I had it done last, so that we could head down to Melbourne, Florida to meet up with Norm. The oil guy said my 1998 van looked great...except...don't you love it....he wouldn't drive it all the way to Florida because the blah blah blah(at this point my eyes glazed over, and my ears quit working)belt was dry rotted and was bound to break at any moment. Right! He showed me the offending belt, told me what it would cost to fix, not a part of the coupon deal of course. I said no thank you, got on I-77 and headed South to Florida. I have road side assistance, if it breaks I'll just call them. Right!?!
Anyway, 9 hours later we're in Melbourne. Thank goodness for DVD players and books on CD. Thank goodness for the fact that one of us was willing to wear earphones. I don't know which cartoons(he was in the earphones) kept Chase busy in between potty breaks, and naps, but Thank you! He was a trooper. He usually is however! He's a great little traveler. I listened to the "The Shack" on CD. Not my ususal genre', but very interesting. I would recommend it. Some points where very enlightening. There were a couple times it brought me to tears, and a couple times I simply said,"hmmm." I was inspired by the way some questions that I myself have asked about "God" were answered by the characters in this tail. I found this book very refreshing, I could see where some might not care for it, and others would relate to it as I do. If you get a chance, read it. When that book was finished, I started Amy Tans; Saving Fish From Drowning. I'm not very far into it, but anything by Amy Tan is good. She has such a way of writing. It's a story narrated by a ghost. Just my sort of thing! I'll let you know how it is when I drive from here back home!

Leaving Town Again

2009-02-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

Leaving town is a two sided coin. I look forward to the new people, and experiences I always have when I go out of town to teach at a show or other venue, but I don't like the actual leaving. Of course we all hate the packing and tying to remember everything we're going to need while we are away, that's not what I'm talking about. It's the "guilt" of being away. Traveling seems on the surface to be a glamorous profession, but it rarely is. We are not exempt from the duties of home, they are merely postponed. Believe me, they are all waiting for you as soon as you step back into your house. It is a law, I believe, that anything and everything that can go wrong, will as soon as you embark on a business trip. Your dog sitter gets sick, the hot water heater quits working, the biggest snow storm ever recorded hits town. It never fails. Each time I leave on a trip, I think to myself, next year I'm not going to schedule this many trips. But while your at the show and everyone is excited and motivated, they ask if you'll come back soon, and in the emotional high, you say "of course I will, how soon would you like me back!" I can't help it, I love being out there working with people. I love seeing how excited my students get when they learn a new skill. I love the look of "ah ha...that's how you do that" the students get when you share a new skill. I love the look of accomplishment they have when they finish a project that they never thought they'd be able to do. So will I do less shows next year? Probably not, no, hopefully not. So...I'll see you out there somewhere. And if I don't come anywhere close to you, call me, I'll schedule you in too! insert "they're coming to take me away" crazy laugh!

The Worst 4 Letter Word EVER!!!

2009-02-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

DIET!
There...I said it!
I hate to diet, yet I have been cursed with this foul four letter word my entire life. Well since I was 7 anyways! I started another one Thursday, and I'm hanging strong. It's Saturday. 3 days is usually a mile stone for me. Okay, okay, I'm weak. I can't help it, I love food. I wake up thinking about what I'm going to eat throughout the day, and I go to bed worrying about what I'm going to get to eat the next day. It could be worse. I could be an alcholic or on crack or addicted to cigarretes. But no, I'm addicted to something you can't just stop cold turkey! I've read all the diet books, watched The Biggest Loser for 2 seasons (that was enough), tried most of the diets. I've had successes, but the addiction always comes back. The dreaded buffet, or all inclusive vacation, and down the slippery slide of over weight I go again. It's just not fair. My husband, I'll refer to him as Norm from here on out (well, that really is his name) has a great metabolism and he hates almost all food. So he is like,never tempted at buffets and cover dish meals because he trust no one. Everyone is in a conspiracy to get him to eat something he doesn't "like" so he eats nothing. No caserole for him. Man, I'd eat anything in a caserole. I'd probably win the reality show that made you eat really gross stuff if they'd put it in noodles, throw some cream of mushroom in and cover it with cheese. Enough, I guess you've figured out at this point that I'm hungry.
I'm writing this as I choke down another salad. I figured if I wrote while I ate lunch, I could stretch it out a little longer, and I wouldn't be as preoccupied with what I'm going to eat for dinner as soon. Well got to go. I'll keep you posted! Hopefully I'll make it to day 4. One day at a time, as the saying goes.

A Weekend in Tucson

2009-02-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

Well...I had to take a day at home to get all caught up on computer stuff. I've checked, answered and deleted e-mails. Added a photo to my Facebook. Filled out an application for an on line writing position. Down loaded a contract for a publishing release. Now I'm trying to update my blog, and then I need to add some jewelry to my Etsy account because suddenly stuff is selling. In between all of this, I've done laundy, cleaned up again and again and again etc. etc. after our new family member, a Boston Terrier pup with health issues, waxed my daughters eye brows, built a train track for my son, and done many trips to the refrigerator to satisfy his every dietary desire. How do people work at home!?! It's crazy! My dryer just stopped...again...so now I have to go do that. I'd rather be at work, it's easier.

Now...about the bead and jewelry world. We went to Tucson on a very short trip. We did not exhibit this year. With the down sizing of our shops deadline, the economy, and a broken transmission in our motor home, we decided to cut our loses and just do the teaching for Swarovski and a quick meet and greet with some of our friends and suppliers that we only see this time of year. As for the show, there wasn't anything new that jumped out at me. The stone that I saw the most of was turquoise, both fake and real, unfortunately in some cases "I'm sure unintentionally" miss labeled, buyers beware! There is not a thing in this world wrong with "fake" turquoise, as long as it is marketed as such. The colors that I noticed the most were bright fall colors. This was available mostly in dyed magnasite(a turquoies imposter.) The colors are bold and beautiful, even to a gal like me that likes organic, Earthy colors. There was bright orange, burnt orange, red, burnt red, green, sage, yellow, gold, brown and more! The magnasite holds the color very well, and the natural brown veining lends itself to these awesome colors perfectly. There were so many shapes and sizes you could have filled an entire showcase in nothing but this stone and some vendors did just that. The best thing about these stones however is the price! They are very inexpensive. You could purchase several strands and still be able to afford lunch, which cost more than the stones at the outside show vendors.

One thing that we took note of this year that was new, was the fact that anyone selling sterling silver in any of the GLW shows had to have a sign posted in their booth stating that their silver was in fact .925. With the rise in silver last year, some people were not the most forth coming with this information. If not asked specifically, is it .925, and just, is it silver, the answer was often yes! For indeed, it was "silver" in color. But when tested, some of the material tested out .675, nickel, pewter and "German silver." Now if we could just do something like that for the stone buyers that are often dupped with reconstituted stones, dyed stones, and resine stones sold as natural. If you are going to take the beading business seriously, and consider yourself professional you must become educated. Read magazines, books and take classes. Learn how to ask the right questions and build relationships with vendors that have good reputations. Price is not the most important issue in buying, you get what you pay for. Not just in the items purchased, but in the reliability of the vendor once you get home with the product. Will you be able to purchase more of the same item? Will someone that answers the phone when you call the number from the card or invoice be able to understand your question and answer you clearly when you call?

On a fun note. We went to the Swarovski Cocktail party again this year. It is always the high point of the show. It is the who's who of crystal designing and sales. Margot Potter, Katie Haker, Fernando DeSilva, Lisa Palveka, Laura Timmons, Anna Dreagars and many more outstanding designers, authors, publishers, show promoters, shop owners and friends were there, not to mention the wonderful Swarovski staff! It's so much fun to meet up with all of your peers and share! We usually all meet like this twice a year, during the Tucson show and during the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee in June.
Well, I'll save some more for the next time I can steal the time to write! I'm going to be better this year than I was last year. I promise.
Kim

Hello Again

2009-02-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been almost a year since I posted anything on my blog. I am going to try to start this again. 2008 was an incredible year. It started of course with Tucson, which is alway exciting. Then there was The Bead and Button show which was such a rush for me, I felt like Cinderella at the ball. I taught 9 weeks at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts, and fell in love. I had so much fun up there, that I signed on for 12 weeks this year.
2009 is going to be the busiest year I've ever had. It is the beginning of February and we have already done 4 bead shows. We have completely restructured our shop to be smaller, yet more efficient in customer service and studio space. We are getting ready to fly out to Tucson, where I'll teach for Swarovski for the 5th year. We have had to cancel our booths for selling this year, but maybe we'll try again next year. In April I start up at William Holland again, then in May I'll be in Philadelphia teaching at the Beadfest Wire Show. We return to Milwaukee again this year and I am teaching a whopping 14 classes! I can't believe it. I get butterflies everytime I think about it. August takes us back to Philadelphia for the Beadfest Bead Show. In between all of this, I'll be teaching at the Down the Street Bead Shows, William Holland and various gem clubs, bead stores and private organizations. I am so psyched! There is nothing I enjoy more than traveling and teaching. I am working on a book proposal for Kalambach and I am continuing to write for various bead magazines. I'm living my dream! Peace! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this a little better this year.

Sh#* Happens

2008-04-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

I got in last night at 11:45 from a show in Atlanta. And yes, I am back in the shop gearing up for 2 shows this weekend. I'll be in Asheville teaching at a studio called Earthspeak Arts, and Norm and Drew are headed down to Miami to exhibit in the Interweave Beadfest. Life goes on, as usual.

I met up with Barbara McGuire, and talked with her about her new exciting DVD's coming out, and all the workshops she's been doing. She's heading to Ohio this week to do some more work. Barbara is such a classy lady. She's going to be doing more classes here at Expressive Impressions, and at the Down The Street Bead Shows. Rick and Audrey's Down The Street Bead Show is a great little bead show. Rick is a very fair promoter, and we get some really good instructors and great Artists in these shows, if you are ever on the East Coast, you should check out this show.

Now I'm going to spill out my "goat" of the day. If you sign up to take a class with an instructor, you should make an effort to go to that class. This is how we are able to offer good classes and quality instructors. If you don't show up for a class that you have pre-registered for you cause a domino effect. The classes falsely fill up, the instructor over buys materials and tools (out of their own pockets,) and this is how we instructors make our living. Do you stand up the doctor? No, because he charges you anyway. Do you arrive at your job in the morning only to hear,"Oh, we don't have any work for you today, so you're not getting paid." Well, when you don't show up, we don't get paid. We've still paid our rent to the promoters, paid our hotel bills/expenses, and bought all the materials for you to use. Plus we may have given up the date for another show to honor the appointment made for you. And the fact that you registered bumps out a seat for someone that might actually have shown up.

You complain about how expensive the "big" bead show classes are... well this is why! You have to pay in advance, and you are paying a middle man. But we instructors get paid even if you don't show up. Now I hate to take deposits and I don't want people to have to pay deposits, because that's money that quite frankly could be earning you interest in your bank account, or buying this weeks groceries, but this may be what more and more of us will have to do.

All of us instructors are artists first. We don't like the $$$ part of the business, but when it comes down to it, it's the $$$ that count as much as I hate to admitt it. If you want to keep good instructors coming to your local bead shops and attending your local bead shows, start supporting the instructors and artists that exhibit at them. Give them the credit they deserve. Buy the Artists work, don't just copy it. Take a class, don't just watch or interupt by asking enough questions that you think you can figure it out.

I teach over 100 classes a year. But I squeeze in as many classes on my few days off as I can manage. I volunter to teach classes so that I can be compt classes. I assist other instructors so that I can learn from them. It is only April and I have already signed up, paid for, shown up to, and taken 6 classes myself. I am teaching 5 classes in Milwaukee at the Bead and Button Show. On the only day I have off, I am taking a class...and paying full price for it.

Support you artists and instructors or they will disappear.

ok, I'm done. Never mind. I feel better now. I know... I'm preaching to the choir.

Kim

2008-03-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

I don't have any friends other than family. Everyone in my life is either a family member or is associated with me through our bead business. My father was in the military, so we moved all the time. I have no childhood school buddies. I went to college as an adult. I had a baby and was married, so there was no campus social life. I'm not whinning, I'm just stating the facts. In short...I have no "girl friends." All of my "social" life is business related.

What pre-empted this is that my customers make up my list of "friends." And though they are "customers," I consider them friends. I have one "friend" that I could ask to do anything and she would with out question. She has gone on week long teaching trips with me where there were no air conditioners. She went on a one day teaching trip with me where I had an allergic reaction and she had to drive my car 2 hours home while I basically passed out. I consider her a true friend.

I have 2 children. One is on the threshold of 20, and the other is 4. The 4 year old spends a lot of time with us at the shop. Most of my customers know our children. Our 4 year old, Chase, has had a "lovey" since the day he was born. It's a little blue blanket with a brown dog head sewn in the corner. He and this blanket are inseperable. Well about 3 months ago, he lost it in the parking lot of our shop. We looked every where. We posted reward signs. We went to Target, Walmart, Babies R Us, everywhere. We finally gave up, but Chase did not. Everynight he would bring up the loss of "Sheesh." One night he told my he had a great idea, he was going to ask Santa to bring him Shish back. The next day I was teaching one of my regular students and she asked if we had found Chases lovely. I told her what he had said the night before. She asked my to describe him and show her a picture. This all took place about 2 weeks ago. Well, she walked up to me this weekend at a bead show and asked if I had time to accept a present from her. She pulled out a box. When I opened it, "sheesh" was inside. It was in slightly better shape than the original, but beautiful!!! I started crying and hugging her. This is a TRUE friend. She spent hours on line looking for this stuffed animal. She made a huge difference in my sons life. He has a few questions about why Shish looks "fatter." But he has not let go of him yet. People like Pam are why I love my job. I love the fact that I consider many of my customers friends.

Are horoscopes for real?

2008-03-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of days, my horoscopes has sounded right on target with the thoughts that I've been having lately about my work. Is it coincidental, or do we read into them what we want to hear. I just think it's interesting when they seem to be so close to what's going on in your life. I had a student a couple of weeks ago that reads Tarot cards for a living. She wanted to give me a reading when we finished our class, but I said no thank you. All I need is something else to worry about. My husband, Norm, says that I worry about things to worry about. It is kind of nice to live in ignorant bliss to a certain extent. I really don't want to know what my future holds, and I can still remember the past, so why do I need a reading? I was one of those kids at the slumber party that went home when someone brought out the Ouija board. I admit it, I'm a scardy cat. Why tempt fate. But I do enjoy the daily horoscope in the newspaper.

I taught cold connections to a group of 13 women yesterday. Man was I tired. We worked from 9:00-5:00, but it was a lot of fun. I hope to work with some of these energetic ladies again some time.

I was thrilled today to find out that I will be seeing Barbara McGuire next weekend. She and I will both be teaching at The Down The Street Bead Show in Atlanta. Barbara is such a classy lady, I just love her.

Well Norm is sitting at the kitchen table counting out and bagging beads so I'd better go and help him. The fun of owning a bead shop never ends, it's 10:00 p.m., we were at the shop until 8:00 p.m. loading the van for a show this weekend, and now where bagging beads. WeeHaa!

Bead On!
Kim

Thanks everyone!

2008-03-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today was great! Thank you everyone for your warm welcome to the bloggersphere.

I now realize that no one knows how to take a day off. I spent most of yesterday catching up on all my e-mails and getting back in touch with old e-mails that I hadn't heard from in a while or had sent off into the great blue no where quite unintentionally. Well apparently I wasn't the only one because I got more e-mail from real people today than I ever have. Usually I just get my Harbor Frieght Ad, Books-a-Million coupon, and my 3rd week free with NutriSystem e-mails. But not today, boy I heard form everyone. I felt so over whelmed with joy that I almost cried. Thank you everyone.

I had a customer today that told me a story that made me as a shop owner feel pretty good. She said that she had been in one of my competitors stores last week (which I am totally cool with, we are friends) and a lady shopping was looking at a finished piece of jewelry. The lady made the rather rude remark to the sales clerk, "Well... I'm assuming by the price that this is sterling silver!" The clerk politely aswered, "Yes, it is." And went about her business. My friend walked up to her and said, "Hi, I'm a customer here too. Do you make jewelry?" The lady answered, "No." My friend said, "I do. You know it's not all that easy. Do you have a job?" The lady answered, "Yes, I do." My friend said, " Do you get paid?" The lady gave her a strange look and said, "Yes I do." Then my friend said, "They do too."

I think most people forget this. It's not just the components that we put into our finished work, it's our time, creativity, and love that we put into our work. How are we paid for this. By the ever changing price of silver? The amount of time it took to make? It's a question that has many answers and no answers, but it is probably the most frequently asked question that I get from my students.

Bead on buddies,
Kim

I'm New At This, Be Gentle With Me

2008-03-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well I've gotten this far.

Today is Easter and I made a promise to myself that I would do things today that I have been putting off. I promised a friend of mine (name dropping), Margot Potter a.k.a. The Impatient Beader that I would get with it and start a blog. So here I go.

I wear a lot of hats. I really don't know where I hang said hat. Along with all the family hats, i.e. wife, mother, daughter, friend etc. I am professionally a bead shop owner, instructor, designer, and writer.

I few myself as one of the luckiest people alive because I get to pursue my passion professionally. And not only that, but I am surrounded my my family 24/7 in this profession. My husband, Norm, works with me full time (yes, we still like each other.) My daughter, Nora (20 years old),helps run our shop. Nora's boyfriend,Drew, helps us at our trade shows and in the shop. My ex-sister in law ( long story), Tammy, is our shop manager and web master. Our change of life son , Chase, (4yrs old), is raised by the "village" consisting of all of us including my parents and my mother in law. I said I was the luckiest person in the world, I don't know if the previosly mentioned people share my enthusiasm or not. I often feel that I sucked them all into my personal black hole.

I think of my path to all of this as a beaders epic journey, hey, that sounds like a book title, hint hint. But I have to say, I don't like to limit my self to the title "Beader." This whole life style/hobby is so much more than just beading. We recently had a discussion in our family about what a "master" is, i.e. master silversmith etc. and Drew made the comment that maybe to be considered a master you had to pick one medium and really stick with it. I immediately said, "Then I'll never be a master." I have a passion to do more! That is why I am so drawn to mixed medium. The thought of getting to combine so many exciting mediums is overwhelming. And so many new things keep coming out. Well enough of that soap box. Moving on.

An interesting thing happend in our shop yesterday. A little back ground info here first. Our shop is just undr 4,000 square feet. It is divided into 4 sections. Generally there is staff in 3 of the rooms at all times, but there are times when a room may not be totally under observation. We also have a "make yourself at home" policy. I know that I personally don't like to be smothered by over helpful sales people, so we greet our customers, give them an over view of how our system works if they are new custormers and then turn them loose to enjoy. Well, much to my dimay, we have had to install security cameras. We've been noticing some things missing in the last few months. Getting back to the event of yesterday. We received a anonymous box containing almost $1,000.00 worth of our beads and a note stating that these items belonged to us and were being returned. This note indicated that the sender had an "illness" and was returnig items taken from us. This elicited mixed feelings in me. I was glad the person was trying to come clean and return stolen items. But I also felt betrayed and sad. The items taken appear to be things taken over a long period of time. So this person is most likely a regular customer that we have trusted to shop unaccompanied and at there own leasure. Did they return the beads because they want to do better, or are they afraid they have been caught on camera? Shoud we change our "our customers are our friends" policy and start watching everyone the entire time they are in our shop? Or do we continue with our open door policy and again believe that most people are honest and should be trusted? I would appreciate your input to this?
Kim