Happy New Year

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!