A quick update...

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, I promise.

First, I was here:



(San Francisco, Lombard Street in particular)

And then I was home in Michigan for a week, and now I'm in Wisconsin, awaiting the arrival of the Bead & Button Show. I'll be helping at a friend's booth, like I do every year. It's a huge show and a very hectic time of year for me, so updates will be few and far between, I'm sorry to say.

I've put notices on my Etsy, ArtFire & eBay stores about being gone, and I've paused all of my online advertising until I return. I am focused on working hard...oh, and buying beads! I'll be looking out for the amazing and awesome. I've already bought some fantastic Swarovski rondelles.

I am also considering taking this blog back to Blogger. I really like WordPress, but I've started to realize that most jewelry/bead friends are on Blogger, and it might just be easier to interact if I go back there. I'm not sure yet; I'll be talking to other bloggers at the show to find out their thoughts on the subject, too.

Hopefully I'll have time to check in again; if not, see you on the 18th!

The show must go on

I leave tomorrow for an actual vacation!

I know, it's hard to believe. I'm always leaving, right? But those aren't vacations; they're business trips. This is an honest-to-goodness vacation in San Francisco. No beads, no pliers, no work of any kind. Just me, some sourdough bread, and a cable car. I'm so excited!

When I leave, I have two choices. I can either put the online business on hold, or not. If I put everything on hold, that means I shut down my online venues, put up a banner on the website, and make myself look small. Online, that is, because it certainly doesn't work in real life.

If I don't, then it's up to my very dear, sweet husband to take care of things while I'm gone. He gets to pack orders, send emails to people, and wear my Laurel Moon hat for a week. Which is what I'm doing this time. I hope he doesn't get too frazzled.

In the meantime, here's a sneak preview of the next set of auctions:



I wonder who'll win these pretty cabs? I'm just finishing the listings right now, and they'll start on Sunday.

I'll be home around the 14th. Hope you all have a great week! See you when I get back.

And now...semiprecious stone

I've sold vintage beads and cabs and glass gems on eBay and Etsy for a few years now, and I always hesitated about selling semiprecious stone. I mean, everyone else is selling it, right? You can get everything you want at any time and at rock bottom prices, right?

But then I took a good hard look at the things I can get, and the prices, and I realized that I have access to a lot of funky semiprecious stone that most people will never ever see. Amethyst slices, ammonite beads, gorgeous rhyolite and fossil coral...why not share? Sure, there will always be someone who will have something cheaper. But they won't ever have that exact bead, and if I choose the really standout stones, and I have them for a good price, then it could be something great!

So I went out on a limb and picked up a few strands of yummy beads. Smoky quartz handcarved rounds, rhyolite and fossil coral disks, lodalite quartz, some fantastic ammonites...and guess what? I took them to a couple shows, and they sold! Beaders liked how unique they were, and they liked buying just one or two instead of a whole strand.

Now I've decided to try this in my Laurel Moon eBay store and my Laurel Moon Beads Etsy shop and see how it goes. I've already sold a few lots, which is exciting, and I just put a few new pieces up, including this standout ammonite bead:



Can you see the opalization at the center? Just fabulous. I love sharing these awesome beads!