PANTONE COLORS FALL 2011

Bamboo
is a soft warm golden color, like butterscotch amber, golden calcite (http://www.beadbear.com/g0901.shtml), citrine, topaz, yellow sapphire, canary diamonds, champagne pearls (http://www.beadbear.com/c0111.shtml ) or serpentine; moissanite. Contrast with tiger-eye topaz (http://www.beadbear.com/i0308.shtml), or vintage tiger glass (http://www.beadbear.com/f1002.shtml) Wear with brown, green, or red (http://www.beadbear.com/h0905.shtml)


Emberglow
a gentle orange, like the glow of a Padparadscha sapphire, orange chalcedony, Madagascar citrine; carnelian (http://www.beadbear.com/f1007.shtml); red jasper; Baltic amber, a favorite gemstone of Catherine the Great(http://www.beadbear.com/d0907.shtml); some alexandrite; goldstone. Contrast with green (peridot), apple chalcedony or demantoid garnets. Wear with your favorite camel-hair slacks or skirt and cashmere.


Honeysuckle
in the rose family, suggesting rhodolite garnet(http://www.beadbear.com/d0909.shtml); lepidolite (http://www.beadbear.com/a0207.shtml; http://www.beadbear.com/g0910.shtml, mauve pearls (http://www.beadbear.com/c0907.shtml), pink tourmaline, rhodochrosite, pink sapphire, rubies (http://www.beadbear.com/b0111.shtml) or cherry quartz. Wear with white, black or purple suitings for dramatic effect


Phlox
purple-blue a versatile hue that is complimented by (http://www.beadbear.com/h0909.shtml), amethyst, tanzanite, iolite, blue aventurine, purple aventurine, blue lace agate, blue sapphire, aquamarine; mystic topaz. Can be contrasted with rhodolite garnet.


Cedar
a subtle greenish khaki or putty color: suggests rutilated quartz (http://www.beadbear.com/g0908.shtml), serpentine (http://www.beadbear.com/f0207.shtml), jade, labradorite, chrome diopside, peridot, nephrite (http://www.beadbear.com/g0909.shtml), green tourmaline, heliodor, chrome diopside, green aventurine (http://www.beadbear.com/f1005.shtml); nephrite; pearls; alabaster


Deep Teal
a perennial favorite to show off malachite (http://www.beadbear.com/d0908.shtml), emeralds, deep green tourmaline, rutilated quartz, bronze, or green peacock-dyed freshwater pearls (http://www.beadbear.com/h0907.shtml; http://www.beadbear.com/f0904.shtml; http://www.beadbear.com/d0901.shtml); moss agate, and turquoise (http://www.beadbear.com/f1010.shtml); amazonite-Chinese(http://www.beadbear.com/d0903.shtml) or Russian. Contrast with rubies (http://www.beadbear.com/b0111.shtml)


Coffée Liqueur
velvety brown with a grey undertone, like chocolate diamonds, smokey topaz or quartz (http://www.beadbear.com/e0311.shtml; http://www.beadbear.com/f1012.shtml), Siberian amber (http://www.beadbear.com/f1009.shtml); dyed freshwater pearls (http://www.beadbear.com/e0902.shtml); (http://www.beadbear.com/e0905.shtml)


Nougat
better than beige or ecru: kunzite, morganite, pearls (http://www.beadbear.com/c0902.shtml; http://www.beadbear.com/f1016.shtml), rose quartz (http://www.beadbear.com/f1014.shtml;http://www.beadbear.com/f0905.shtml), pink or champagne diamonds


Orchid Blush
palest gray: Akoya pearls, labradorite, moonstone, star sapphires, aquamarine; natural blue topaz. Contrast with onyx, black diamonds, Tahitian pearls. Contrast with rubies or garnet, or Venetian glass gold foil beads (http://www.beadbear.com/c0903.shtml)


Quarry
pale blue-gray; aquamarine, blue topaz,London blue topaz®, blue sapphires, star sapphires, pearls (http://www.beadbear.com/h0902.shtml), lapis (http://www.beadbear.com/f1003.shtml)or amazonite (http://www.beadbear.com/d0903.shtml); blue diamonds

Wedding Tips For A Successful Marriage

I have found the more that is spent on the wedding, the shorter the marriage. There are some very famous weddings we've all heard about that cost thousands, which lasted only a few months or weeks!
 
When my husband and I got married in 1990, we spent a grand total of $658.00, which included the marriage license, engraved invitations, postage, wedding cake( had that made), food (we catered it ourselves), paper plates, glasses, cutlery, napkins, flowers (I went to the wholesale florist and bought flowers for the table, a spray of orchids for the bridal party to wear, roses for me, plus everything with which to assemble the bouquet and corsages and buttonieres for the groom and his best man, and my "best broad"), clothes and rings. We got married at our local bar. Actually outside, in front of a mural painted on the side of the building by an artist friend of ours. The owner was so tickled that we asked, that he gave us two cases of (very nice) champagne! We had a friend that was licensed to perfom weddings marry us. She was delighted that we asked, and we wrote our own vows. The photographer was the husband of my "best broad".
 
My fiance (now husband) found 2 beautiful velvet jackets for his best man and himself at a thrift store. They looked as if they had never been worn and were  perfect fits for both of them! My dress came from a shop in the neighborhood. I had been lusting after it for quite a while; when I went to buy it it had been marked down from $99 to $35! Went to the fabric shop and bought a hat, and various bits of lace, ribbons, silk flowers and crystals. A friend of mine who is a costumer, assembled it for me. The lace designer shoes were marked down to $12.00,new from Bakers', and matched exactly the lace on the hat.
 
The diamond engagement ring is a beautiful antique,from 1897- just under 1/2 a carat, that I purchased from a local jeweler who was recommended to me by my orthopedic surgeon: he called him and told him to give us a good deal. As I am a jewelry designer, I purchased our wedding rings wholesale.
 
We invited 100 guests. Some of our friends also brought food for the occasion. We got married a little after noon; left around 2pm. As we lived and worked in the French Quarter, a buggy driver that we knew drove us away, with ribbons and flowers that he had decorated his carriage with, just for the occasion. We heard that the party lasted another 10 hours, and made the 6 o'clock news! A year after we got married, we were still receiving wedding pictures from tourists that happened to stop in. The bar owner said that was the biggest ring-out he had ever had.
 
We have been very happily married now for over twenty years.

Love, Laughter. Happy Ever After,
Anne the Beadbear
http://www.beadbear.com

A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry Featured in MUSES

A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry designed by Anne Renée Timmons-Harris is featured this week at MUSES Shopping Magazine

Setting Boundaries When Your Home is Your Studio/Office

Clearly designate the time of day when you are at work, and do not allow family members to interfere or interrupt during that period (unless the house is on fire). Be consistent. This includes pets, children as well as spouses. Walk the dogs before getting started. Feed the cats. Give them treats, toys, the catnip sock. Chances are your pets will learn to leave you alone before the kids or your spouse will; they understand low growls and snarling. The humans may require more behavior modification, and ask “why?” Closing the door may help. Borrow your teen's “Enter and Die” door sign. When all else fails, throw your shoes at them.(Just kidding, sort of)

Make sure the children have been fed, or have suitable snacks available. Schedule your work when the baby is asleep. Instruct them that you are “off limits” during the designated time. You will not be available to mediate spats during this time. If your spouse or partner is also home, let them supervise the kids, be in charge of dinner. Remind your spouse or partner that this is how you bring money into the family coffers. Enlist them as an ally; leave the red lipstick out on the bathroom sink as an inducement.

When friends call to chat, let the call go to voice mail. Call them back, but after work. The ones that get huffy or drop you weren't really your friends, and you're well rid of them now, before you hit the big time. Your neighbors are just being nosey. Explain as well as you can ahead of time to your mother and your mother-in-law, that you are conducting business during whatever time you've designated. Better yet if your spouse or partner is home, let them handle the calls. Try to arrange your schedule so that they are in charge of fielding social calls while you're at work, just like if you were working outside the home.

Make sure you call your Mom or your mother in law back, after work, and explain (remind) them that this is another way that you are able to bring income in, without the added expense of driving, or baby sitters.

Establish that boundary amd maintain it. Doesn't matter if it's different times during the week. It may help to post your schedule on the refrigerator for all to see. Good luck!

Anne the Beadbear
http://www.beadbear.com

Commentary on breakdown of the Kimberley Process:

http://www.jckonline.com/blogs/cutting-remarks/2011/06/29/human-rights-and-kimberley-process?utm_source=JCK+eNewsletters&utm_campaign=3062d47770-2011_06_29_Diamond_Wednesday6_27_2011&utm_medium=email

One has to start somewhere. And granted, while the desired outcome hasn’t occurred, that doesn’t mean that having an ongoing discussion won’t have a positive effect…eventually. Of course when greed and profit are involved, good intentions will be left by the wayside every time. Note the lack of cooperation by China and Russia, two countries notorious for their casual regard for human life. india too has their nose out of joint because they were making profit from cutting contraband stones. Remember how upset they were when Tanzania nationalized their mines, and demanded that tanzanite cutting be done in their country, rather than exporting all their rough to India. India’s shrieking and keening was outrageous and deafening, but wholly out-of-place.

And especially China with their abhorrent record with respect to human rights. From Tiananmen Square, to the ongoing and futile US efforts to coax China into not using toxic materials in their manufacture of children’s jewelry. The Chinese government just doesn’t care. They’re just as unconcerned about killing their own people as killing others’.

Russia is also first and foremost all about Russia. Between the behavior of their government and their crime-boss oligarchs, all pleas fall on deaf ears.

Furthermore both countries function under the premise that anything the West and in particular the US is for they are automatically going to be against. Just because.

Until some kind of way this becomes too (read expensive) painful to China, and Russia, and/or greed ceases to become a motivation, nothing is going to change. Angola , Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone will also continue to abuse their own people, because a) they can and b) its lucrative c) them’s what gots the biggest guns and the most ammunition makes the rules

Beadbear
http://www.beadbear.com

Fine Jewelers Advised to Avoid Beads

Reply to GUEST EDITORIAL: BEAD-WARE!
http://news.centurionjewelry.com/articles/view/guest-editorial-bead-ware


I have successfully designed and sold fine bead jewelry FOR YEARS! I am highly amused by the retail jewelers that have come so late to the retail success that bead jewelry has enjoyed since the time of the Neanderthals.
You remind me of all those old European fuddy-duddy royals that sneered at Za Za Gabor when she married that Austrian noble. They were appalled that she wore with her lavish diamond necklace, bracelets and rings one of her lovely crystal and platinum beauty crowns when she was “presented” to them in the 60’s.
The problem for all those who march in lock step and buy the same items is REDUNDANCY. Your customers that like beads and wear them do not want to see the same damn thing everywhere they go. They are a more sophisticated and educated shopper than you obviously suppose.
What you fail to apprehend is that women and men who wear and enjoy bead jewelry also wear gold, platinum and silver. I know because many of them are MY customers, some of whom have ten or more of my designs. They are very comfortable wearing both, either separately or at the same time.
Of course, I create exclusively one of a kind pieces, that are hand-knotted, with quality findings. Selling the identical items that everyone else has is a sure path to failure.
Further, in these difficult times, the savvy retailer has merchandise that appeals to all price points. Pam Danziger also observed that the affluent shoppers are now shopping more at Target than Nordstrum’s.
I don’t mean to rip on you but this is the same attitude that keeps retails from using all marketing tools, including the internet and social media, as Scott Galloway stated so clearly at the GIA Symposium.

Beadbear
http://www.beadbear.com

Why Taxing Online Shopping Is Unfair

The hysterical lobbying for sales tax to be collected by online retailers reminds me of a story about two farmers on a dairy collective in the old Soviet Union.

Vanya and Vasili were farmers at the dairy collective. They both came to the collective at the same time, and were alloted the same amount of cows. All the cows on the collective grazed in the same fields and meadows. All the farmers drew water out of the same well. The farmers supplemented the grazing with feed purchased for them by the collective.The collective did well, and were able to purchase more cows the following year. There was even a little money left over that was divided among all the farmers, based upon their cows' production.Vasili used the money he received for his cow's milk to build a big house a heated barn. Vanya seemed to prosper too. However, he did not build a big house. Instead he and his family shared the barn with the cows, like they had the previous year.

Gradually, it came to be noticed that Vanya's cows always gave a little more milk. The calves were frisky and healthy. And the cream was said to be richest and sweetest of all the collective. Vanya with fewer cows earned almost as much as his neighbor. This was not lost on Vasili. He watched as Vanya's cows were led out every day by Vanya's wife, and brought back in every night by Vanya's children. His heart became small and hard like a stone.He became envious of his neighbor.

One day Vasili could stand it no longer. He stormed into the office of the collective, where Anya was entering the day's totals. “I cannot stand it”, he yelled. “It is not fair”.

“What is not fair, Vasili, inquired Anya mildly. “Vanya!” Vasili spat his neighbor's name. “What is not fair about Vanya?” Anya asked. Vasili's face contorted into a rictus of rage. “It is not fair”, he said repeated. “”I buy cows like Vanya. My cows graze same grass. My cows drink same water. Yet His cows give more milk! people say his cows give better milk-is richer, sweeter. That is not fair!”

”But”, protested Anya. “You have same kind of cows. You have more cows than Vanya. What you want me to do?” Anya was clearly perplexed at Vasili's fury. Vasili smiled evilly. “I want you kill his cows”.

All this is to say that brick and mortar stores have an advantage over online businesses. Customers can walk into the store, and try on any item on the premises. Customers can walk out immediately with their purchase. The customer pays sales tax as a condition of purchase.

Online venues do not enjoy that luxury. Many of us cannot afford to invest in a well-appointed boutique and inventory. We rely more heavily on the random kindness of strangers, and the algorithms of Google and Bing. We invest more heavily in advertising, in far more media outlets, as we do not have window displays that face out onto the street or the mall, where hundreds of shoppers pass by daily. Packaging is a greater investment. To entice business, many of us have to offer free shipping, even on returns, exchanges, or repairs which quite an expense given fuel prices today. We also have employees, contrary to popular myth. We pay inventory tax. The overhead may appear to be less, however the mark up is not as generous.

In conclusion, the argument that tax-free online shopping for customers puts the physical stores at a financial disadvantage is specious at best, and mendacious at worst.
Beadbear
http://www.beadbear.com

Origins of Republican Hate Speech Language in America Today

Neil Boortz’s comments last week are reminiscent of the attitudes of southern whites at the turn of the 20th century. The lynchings and Jim Crow laws were based of white fears of blacks developing themselves economically. This became quite evident in the aftermath of Katrina, when white outrage was sparked at the assistance offered New Orleans’ residents as they were evacuated, and were re-located into areas of the country that are content to have limited integration.The following quotes speak to the history of his comments:

WITHOUT SANCTUARY: LYNCHING PHOTOGRAPHY IN AMERICA
edited by James Allen
“Hellhounds”, written by Leon F. Lithwack
pp.12-13
“The cheapness of black life reflected in turn the degree to which so many whites by the early twentieth century had come to think of black men and women and permanently inferior, as less than human, as little more than animals. ‘We the people of the South don’t care to equal ourselves with animals’, a white Floridian told a northern critic.’the people of the South don’t think any more of killing the black fellows than you would think of killing a flea. And if I was to live 1,000 years that would be my opinion and every other Southern man’.A former governor of Georgia, William J. Northern, after canvassing his state in the interest of law and order, found the same disregard for black life. ‘I was amazed to find scores and hundreds of men who believed the Negro to be a brute, without responsibility to God. And his slaughter nothing more than the killing of a dog’.”

p.23
“The Negro as beast became a fundamental part of the South’s racial imagery, taking its place alongside the venerated and faithful Sambo retainer and whites were perfectly capable of drawing on both to sustain their self image“(my emphasis)

This is the basis of the Southern strategy, and current Republican efforts to reduce and in some instances, eliminate all assistance for poor and working class individuals, as is the basis for Neil Boortz’s disgusting iterations. The advent of Mr. Obama’s election exacerbates the belief that blacks and other non-whites have over-reached themselves. attaining the office of the President proves to those of his persuasion that their fears are justified. Consequently, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is continuing to blast the government’s recent discrimination settlement with African-American farmers as “reparations” — and even predicting that the new Republican-led House will investigate it.

Today we see an active regeneration to those fears and active prejudices in part based upon (I suspect) white fears that non-whites will rise up and return the favor, as well as belief that non-whites in the US have “usurped” that which should be the purview of whites.

Why Not to Buy Chinese- Made Jewelry for Children

China downplays risk to children from lead poisoning: report

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/us-china-lead-pollution-idUSTRE75E14O20110615?feedType=nl&feedName=ushealth1100

This news article today in Reuters proves that the Chinese don’t care about their own children, much less ours. That’s why I continue to stress that Americans should not buy their cheap jewelry products for our daughters. We know that lead is a serious toxin and quite detremental to the intellectual development of children.

We as a nation, have gone to considerable lengths to irradicate lead from any where there may be exposure.Since the 1960′s when the data first was presented, we mandated that lead be removed from household paint. We have emmission standards.We regulate safety standards for workers to protect them from harm and exposure. We continue to this day conducting tests on children that grow up in urban areas. Just recently in New Orleans two playgrounds were closed due to unacceptable levels of lead in the soil. These grounds had been treated previously, and then declared “safe”. The ground when the grounds re-opened, were covered with a cushioned surface, designed to be a further protection. recently, testing indicated that the lead had come through. Therefore work immediately commenced to removed more soil from the ground, re-seal the ground and again add a protective covering.

Given that level of concern for lead in the environment, why then do parents continue to allow their daughters to wear toxic jewelry, that comes in direct contact with the skin?

Another reason this is untenable is while poisoning our children, we are paying them to do it! That transfer of wealth takes away from our economic strength as a nation. A simple way to put a dent in that trend would be to shop for American made jewelry for your children. There are many jewelry artists and jewelry stores in everyone’s community. Support them. They are using quality, safe materials, including lead-free pewter, surgical steel, silver gold, goldfill, sterling silver, or vermeil which is an overlay of high karat gold (18-24) over silver. Goldplate is a lower karat gold (8-10) over base metal, such as nickel, brass, copper. There are items to accommodate everyone’s budget. THis is especially true at local art shows. When local artists are supported, the money spent there goes right back into the community.

Furthermore, in a recent survey conducted by the prestegious Pam Danziger of Unity Marketing, there continues to be a strong perception that goods manufactured in the United States continues to be perceived as better quality, better made. more valuable.

“According to a recent study by Unity Marketing, affluent consumers associate certain attributes with countries of origin of luxury goods, and the USA is associated with the qualities affluents desire most.

That elevates manufacturing decisions beyond the sourcing department to marketing where place of manufacture becomes a core attribute of product branding and positioning. “If you make your luxury product in the wrong place, you can seriously harm your brand,” warns Pam Danziger president of Unity Marketing and author of the recently published Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury: How New Consumers Values Are Redefining How We Market Luxury (Paramount Market Publishing, 2011).

“Affluent consumers believe that the country where luxury brands are produced implies information about the product quality, regardless of whether the company’s manufacturing standards and their production facilities in far-flung locales are held to high standards. Luxury consumers identified a slate of key qualities most important to them when they shop for luxury goods, including craftsmanship, authenticity, classic nature, distinctiveness, and trustworthiness. These attributes line up with affluent perceptions about domestically-produced luxury goods,” says Danziger.

However, this does not mean that affluent consumers are solely choosing goods that benefit them individually, with no thought of national impact. “Affluent consumers recognize the positive impact that purchasing domestic luxury goods can have on U.S. jobs and on the country’s way of life, and they want to contribute to that. It is a much more altruistic form of luxury consumption than we saw before the recession hit,” says Danziger

With this in mind, I call on everyone in the American jewelry community, our manufacturers, jewelry designers, jewelry retailers and wholesalers, the media who cover the jewelry industry, all jewelry associations, local arts councils to come together to promote our American-made quality jewelry. This really is a no-brainer. It could only be to our mutual benefit. If we present a united front to our consumers, parents wouldn’t have to worry about the safety of the jewelry that our children wear.

Anne the Beadbear
http://www.beadbear.com

Gold by Rajiv Mehta

This is such a great discussion of gold purity and explanation of karat weight, and how gold is tinted that I just had to share it with everybody.
Regards,
Beadbear
http://www.beadbear.com


Gold Colour
Gold, the most commonly used precious metal in jewelry has a distinct colour of its own, and is so popular, that the term ‘golden colour’ is used to refer to a blend of orange-yellow colour. But you will be surprise to know that there are much more rare and exotic, colors such as blue, purple,
red, and various shades of green and not just the orange-yellow shade called Yellow Gold. This is definitely the most popular of the gold shades. Yellow Gold is closely followed by White Gold and Rose Gold.

Gold Colour & Carat Relationship

18kt yellow gold is more yellow than 9kt yellow gold with 18kt yellow gold having a richer golden color making 18kt yellow gold a more popular choice of yellow gold than 9kt for ladies engagement rings.

9kt rose gold has a darker rose-copper color than 18kt rose gold which has a more subtle rose color.
9kt white gold and 18kt white gold have a similar white color (as normally both have a rhodium plating finish).

When trying to decide between the gold carat types there are three things to consider.
1. The metals performance with every day wear
2. The difference in color between the 9kt, 14kt and 18kt gold
3. The difference in price between the gold carats.
9kt, 14kt and 18kt are each suitable equally suitable for use in rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets and necklaces. Many people choose 9kt and 14kt for their earrings and pendants due to its lower price.

Tones

Jewelry can also be made using a combination of different gold colors. These jewelry items are sometimes called two-tone, three-tone or multi-colored gold..

Rhodium Plating

White gold rings are new they can be coated with another white metal called Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal very similar to platinum and rhodium shares many of the properties of platinum including its white color. The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. The natural color of white gold is actually a light grey color. The rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. To keep a white gold ring looking its best it should be re-rhodium plated approximately each 12 to 18 months. Most local jewelers are able to rhodium plate jewelry for a cost effective pricet.

Purity

The gold content of yellow gold is measured in the same way it is measured in, for example white gold. So an 18kt white gold ring contains 75% pure gold, just as 18kt yellow gold contains 75% pure gold..

Rajiv Mehta
Surat Diamond Jewellery
http://www.suratdiamond.com/

How to Avoid Walkouts and Other Customer Service Disasters

http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/2011/06/consumer-reports-survey-two-in-three-consumers-have-walked-out-of-a-store-because-of-poor-customer-service.html

The solution to most of those problems is have enough good quality employees. Of course, to attact those individuals, companies have to cease the ‘race to the bottom’, and having respect for the people hired. That means investing in your staff. Whether your accountant realizes it or not, your staff, not your inventory, is your most valuable asset! If you indicate that you do not repect your employees, it will reflect in your business. Customers will walk out, complain, take their business elsewhere. You will not be able to keep staff. Your business will suck. I call it voting with the pocketbook.

Pay your employees better. If you cannot afford more employees, you need to explain honesly to them where you stand financially and actively recruit your help to become “stakeholders’ in the day to day operations.Take the time to get to know all of your employees. Invite them to offer suggestions. Listen to them w/o being judgemental. Chances are they’ve got good ideas on how the business can be improved. Reward good performance, either monetarily or verbally in a way that demonstrates that you truly appreciate their efforts to make you look better.

Show your employees that you owner, manager etc.aren’t afraid to work. Let them see you cleaning cases, untangling chains, answering phones, cleaning jewelry, running the vaccum.Be able to jump in and lend a hand when necessarily without stepping on your employee’s toes. Don’t hide from your difficult customers.

Have constructive meetings where goals are clearly outlined, along with the means to accomplish them.Everyone should have goals, and a reasonable means of achieving and charting them. Provide training sessions to learn about new products, sales techniques.Don’t ream your employees out in public. In fact learn to criticize constructively.

Be what you wish to seem. Come in every day with a smile and a good additude yourself. If you are honest and with your employees, they will respect you and be loyal and your business will grow.
How am I doing?
http://www.beadbear.com

Lead Violation Causes Children’s Jewelry Kit Recall

Lead Violation Causes Children’s Jewelry Kit Recall
By JCK Staff
Posted on June 8, 2011

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and EKSuccess Brands announced on June 7 a recall of nearly 75,000 units of a children’s jewelry-making kit that contained excessive levels of lead.

The surface coating on some of the beads in the American Girl Crafts Pearly Beads & Ribbon Bracelets kit contained excessive levels of lead, the CPSC reported.

The kits were sold at Michaels Stores and other retailers nationwide from September 2009 through June 2011 for $8.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

As I have said many times before:Stop Buying Your Children Anything From China! They do not give a damn about anything other than their own self-interests. They do not care whether our children are poisoned or not. We should care enough about our own children to buy safe, made in the United States beads and findings and supplies. They're out there, and they're better made than the cheap imports!

Contact your local Arts Council and find out who the glass artists are in your city town or community. Take your children to see how beads are made, and buy your local artists' beads. Purchase quality findings for your children, like stainless steel,sterling silver, gold fill or karat gold. Ask the craft store what the country of origin is for their products. Only buy the one that are made in America.

That will not only keep our money in our community as well as in our country. Your children will develop a better appreciation for the arts. You will support an artist in your community. What could be better?

Hanging Off The Wire: Liberty *Guest Blogger*

Hanging Off The Wire: Liberty *Guest Blogger*

Jewelry Shopping Tips

It's summer, when many take cruises to the Caribbean and shop for jewelry. There are a few things to know and have before you plunk down your hard-earned cash.
First, get yourself either a jewelrer's loupe, which can be either 10x or 15x magnification, or a magnifying glass, also 10x or 15x. Why? You may ask. Simple. I do not want you buying fake gems unless it's on purpose.

If you get a loupe, here's how to use it. One of your eyes is stronger than the other. For me it's my left eye. Therefore, hold the loupe in the opposite hand. I hold it with my right hand. Now, put your elbows on the table so that they are braced and you hands will be steady holding your loupe. Hold the ring in the other hand. Bring the loupe all the up to your strong eye, but KEEP BOTH EYES OPEN. Otherwise, you will screw up your depth perception; it's how your brain works. Now, bring the ring up to where it comes into focus in the loupe. I want you to look at the edges of the facets. They should NOT be darker than the rest of the stone. Yes, natural gemstones can have “color zoning” which simply means that there are areas in the gem that have higher color saturation. However, if the edges are clearly darker than the rest of the gem, chances are it's not a genuine whatever.

Granted, many stones today are heat-treated or irradiated (heating a gemstone with various metals or chemicals) to inhance the color. Always ask whether the stone is treated or not. Ask what the treatment is. I recommend if the sales clerk cannot give you straight answers, don't buy from them.You will hate yourself if you buy a gemstone, whose color washes out when you wash your hands. Emeralds and opals may to be oiled, which is very typical and traditional. In arid climates like Mexico and Australia where opals are mined, they are store in vials of olive oil, to prevent their drying out and cracking.No worries. However, you need to know because natural, untreated gems are more valuable, and I want you to know what you have.

Inclusions are not necessarily a bad thing. Some inclusions can be very interesting(think Pink Panther) Those are identifying characteristics that your appraiser will look at when they plot your stone for insurance purposes. (Not all stones have identifying number lasered into them) No two stones will be the same, just like your identical twins (one is a wee bit taller than the other, etc). Further, natural stones will have stuff in 'em. Those inclusions can even help experts determine where the gem was mined. Lab created stones tend not to have them. Further, they also do not tend to have color zoning. Also, ask after the country of origin. Some countries have dubious mining practices and should not be supported.

If the color is more intense on top of the stone, which is called the “table”, compared to the rest of the stone, then it may be a “triplet”. That's a lesser quality stone with a slice of better quality gem glued on.
Thre are a lot of counterfeit rubies like that as well as tanzanites.

Speaking of tanzanites, I'm going to teach you a fifty dollar word: pleochrism (pronounced plea-o-crow-ism). It means that the stone will show two different colors, which occurs because light passes through and exits through more than one path. (Remember when you looked through a prism in grade school?) Tanzanite will show blue, like a sapphire, but it will also appear purple, too.

Alexandrites also exhibit pleochroism. They will show variations of red and green (By the way alexandrite is the June birthstone, along with the more traditional pearl). There are a few color-change sapphires. However, they are very rare and priced accordingly, tend to be small-less than three carats.

One more note, check to see if the metal(gold) is stamped.When buying gold jewelry, always look for the karat mark. Generally, the higher the karat, the more expensive the piece (unless it's “hot” or stolen). In the United States, 14-karat gold, or 583 parts pure gold, is the most common degree of fineness. Nothing less than 10 karats can legally be marked or sold as gold jewelry in the U.S. However, lower karatages, such as 8-karat gold and 9-karat gold, are popular in other countries.

18-karat gold is 18/24ths, or three-quarters pure gold, and jewelry of this fineness is marked 18k or 750, the European designation meaning 75% gold.

Always look for the karat mark or "k" that appears on the back of the piece. By U.S. law, if a karat mark appears you should also see the manufacturer's trademark to assure you that the karat marking is accurate. The country of origin should also appear.

In addition to the karat mark, every piece of gold jewelry should be stamped with a hallmark or trademark of its maker, and sometimes its country of origin. These designations assure you that you are buying genuine karat gold jewelry. Heavier pieces contain more gold.

Finally, if you buy a loose stone, don't have it set while you're there. You may become the victim of a bait and switch. And once you're back on the ship, or back home, there isn't anything you can do to recover your damages. If you find a setting that you cannot live without, buy the setting and take both home with you. Let your jeweler in your home town, whom you know and have a relationship with, set your stone.

Of course, there are lots of other things to look for. However, with these basics you are better prepared.

Anne the Beadbear
http://www.beadbear.com

How to Keep Your Jewelry Clean Between Trips to the Jeweler

When was the last time you cleaned your jewelry? Bet you can't remember. That's alright. We can fix that. Here's how. And you don't need any fancy-schmancy equipment to get the job done, either.

GOLD jewelry: Fill a large (like a salad bowl) bowl with tepid or lukewarmwater. The container should be big enough to hold about a quart of water . DO NOT USE AMMONIA! DO NOT USE ANYTHING WITH CHOLRINE! Chlorine dissolves gold, so if you clean house with your jewelry, you're losing gold everytime.Squirt a little dishwashing liquid in, about a quarter teaspoonful.I prefer Dawn(it's petroluem based, did you know that?) because it's inexpensive and effective at lifting the skin oils, lotion, hairspray, makeup, etc. away. Add one capeful of rubbing alcohol. When you put your necklaces and bracelets into the bowl, make sure you've closed the clasps. If you've got earrings to clean, pour some of your cleaning water into a teacup, and drop in your earrings. If they've got posts with backs, take them off and drop them in with the earrings.

Let everything soak for a little while. Take an old toothbrush, and if you've still got crud on the earring nuts, or on the clasps, gently scrub them with the toothbrush to loosen it up. Use the bristles to get underneath the mounted stones. When you're ready to rinse, fill another big bowl with tepid or lukewarm water. Put the jewelry in the clean water and swoosh everything around very gently. Get a clean towel, and lay everything out to air dry on the towel, except the earrings.

For the earrings, get a tea strainer or a tea ball, and put them in there, and then put that into the bowl of water to rinse. That way those little pieces won't get away from you. I DO NOT recomment rinsing your jewelry out under running water in to sink. That's a great way to lose an earring or an earring back and we don't want that to happen. If you give a little shake to the strainer or tea ball, anything your brushing and soaking didn't remove should lift off the earrings. Note: when pouring out the water, pour it out through a strainer, just to make sure you don't lose anything! Use a seperate clean washcloth to lay out your earrings to air dry on.

If you don't have a polishing cloth, use an old cotton (nylon or acrylic socks aren't absorbant) sock to polish, and wipe away any excess moisture. If you use polishing cloths, you'll need one for you silver, and one ofr the gold, or platinum. Silver tarnishes like crazy (I know you've noticed) and you don't want to rub that onto you nice clean gold. Gold tarnishes too; it just takes longer.

If you have lots of chains, do them seperately from your pearls or other gemstone and bead jewelry. I recommend doing them last, after the earrings. Make sure they're clasped. If you don't have a jewelry box with hangers for them, I suggest keeping them in seperate lunch baggies. That way they won't get tangled up together between wearings, and they're less likely to get kinked.
SILVER:
Keeping silver free and clean from tarnish can also be a challenge. A good quality paste silver polish generally can be found at your local hardware store. In a pinch, baking soda may be used. Pour a some into a saucer. Dab it with a soft damp cloth. Rub gently on the silver. Be very careful that you do not scratch the suface! Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Pat dry with clean, soft cloth.

Remember:
DO NOT USE AMMONIA! It will pit and blacken your silver!
DO NOT SWIM IN CHLORINATED POOLS OR ALLOW CHLORINE to touch your jewelry. Chlorine with dissolve it, little by little.

Always take your jewelry with prongs, like earrings and rings to your jeweler once a year to have them checked. That way, if one has gotten a little loose, you can have that fixed, and hopefully not lose the stone. And a good jeweler generally will not charge you for that service, unless a prong needs to be replaced, which is more cost effective than replacing the stone!

And, as general rule, never go into a pool with any jewelry, or anything loose. It can:
a) come off and go into the drain
b) if you're in it, YOU can get stuck along with it.
c) if you're in a body of water, like the ocean, Gulf, lake or river, a good current can pull your rings from your fingers, and your earrings out of your ears. I witnessed a woman lose her engagement ring at the beach in St.Petersburg. She was not a happy camper. (Nor was her husband)

Final Note:
To prevent build-up of tarnish, when piece is clean (brand new, BEFORE it's worn) paint item with clear nail polish, on one side. Let dry thoroughly. Do other side.

And for good measure, when it's not being used, store your silver in an air-tight container, like a baggie. The next time you are at your favorite jewelry store buying silver, ask your jeweler for some anti-tarnish strips, so that you can keep your silver shiny.

Liberty

I have always considered myself to be patriotic, although initially I didn't know what it meant. When hearing Jimi Hendrix' rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner"during Woodstock, it suddenly became clear to me.I wept at the pride that I suddenly felt. At the same time, all the anguish of being of African, and Native American ancestry.Because not everyone acknowledged "that all men were created equal", although much lip service it made.

I appreciated and understood the statement when Abbie Hoffmann's wore the shirt made out of the American flag, meaning we Americans wore our patriotism like a brand or logo.It depressed me that some people chose to interpret a desire for peace and racial equality as somehow not being American.It made me physically ill a few years later when it became 'chic' for the Bicentennial to wear red, white and blue bikinis, and baseball caps, when the Confederate-sympathizing Southern rednecks adopted it as statement,it became a symbol to me of the dichotomy between the words of the Constitution, and how people of color, women and gays were still being treated.

It wasn't until the election held in 2008, that I started to become more optimistic. When Mr. Obama was inaugerated, I designed my first piece in the colors of the flag. This is the second piece I have created, in hope for the future.

The colors of freedom and liberty, the American flag rendererd in blue aventurine, and carnelian, with vintage Venetian glass rose or "wedding cake" beads. They are hand-knotted with Bohemian glass rose beads, and gold-coated seed beads, 14/20gf findings; clasp is 14kt vermeil. Approx. 18 inches, earrings approx. 1¼ inches. Available online at A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry http://www.beadbear.com/e0211.shtml

Wear Your Beads in Good Fortune!

Talismans & Charms in Jewelry

News from the Couture Blog Trend Report 2 indicates that charms and talisman jewelry is trendy again.

At A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry we feature many items that include eye beads from aroung the world ans well as other talisman to protect for evil and to attract and promote good fortune. I have collected eye beads for over thirty years.

I use antique and contemporary Venetian, French, Dutch, Bohemian and Turkish glass beads to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other unusual ornaments. Precious and semi-precious gemstones of the highest quality, gold and silver are used to accent. Quality craftsmanship distinguishes my work from the rest.

Beads reflect a tradition dating back to 3000 BC These beads were worn to promote good luck, and for protection from misfortune (the evil eye or malocchio). Archeological evidence suggests that concepts linking eyes and protective magic to beads evolved in western Asia and Africa, and were carried west and east with developing trade routes. The oldest eye beads made were drilled stones like agate and carnelian.

The evolution of glass beads began with human discovery of glassmaking techniques in ancient Egypt. Beads were incorporated into jewelry, personal adornments, and everyday utensils of Egypt, the Hebrews, China, India, Persia, and Italy.
Beads are still used and admired in Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia, as well as the Americas. As in ancient times, they adorn people, homes, pets, livestock and vehicles as protective talismans.

I see both antique and contemporary beads as a link to the past through work that will last into the millennium. Beads and jewelry reflect where we are today, what we were, and who we will become. One can neither break nor ignore the thread of history, for like a strand of beads, the result would be chaos. Below are links to a few of my evil eye bead and talisman items.

http://www.beadbear.com/g0904.shtml

http://www.beadbear.com/c0905.shtml

http://www.beadbear.com/e0901.shtml

http://www.beadbear.com/f1003.shtml

http://www.beadbear.com/h1001.shtml

Wear your beads in good fortune!

Gold

Gold jewelry demand declined 10 percent by volume in the United States in the first quarter year over year, according to the World Gold Council’s Q1 gold demand trends report.

http://www.nationaljeweler.com/nj/fashion/jewelry-fashion-reports/article_detail?id=26496
Fear not Goldbugs! I am here to satify all your aurous jewelry desires
At A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry we offer jewelry designed with a variety of different media to provide affordable beautiful fashion jewelry. I use vermeil, which is sterling silver overlaid with thick coatings of either 18, 22 or 24kt gold. I also use Swarovski aurum crystal (crystal beads with gold (overlay), as well as your favorite high-karat goodness! Shop today at beadbear.com
Wear your beads in good fortune!

Green is the IT Color this Year

Green is the hot color this year. All shades of green as indicated in the May 16 at Couture Trend Report 3
Couture Jewelers are always on the cutting edge -- setting trends and keeping their customers in vogue.
This year everyone will be green with envy over this bevy of Couture jewels that showcase the color of the year from pale seafoam to deep, dark emerald.
http://njn.typepad.com/couture_blog/2011/05/couture-trend-report-green-with-envy.html

Visit A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry http://www.beadbear.com

has your favorite shade of green, in pearls, gemstones from amazonite to turquoise with all kinds of unusual glass beads. Shop today! We use Google Checkout for your secure shopping convenience.

Ruminations on Freedom

I'm discouraged. I don't get it.I don't understand why more Americans aren't as upset and raging in the streets about the assaults that have and are being perpetrated upon our freedom and rights as citizens and human beings. Maybe because my heritage includes the ones on whom genocide was practiced and land was taken in the formation of this country as well as the ones who were enslaved and brought here.

Maybe it's because I have experienced being treated as less-than-human, fairly regularly first for being a child, then for not being white, and being female. Didn't like it worth a crap. Who is any one to tell me what my “place in society” is?! It especially rankles when the standards to which I am/was held were not uniformly enforced, shall we say

Perhaps that's why I'm so touchy. Or maybe because I bothered to read the the letters and study the history of how we got such an awesome Bill of Rights and Constitution. I understand and absolutely appreciate how throughly amazing that a country would dare to establish itself with such lofty but bloody obvious precepts. And the struggles and necessity make modifications as were needed to continue the goal of fulfilling those promises.

Yet today, as we are ostensibly being challenged by fiat to justify existence and then aoplogise for being, I cannot keep quiet. Demanding ever more proof of citiznship, submitting to be poked, prodded, groped, fondled, inspected. Agreeing to have the contents of one's person sampled to see if your chemistry is appropriate. Being assessed for employment based on our alleged (or not)intergrity, ability to maintain timely credit payment in the face of fewer means to do so, without ability or recourse to demand the same of potential employers. Worse yet, there are those who are desirous that we accept the abuse, without complaint, and support the destruction of our selves for their benefit.

That may occur in other countries, but this one was formed on the principle that we are all entitled to the persuit of happiness. Furthermore, we affirmed that the role of government is to provide for that opportunity. And realistically, any government that does not, has little chance for sustained existence. no reason and even less motivation and inclination for the residents in such an area, to abide by such.

Therefore it's easy to see howand why anger and disstisfaction occurs, but ennui? Rolling over and playing dead, accepting the abuse is unnatural. It's self-destructive.Allowing somone other than yourself to inflict ham and injury, in the hope that it will stop, is both irrational and idiotic. I shudder to think how much force (Pain? Poverty? Sickness?)) it will take before their entropy/ennui is overcome. Looking at it in physical terms,when will the equal and opposite finally occur here?

I am truly flabberghasted by my fellow Americans who watch the events in Northern Africa and fail to apprehend the parallels within our own states and borders. There is no “app” for freedom, folks. There is nothing that can be downloaded, defrosted, sprayed on or rented that will allow you to be free without actively being responsible for your ownright to freedom, for your persuit of happiness. It's not an entitlement. But it can be achieved by standing up for your self, by speaking out when the attempt is made to strip you of your rights, by voting. Don't allow that most precious of all our rights be taken from you.

Using Chemical Enhancements in Competitive Sports

Feeling old, ignorant, naive and shocked. I just read about a Olympic swimmer that got banned for using tamoxifen to block estrogen production so that he might swim faster. When I was a kid, I dreamed of swimming in the Olympics. Swam the butterfly, freestyle and had a half-way decent back stroke. But it never occurred to me to try to improve my time by using stuff.

Fact is, when a hot-shot swimming coach told me that the only way I get trained for the Olympics was if I “bulked up”. I was appalled! I mean, I was already pretty darn good, third best in the state when I was thirteen. I was the best 'flier on my swim team and at my school. I could beat the guys on the team and the boys at my high school. Naturally, he didn't become my trainer. It was discouraging, because I wanted to go to the trials, and every one said that one needed a good coach to advance. Besides, my parents weren't really in a position to pay for that sort of thing.

So discouragement started to set in. But I kept going to practice with my local YMCA where I had been a member of the swim team for years. Then one of the gym teachers at my high school offered to coach me. Mr. P (I don't think I should include his name out of respect for his privacy) was very thoughtful and encouraging. Furthermore, when I told him what I had been hearing about the “necessity” of taking steroids, he became very angry and said that the only reason he had offered to coach me was because I was and “honest” swimmer, which I was. Besides, the school was not going to renew his contract and give him tenure was because he was gay, and many parents didn't want him teaching there.

So for Mr. P, coaching the black kid to the Olympics would have been a good way to “stick it to the administration”he said, getting me into the Olympics. And he would coach me for free! Just because.When he was re-assured that I hadn't gotten involved with any of that sort of thing he calmed down, and I started working with him. That is until I got a terrible cold, with a horrible sore throat and couldn't breathe. My mother thought I was faking to get out of school, but I was really sick. It got so bad that I became increasingly short-winded, and eventuallycollapsed at school and got sent to the hospital. The doctor ordered me not to swim until he gave premission. Further, he gave my parents a note telling them that I needed lots of bed rest, and that when I returned to school I was to use the elevator, not the stairs and absolutely no PE until I got my strength back.

That didn't happen. I got sent to school anyway. Then my voice quit. Completely. Could not even manage a croak or a whisper. Did not even have the lung capacity to manage a hiss.Got oredered to stay home until further notice and not to even attempt to vocalize at all. The upshot of all that was after I got well, I had no wind any more. It wore me out at school trying to use the stairs because my mother wouldn't sign the form to get permission to use the elevator. I

Eventually, I did start training with my coach, but it all over. I just couldn't breathe like I used to, and learned that the medicine that my doctor gave me to breathe, wasn't allowed for competive swimmers. Not steroids, but still a banned substance. I kept trying to get my time back up to what it had been before. But I couldn't swim and breathe. I cried and cried; that didn't help either. Coach tried to keep my spirits up. We tried to get my timing back. Yet it never occurred to me to take the medication, which did allow me to breathe as well as before, but break the rules.

Two years later, the committee changed their minds and allowed the meds I was required to take. But by then it was too late. That was end of my swimming career. So it still just wierds me out now when I read about the doping. See what I mean?

I am donating 5% of my sales to aid in the relief of the great people of Japan, who donated over 44 million dollars to help New Orleans, my home town, recover.

Shop today at A.R.T. Precious Collectible Jewelry

http://www.beadbear.com/

Treat yourself and help Japan all at the same time. Remember shipping is free.

Wear your beads in good fortune!

Women Who Have Inspired Me

I need to pay homage to the women that have inspired me:

Queen Hatshepsut, who as a very young woman assumed command of the army to save her country, and made Egypt strong and great.

Eleanor of Aquitaine, who defied a King and the Pope, had the nerve to love whom she chose, in the manner she saw fit, and not be cowed by men.

Ann Boleyn who understood the hazard of love when combined with power, but did it anyway. I visited your cell in the Tower, and felt your presense;

Elizabeth Tudor,her brilliant daughter, who survived a terrible childhood, but used that pain to become a strong yet compassionate ruler who was England's greatest Monarch

Marie Antoinette, who had to know from the moment she entered France, that she was a sacrifice, and her life would not end well.

Mae West, for teaching me what risqué meant, and double entendres;

Marilyn Monroe, who taught me about the vulnerable side of sexuality, what it meant to be “her”

Elizabeth Taylor, where I learned that a woman can have a career and still have time, love and passion for her children. As a child I adored that she always took her children with her where ever she was shooting a film, no matter the cost or inconvenience to others. Also, that it was okay to love jewelry, and that it couldn't be too much.

Joan Rivers, who taught me to be myself, and damn the consequences;

Golda Maier who taught me not to be afraid to ask for what I needed. I loved that she always brought her string shopping bag, whenever she visited the President.

Yoko Ono who taught me to hold my head up with dignity in the face of scorn and ridicule. I met her briefly at a show of John Lennon's artwork in New Orleans. You smiled at my tears at your husband's art, even while there were people there hissing unkind words about you within earshot.

ZaZa Gabor, who taught me that glamor and style come from within, and not to take beauty contests seriously (I had recently been in one and had gotten eliminated early). I met her at a grocery store in Long Beach, decades ago. She was wearing her Miss Universe crown. She told me she had “seven of dese damn things, and that they were just the thing to put your hair up with when doing housework”. I fell for her when she was ctitisized for wearing one of her beauty crowns made of crystal, when she was presented to European royalty, but wearing diamonds around her neck. She was the only one in the room that didn't look dour, dowdy and frumpy.”It's all costume jewelry dahlink; how expensive is your costume?”

Queen Noor, what incredible grace and compassion;

Mother Theresa, who questioned her own faith;

Susan McDougal, who went to jail rather than lie;

Hillary Clinton, for not baking cookies, for hanging tough when her health care initiative was ripped to shreds

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the best and greatest Speaker of the House ever. How she can manage to keep a civil tongue in her head and not rip the opposition a new one, is totally beyond me

Jan Shakowsky, another great example of why women should rule!

Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward, Operation Odyssey Dawn Joint Force Air Component Commander

And my mother in law, for loving me as her own.