MIA Monday: Quartzsite, Arizona

I wish thoughtfully posting to my blog was as easy as it is to upload a photo to Facebook. That way I would be much more regular in my Bead Up postings and not feel like I have to cram in everything once I do get a chance to blog it up! In other words, so sorry for seeming MIA!

For what I have lacked in posts I have made up in preparing for my Summer Collection ("Huh?" you may ask, "What happened to your Spring Collection?" Good question, o' faithful reader. Due to crazy life changing events going on this spring, I am going to put everything I had planned to make this spring into a Summer Collection - and now that I bought tons of new supplies I have my work cut out for me!). 


This week the hubs, the dogS (we adopted ANOTHER one!), and I drove to Tucson, Arizona to visit family. I forgot how much I loved suburbia when a HUGE Jo-Ann Etc. and Michael's greeted me in Arizona. The hubs and I went out of our way to schedule in a good chunk of time visiting Jo-Ann on our way out of town, so already I felt like the otherwise obligatory visit was advantageous to this beader.


However, on our way home I spotted a huge billboards that simply stated "GEM WORLD: Beads and Findings, this exit." I TOLD the Hubs that we would be making an unexpected pit stop at this promising place in the hopes that I will leave with a good story or two, especially considering that we were literally in the middle of the Arizonan desert near the California border (as evident in this picture). I figured I would find either some great trucker-stop-type souvenirs or a cool selection of over-priced turquoise. What I found in the fittingly titled town, Quartzsite, however, was MIND BLOWING.

After accidentally passing by the store on "Main Street" (the only street in this otherwise truck stop), I parked on a dirt lot behind "Hardes Bead and Jewelry." The store featured Native American-esk jewelry in the front of the store and lots of beading supplies and products in the back. At first glance I figured that I buy everything that I saw at the store just as well in the Los Angeles Jewelry District, until I saw a sign that said "Everything 50% off marked price!" Suddenly everything was a total deal! I walked away with a bunch of Swarovski and glass crystals that would have cost me at least $40 elsewhere and paid only $13! Score!

Walking past souvenir merchants and locals who have set up shop out of the back of their trucks, I came across the store I was waiting for: GEM WORLD. I walked in and couldn't believe my eyes: aisles and aisles of gems and findings and coral and turquoise and necklaces and earrings and on and on and on! Not only was there a vast selection, but ALL THE BEADS WERE ON SALE! We are talking 75%-off turquoise and coral; $1 pearls by the strand, crystals for less than a dollar... in other words, it was like I was in China again! 

I quickly grabbed a basket and went to town as quickly as I could since the Hubs and dogs were in the car. I managed to buy all kinds of gemstones and pearls and findings within 10-minutes and rushed out to the car to show my family. The Hubs was so impressed that he encouraged me to go back in the store and do it again. NO problem! I went back in and did it again, and this time didn't hold anything back. Overall, I bought what would have been over $500 here in LA yet only spent a 1/5th of that. I asked the guy at the counter where he got most of his beads -- turns out China, so he and I had a good little chat of all that's available in Shanghai. He also said that they are moving to a 2-story location later this Spring, which will include several big-screen TV's for all the unfortunate husbands who have to come and wait for their ladies to get their beading on! Um, who wants to make a trip to the middle-of-nowhere, Arizona?

Here's a look at what I bought:

I also bought something pre-made for myself. I can't remember the last time I bought a necklace for myself, but when I saw this one, I looked and looked over it for a good 5-minutes thinking of ways I could take it apart and re-string it. I could think of no ways I would want to change it! And best of all, it was only $5! I think I am going to take notes from this bold piece and make some similar pieces for Bead Up!

Whew! What a trip! I literally had an adrenaline rush to last for the rest of the trip thanks to the amazing deals in the middle of nowhere, Arizona! Now I have LOTS of work ahead! New pieces to come soon!

Mission: Wedding Jewelry - Accomplished

Let's be honest. Sometimes you are allowed to be super proud of yourself. Exhibit A: I am SO thrilled with how the jewelry for Kelly's wedding turned out, especially considering the story behind it. Kelly asked me several months ago to make necklaces for herself and her bridesmaid sisters. I have been blogging about how I had been going back and forth on ideas for each outfit, and finally allowed the lack of time left to be my final deciding factor. Based on the pictures of Kelly's dress (as posted here), I figured that letting the very lacy and beaded dress do the talking would be the best route to go. This meant sticking with a simple design that could coordinate with a somewhat antique-looking gown. While in San Francisco, I bought a few strands of super cute and dainty 2mm fresh water pearls (that I also used in the bridesmaids necklace, thus achieving some sense of cohesion). My plan was to wire wrap these and bond them between wire wrapped 4mm pearls. This would have worked marvelously if the holes in the 2mm pearls weren't so stinkin' teeny tiny! I couldn't even get my 24 gauge sterling silver wire into them. Darn. So instead I tried out the 4mm pearls along side larger 6-7mm pearls, wrapping them in Sterling Silver wire and positioning them two 4mm for every one 6-7mm pearl. After wrapping about two 7 inch-long collections of mentioned pearls, I connected them together and ended them with wire wrapped freshwater pearl coin disc beads. I remembered Kelly mentioning that her dress had a dramatic back, so I added about a dozen more of the 4mm pearls to the back of the necklace and ended the addition with a larger pearl. The necklace finished with a sterling silver clasp and wire ring. I was grateful that Kelly said she liked the necklace when I gave it to her at the rehearsal dinner, though still didn't know if it would go well enough with her dress. When I saw her before the wedding ceremony, I literally cried - both because she looked so pretty, and because the necklace turned out so well! The bridesmaids necklaces turned out perfectly, too, if I do say so myself. The girls even said they would wear them again, as they seemed to fit their style.

Wedding mission Accomplished!

Laos and LA - I N S P I R A T I O N S

Perhaps my least favorite international trip was when I went to Thailand a few years back. I could get into massive detail as to why I hated this trip (think group trip for school with strangers and no translator), but I'll instead include one positive story of the "adventure." (It's all blogged here if you want to read more or see pictures!).

One Sunday, while we were visiting a church in Vientian, Laos, I met a local gal who spoke perfect English (a rarity). Her name was Sophia. We asked each other questions as little Lao children watched the foreigners interact with one of their own. She finally noticed that none of us had joined the large crowd for lunch and arranged us a table. No utensils this time, just plates of meat with vegetables through the catalyst of sticky rice balled up in ones hand. Of course the only thing on the table that was vegetarian friendly was sticky rice, and I ate as much as I could stomach to suppress my hunger. Sophia noticed that I was helpless and walked me down the street to find some food. A woman bent over a rusty cart making some kind of fried coconut milk with corn and green onion ensemble. Her skillet was similar to one we use for Danish breakfast at home, with a dozen circular inlets which produce a round shaped fried food. Sophia purchased four for me and then some friend banana from another shop across the street, and refused my money when I offered.

She explained to us that her father was a pastor and thus she had always grown us Christian, though had a hard time at school as others did not understand her cultural choices. All this time, I could not keep my eyes off her beautiful earrings, made of Tibetian silver and a kidney wire. When I mentioned that I liked her earrings, she immediately took them off and put them on my ears. She said she was just happy to help me find food and that the earrings were the least she could give me. I didn't deserve anything from this gal, nor did I have anything to give her in return but humility and thanks. (You can see Sophia and the kids of the church in the top picture, as well as me wearing the earrings later that day below). While shopping at Beadazzled in Baltimore, guess what I found? The silver tribal beads! I of course bought them right up and put them on some kidney wires. They are available on my Etsy shop here. _______________________ Also found some great inspiration in LA. For whatever reason (other than the fact that LA is rad?), I have spotted a bunch of these little tweet-like birds hanging from cables, mostly in the Hollywood area. I dig it and just had to buy these precious bird charms as a reaction (they are 12 x 17 mm and 14k gold plated with matt finish). Of course no bird necklace is complete without a Swarovski crystal and cute little bat-like charm to top it off. (Bird picture by my friend Josh).

You can view this necklace on my Etsy shop here.

Inspiration that's all around you.

I grew up in a small Ohio city. To be frank, I never cared for the rural, farm-like, grey town. Though I always knew I wanted to get away from the Midwest, never in my life did I imagine that I would be living in California. Not only that, but I never really realized the vastness of natural beauty until I moved to California. It’s easy to find inspiration here. When I lived in San Francisco my dorm overlooked the Golden Gate bridge and the San Francisco sky-line. Now, living in Los Angeles, I drive through mountains and cities on a daily basis and am confronted with cultural and geographical differences everywhere I look. When traveling in other countries, my camera never stops taking pictures of what I see as exotic and majestic, fascinated that the natives find it all commonplace.

After seeing such inspiring places, I wasn’t looking forward to going back to Ohio or Kentucky, my alma matter, for the first time after leaving. But instead of seeing the gray, boring landscape of my childhood, my eyes suddenly had a new appreciate for an equivalent, albeit different, beauty of what I always saw as normal.

Here are some examples of photos I have taken of the beauty I have found in both the “gray” and also the glamorous, and how I have transformed their inspirations into jewelry:

Berkeley, CA

Purple Haze Necklace

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San Francisco, CA

Asymetrical Purple Beaded Gemstone Necklace

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Chengde, China

Zhong Necklace

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Lexington, KY

Dew Drop Rose Quartz and Amethyst Earrings

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Berkeley, CA

Black Eye Glasses Lanyard

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Countryside of China

Mosaic Teardrop Stone and Beaded Earrings

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Los Angeles, CA

Red and Black Crystal Illusion Necklace

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New York City, NY

Golden Greek Goddess Necklace

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Suzhou, China

Green with Envy Cluster Bracelet

It doesn’t matter where we are or what resources we do or do not have around us. What matters, and what makes a difference, is the lenses of the eyes of which we look at the world around us.

Where do you find your inspiration? Look around! It’s everywhere!

Thanks for reading,

~Christyn of