Beadles
114 W Dallas St, BA
918-806-8945
What's Up @ The Beadles  July 2009, #3
                                                 
 
pnw09hangbasketGreetings Beaders,               
 
It's been a couple weeks since you heard from us because The Beadles were on their "2009 Pacific Northwest Tour." You can read all about it below. Naturally it involves a lot of beads. The photo shows Madeline & me under one of the many gorgeous hanging baskets we saw. Every town's commercial area has these baskets hanging from the light poles. 
 
While attending the Puget Sound Bead Festival, we discovered a great tool for metal work. It's this stubby little hammer that retails for $5. We've got 12 of them available on a first come, first serve basis. You must come in person (no phone calls for holds) and the limit is one per customer.  So what if you miss out? Well, Harbor Freight carries the hammer. But it's a lot more fun coming to the Beadles than fighting the traffic to Harbor Freight.
 
The August class schedule is being prepared. We'll be updating the website calendar so be sure to check it out. Classes are a great way to improve your skills, meet other beaders, and escape from the stresses of daily life (i.e., the spouse, the kids, etc.)
 
Bead On! Teresa
The Beadles 2009 Tour
The Pacific Northwest!

PNW2009bed1The
Puget Sound Bead Festival is held yearly in July in Tacoma, WA. There were some great metal classes being offered; and, it seemed like a good way to avoid some of the summer heat (and, boy, did we!) Madeline Pendergrass decided to tag along and we had great fun - we're already discussing a return visit next year.
 
Here's an abbreviated day-by-day accounting of Felix and Oscar. Hey, I was NOT always Oscar, sometimes I was Felix while Madeline was Oscar. 
 
Tuesday, July 7th - flew from Tulsa to Portland, OR. Rented car, checked into hotel near airport. Took Madeline on her first trip to an IKEA store.
 
Wednesday, July 8th - drove to Hillsboro, OR to check out Planet Bead, a store I heard makes a lot of kits. The kits are way cool.
 
Then on to Tacoma, where we checked into the Hotel Murano. The hotel is very classy and way beyond my budget. But we got a very good rate as it was the convention hotel for the bead fest. Each floor of the hotel honors a different glass artist.
 pnw 2009 bath                     
Oh, my it was so fabulous. This photo is of Maddy and me just after getting to the room. And, it is the first hotel I've stayed in where I felt the need to get a shot of the bathroom.
 
 
Thursday, July 9th, through Saturday, July 11th - Classes with Tracy Stanley, Steven James, Janice Berkebile, Joe Silvera. PNW 2009 Hammering Tracy 1
We learned all kinds of metal working techniques, how to finish off our work with Dremels and Flexshafts, how to etch metal, how to enamel with a torch. All kinds of good stuff. Here's a photo of our instructor, Tracy Stanley, getting hammered.
 
Highlights while in Tacoma - walking through the Farmer's Market on Thursday during our lunch break. Catching sight of Mt. Rainier during a brief break in the clouds. Seeing old friends at the vendor show and making new friends while we madly bought beads. Budget, what budget?
 
Sunday, July 12th
- Drove back to Portland after getting a very late start. We got to Portland with less than two hours to spend with our favorite pearl vendor. But those two hours were very productive for all parties concerned. Once again - budget, what budget? The pearls should be out on the sales floor in a couple weeks.
 
Monday, July 13th - pnw2009lori&mom
 
Met up with Lori and Virginia, owners of Ginia's Beads in Keizer, OR. These two fabulous women spent their day off from their shop showing us Tillamook and Netarts, OR. You've seen Tillamook Cheese at the grocery store. Well, they also make ICE CREAM and FUDGE. Yum, yum.
 
At Netarts we checked into our lodgings for the night. We had reserved a quaint TINY little cabin at Happy Camp Hideaway. But the "resort" owner needed that cabin (#6) for someone else and upgraded us to a 3500 s.f., 3 story house that is on the market for $750,000. YIKES. Yes, we only paid the original $100 instead of the $350 it should have cost. Thanks to Lori - it was because of her that we got this deal.
 
Tuesday, July 14 - Spent the morning beachcombing and enjoying the scenery, the sound of the Pacific Ocean waves, and the smell of salt water.
 
About noonish we headed back to Portland, stopping at a post office to mail back beads and tools that simply wouldn't fit in our luggage.
 
We got to Portland, found a Staples and shipped even more excess baggage home. Did we REALLY buy all this stuff?
 
Wednesday, July 15th - Caught our mid-morning flight: smiling, laughing, recalling our trip, thankful to be heading home. But, gee, couldn't we stay one more day?
 
It's great to be home - and there's always next year!
Watermelon on the Porch
Saturday, July 25, 1-4pm
 

watermelonYes, we love our beautiful shaded porch. And, we love watermelon. So we decided to combine the two this coming Saturday. Stop by to check out the beads and enjoy a slice of watermelon!
 
Did you know that watermelon is 90% water. It is a member of the gourd family and is classified as a vegetable by the horticulturalists.
Out with the Old... 
'cause we need more room 
 pnw 2009 td in a coat
We truly did buy some great stuff on our trip. But the shop was already a bit crowded. So what's a girl to do?
 
We figure it will take at least a month to get everything in and processed. So for the next few weeks, we'll be looking for beads and supplies that could be moved to the sale table. So keep checking that table by the register every time you come in. It will change daily. There will be some really great beads on the table. Strands will be 30% off, loose beads 50% off, seed beads 30% off. Probably some more categories I can't anticipate right now! 
 
FYI, the photo has no relation to the topic. It's just special because Teresa is in a coat in JULY. She frequently doesn't wear one when there's snow on the ground.
In with the NEW...
Take a look at what's coming! pnw beach dune
 
Fabulous Czech glass, vintage German and Czech glass, ceramic beads, Chinese raku, semi-precious (including African Map Jasper & dragon blood jasper.) Chinese crystals that'll knock your socks off. Brass beads (plain and plated.) Bali & Karen Hill Tribe silver (to die for!) Pearls, pearls, and more pearls. There's more but my brain just seized up - bead overload!! 
 
Once again, the photo is unrelated to the topic. This is a view of the inlet and Pacific Ocean from the beach at Netarts. Temperature about 65 degrees (Tulsa about 103 - am I mean or what?)
Fretz Hammers & Wired Arts
Two Great Finds in Tacoma
 
While all of the classes we took were fabulous, those taught by Janice Berkebile and Tracy Stanley were truly superb. If you ever have a chance to take a class from them - DO IT! To learn more about them, check out their website Wired Arts. They are so talented and wonderful teachers.
 
They can also be quite devious. We've been seeing ads for Fretz hammers and reading the glowing reviews. But had decided that these pricey hammers were beyond our budget. Well, guess what we got to use in our classes with Tracy & Janice? Yep, Fretz hammers. And, yes, we came home with a "beginner's set."
 
We have no plans to carry the hammers for sale at The Beadles anytime soon. But they are available on the Wired Arts website. Tell them The Beadles sent you.
 
It's really ironic - praising a $5 hammer in the opening paragraph and a $60 hammer in the last paragraph!