Day of Work, Night of Party...

Here are some snapshots from Tucson at the Best Bead Show and the Swarovski Party.

Each year, I look forward to seeing our neighbor across the way at The Best Bead Show, Terri Caspary Schmidt. Not only does she make some of the most stunning and subtle lampwork glass beads, but she also is such a calm and relaxing person to be around. I can rest assured that if I look up and across at any point, I'll be greeted with a warm smile.

You know, I don't really feature that many of the Green Girl Studios customers on the blog. That's a shame, because they are really why I love doing the shows. It is always nice to see a familiar face and see what people have been up to. One of my favorite Tucson friends is, Ellie Roy of Argenta Bead Company in Little Rock, Arkansas. I could talk to her for hours, listening to her sweet Southern accent. She reminds me of all the good things about the Ozarks.

Speaking of lovely customers who I've known for years, Heidi Woody of The Beaded Frog in South Carolina is always a joy to see. This year, she brought along her store manager, Stella. Apparently Stella is half Filipino as well and we joked about how we're probably distant, long-lost cousins.

Another friendly face that I look forward to seeing each year is Bernadette Fuentes. She makes lovely lampwork glass beads, as well as some awesome olive oil soap! Don't forget to check out her work on FusionBeads also!

Above is a picture of Bob Burkett and Anne Mitchell. I am glad that Bob made it out to the show. We were all worried that he wouldn't be able to make it out to Tucson this year. I picked up some really great skulls from him for the Skull Shop. It was also nice to see Anne Mitchell, who was awarded the 2009 Excellence in Bead Artistry Award by Bead & Button.

One of the things that I always look forward to when we go out to Tucson is the Swarovski party. We've been going for several years now and it is definitely a highlight of the trip. I was afraid that we weren't going to be able to go this year, but luckily, my good friends at Fusion Beads put us on the list even though they couldn't attend themselves! Thank you, Fusion Beads!

Above is a picture of Joanna Feller and Pamela Hawkins of Bead Unique magazine. This is the first time that I've met Joanna, but was privileged to meet Pamela years ago at the Big Apple glass Art and Bead Festival put on by Soft Flex Company.

Danielle Fox, Melinda Barta, and Marlene Blessing of Interweave Press pose for a picture. I call them "The Blondes" for obvious reasons. They are all fabulously talented, intelligent, motivated and completely darling and totally defy any hair-color stereotypes.

Lovely ladies of advertising, Karen and Debbi Simon (author of Crystal Chic: Custom Jewelry with Dazzling Details) pose for a picture.

Brenda Schweder, recent author of Vintage Redux: Remake Classic and Collectible Jewelry just announced that her next book tentatively titled, "Iron Wire Jewelry" from Lark Books will come out in the Fall.
I got to spend a lot of time getting to know fellow housemate, Jeannette Cook of Beady Eyed Women, and we had a delightful time talking and dancing.

Kay from Star's Claps looked lovely as always, dressed all in white and sporting a lovely piece of bling.

Ask Sara and Jamie Hogsett pose in front of this season's new Swarovski crystal shapes. I love the new lotus (looks more like a sand dollar to me) and the new Artemis cone shape.

I've never met Katie from E. H. Ashely before, who was sporting a bedazzled leather jacket, but any friend of the regal Marcia DeCoster is fine by me!

Having a good time, Lisa Niven Kelly and Kriss Silva of Beaducation pose with Mike of PepeTools.

The picture is a little dark, but the lovely ladies featured are still stunning – Paula Radke of dichroic lampwork fame and Jill MacKay. Jill just debuted an awesome and innovative line of chipboard jewelry components.

It was nice to see Molly Schaller, former editor of Simply Beads magazine, at the party. We first met at a Swarovski event a couple of years ago. So it was like completing the circle that we should see each other again at another Swarovski event. I was trying to convince Molly that Twitter was a good thing. Let's see if she'll take the bait and get an account!

I can't begin to describe how much I enjoy the company of Jean Campbell! She's a peach!

Leslie Rogalski hams it up for the camera. We were all talking about who played Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter). Leslie just happened to be sporting a great beaded cuff and did us the honor of doing her Wonder Woman pose.

I really love this photo. I think it captures the feeling of the Swarovski event perfectly. Anna of Kalbach is featured in a blur of dancing bodies.

All of these lovely ladies are masters of bling: Jeannette Cook, Val of Creations by You, Kristal Wick, and Jean Campbell.

"Dance! Dance! Dance!"