The Day Before Yesterday...

I almost want to pretend that the day before yesterday never happened. I keep telling myself that I'll see the folks from the first session again. I guess I'm trying to lie to myself to lessen the blow a little. I had such a fantastic time with them and I've really grown to love them in such a short period of time.

Then we headed over to The To Bead True Blue show. Some of them had worked the shows before and knew people. Others were experiencing this show for the first time. So I took the time to introduce them to some of my favorite artisans.

Above is Beth, one of our workshop participants from Canada, with the fabulous Kim Fox of Handfast Design at the Unicorn Beads table.

I was a little surprised to see Aisha behind a booth! Normally I'm used to seeing her with the notebook of power or the updated iPhone of power for The Bead Monkey. Apparently she moved to California. She also started her own line, which you can see HERE.

Charlene found the delightful folks from Antelope Beads. I love that they are very much a family business. They sell Kazuri beads which directly help the women of Kenya who make them.

Ellen found some great chain at Star's Clasps. John was very helpful. He showed her all their new plated chain, which is just beautiful!

Doriot found some amazing opals and sunstones at the Leah Fairbanks and Opal Illusions booth. Derek was telling Doriot all about mining the Oregon opals and the sunstone! I think Leah and Derek are some of the nicest people!

After our whirlwind trip through To Bead True Blue, we went home for lunch. This lunch was made even more special by the presence of the author, Emma Bull. She so generously agreed to come out and talk with us. Emma is simply amazing! I met Emma a few years ago at one of the bead shows and we discovered by chatting that we knew some of the same people in common. We had a connection to Emma, as she's friends with the photographer, Kyle Cassidy. Kyle and Emma are friends and actually just finished a project together, which you can check out by CLICKING HERE.

Above is a picture of the darling Emma with the darling Meryl.

Emma is deep waters. She's filled with stories and anecdotes, theories and a sparkling imagination. I am still processing some of things she said.

After our glorious lunch and sit down with Emma Bull, we headed over to The Gem Mall for an hour or so of looking around. We didn't have a lot of time, but we did get a chance to see some of my favorites!

One of my favorites is Raven's Journey. I absolutely adore Jayme and Linka! They are great. I think they are such a beautiful couple. I heard the other day about the "super model" booth with the Czech glass. I knew right away who they were talking about!

I won't talk about our goodbyes at the end of the day. I hope that our stories together do not end here, but are merely the beginning. I feel as though the four days we shared together were such treasures! I am looking forward to our Second Session which starts on the 8th. I can't wait to meet the folks, who I will hopefully love as much as the ones from the First Session.