To BeadFest and Back...

It's been a little while since we made our way out to Philadelphia for the BeadFest show.  After the big shows, I always feel a little blue.  The shows are a convergence point of some of my favorite people and artisans – a swirling, melting pot of creative energy that fills the air like iridescent bubbles.  Once I'm home, I miss my tribe.  I miss that crackling energy.  I miss all the beautiful things that line the maze of tables and convention center blue and white cloth dividers.  And usually, I throw myself into my work to lessen the brunt of that absence.  I go through a ritual of unpacking our purchases, looking at photos and slowly easing back into the day-to-day routines.  There's a finality to doing the laundry, folding the clothes, and then writing about the experiences on the road.

We didn't know if we were going to go to the show at all this year.  I had just come back from a trip to North Carolina, where I attended a gem show in Franklin.  Realistically, we didn't need to restock so soon, but we wanted to see all our friends and familiar faces... so at the last minute, we made plans to go to BeadFest.

Here's a recap in pictures and faces of the weekend:

Kate Richbourg of the Gaston Collective, Genea Crivello-Knable, Staci Louise Smith, and Joan Eckard.

Kay (with a picture of her new baby) from Star's Clasps, Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio, Linda Landig, Lesley Watt of THEAElements, and Maureen Henriques of Pumpkin Hill Beads.

Helena Hui of Pearl Concepts, Jill Wiseman, and Bernadette Fuentes.

Diane Hawkey, Ashley Bunting, Elisa Jennings Sullivan of Swirls Jewelry, and Patti Bullard of Wubbers.

Candie Cooper, Brenda Schweder of Now That's a Jig, Nealey Patel who wrote, "Jewelry for the New Romantic", and Eva Sherman.

Yvonne of My Elements by Yvonne, Abby and Ashley (again) from Xuron, and Marsha Minutella of Marsha Neal Studio.

Marti Brown of the Dragon's Odyssey, Liz and Sak of Saki Silver, and Leslie Pope of Twisted Sistah Beads.

Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio, Heather Powers of Humble Beads, Anne Gardanne, and Jolene from Bazaar Star Beadery.

Tammy Honaman, Katie Hacker, John and Janice Evert, Jenny Davies-Reazor and Sue Kennedy.

(I usually don't post pictures of myself in my recaps, but I liked this picture that Perry Bookstein of York Beads took of me and Jennifer VanBenschoten of Beading Daily, Sunyoung of Ezel Findings and my brother-in-law, Greg, from Green Girl Studios.  Greg is currently working on a music project called Burn Report.  CLICK HERE to check it out.

Near the end of the show, I took a panoramic of the convention center.

While we were in the area, we were fortunate enough to help celebrate Margot Potter's birthday and their return to Pennsylvania.  Their home and studio are super cute!  I love their separate little red studio building.  I'm excited for the Potter family and looking forward to seeing all the great projects that they have in the works come to fruition.
  

We also got to see William's former roommate, who showed us around the city.  It was nice to walk around and explore.  We had a tasty meal at Khyber Pass Pub.  (They had excellent pulled pork and brisket!)  We then headed over to see the lights at Spruce Street Harbor Park.  After walking around the waterfront for a bit and enjoying the festive lights, we met up with a group of people to Morgan's Pier for dancing, drinks and fireworks.

The weekend was packed with friends both old and new, beautiful things, and good times.  Until next time, BeadFest!