After the HK show..

[KarinK]

In Denmark you would not want to use the word 'klunker' for pearls - though some of the more bizarre fireballs could have a certain resemblance to what klunker is slang for.

- Karin

 

[Pearl Dreams]

LOL. It doesn't sound very girly to klunk!

In Denmark you would not want to use the word 'klunker' for pearls - though some of the more bizarre fireballs could have a certain resemblance to what klunker is slang for.

- Karin

That's what I was thinking too!!! Heh heh heh And I don't speak Danish.

 

[pearlescence]

This thread has certainly gone around the houses - from me asking fellow sellers how they were getting on with sorting through their loot from the show, through what people are buying which is new in from the show, then buying generally to caitlin's nicknames for pearls and finally to rude words in Denmark!

 

[KarinK]

The word is not rude in Danish, actually quite polite, but would bring too many unwarrented smiles to people's faces

- Karin

 

[lisa c]

This thread has certainly gone around the houses - from me asking fellow sellers how they were getting on with sorting through their loot from the show, through what people are buying which is new in from the show, then buying generally to caitlin's nicknames for pearls and finally to rude words in Denmark!

I know! Wasn't it fun? Give it to you, for starting a good thing!

 

[Caitlin]

This thread has certainly gone around the houses - from me asking fellow sellers how they were getting on with sorting through their loot from the show, through what people are buying which is new in from the show, then buying generally to caitlin's nicknames for pearls and finally to rude words in Denmark!

With a title like this thread has, it indicates a kind of processing should be taking place. The processing, then the final offerings.

Those are not my nicknames for pearl sounds or sizes, those words are examples of my long, continuous memory of various happenings during pearl guide history and my bringing them forward when my memory is ticked. Which it is by this. So skip this post if old P-G history is boring to you,

Klonk is actually a Zeide word; one of many examples of her original word stylings, which is where she was/is most brilliant. (I had to quit typing for a minute to get nostalgic about her talent with words and phrases-it was towering, IMO, she still towers over all the fine wordsmiths who have posted on this forum) When Zeide first used the word "klonk", it spread of its own accord all over this forum. And, "klonk" is useful because it separates out a whole class of pearls with one word. You hear or read, klonk- you immediately think big pearls. When you see big pearls, no matter the shape, you think "klonks". No longer any need to get particular and say "13mm" or "17x12mm" etc, they are ALL klonks! And klonks are a special category of pearls. When Zeide expounded on why she used the word klonk, she referred to the sounds they make and actually said that little pearls, klink, medium pearls klank, and big pearls klonk. As German is her first language (and she had a knack for decisions like, "K" was better to use than "C") so she spelled them all with "K"s. "Pearl-plated beads" was her expression for cheap akoyas, especially, but any badly cultured sea pearl. The list goes on more than this.....

Zeide first made up and used "Freshadama" on this forum. It was for the first strands of earring grade freshwater pearls Jeremy brought home and made into exquisite freshwater strands; the best that had been seen in the USA, so far. (He sent some out to people. I got a purple one, Zeide got a white strand) In 2005-6 or so? Suddenly, these were the first gem quality pearls available on the internet- absolutely no one else used earring grade pearls to make strands, before Jeremy did this. Now it is a necessary quality of pearl meant to attract more discerning buyers and most big time online sites have this grade- Jeremy, the inventive!

I guess I am the last one standing of the early wild and wooly posters like Zeide and Slraep, who were like Abbott and Costello in the way they played word games with the English language. Slraep has extremely strong language skills,to and the ability to create a cast of characters with language. Both appeared to move in circles that owned castles in Europe and Masarattis. In between pearl talk (for the forum was small back then) they wove their personas into their posts.

It had to end because the forum was real, not just a "list" like the ones for voodoo clubs on Yahoo which were still big, back then. That is, the forum was filling up with real people and an entirely new culture of behavior operated here from the rest of the internet. No more pretend. No more flaming. No trolls. Besides, real people were really believing Zeide, even when she got as ridiculous as possible about Lop Noors and Siberian transgraft pearls. I, for one, believed her for quite a while. I was in awe of her knowledge.(Then I bought my own copy of "Pearls" by Elisabeth Strack; Zeide had the German version long before it was out in English) She started out joking, but developed a bunch of followers, like me. I was so serious about pearls and I had no clue that the groups on Yahoo were actually more into making up characters and using the English language to its utmost limits, than exploring the topic of the group. I believed Pearl-Guide was real and that jokesters like Zeide were real, too. It came to the point where make believe characters like Zeide were no longer functioning for the forum and had to go. So Abbott and Costello did a flim flam where Costello revealed Abbott who then had to retire, much hurt, that the joke had to end. (Slraep was the one who called an end to the games, and exposed Zeide to me)

My tendency to flame a very few, selected people, like sbloom- or have a strong way of stating opinions about big corporate pearl operations- or their pearls- dates from that era too, though I am now trying to mitigate it, somewhat, I hope.

 

[lisa c]

OK now, you aren't saying Zeide was slreap on steroids, are you? Because I read Slraep's posts on the pearl professor, where she basically created characters who flayed Zeide. slraep was enormously gifted at writing those characters. Zeide is a real person, you met her, right?
(Noooo, you actually said you'd seen a picture... Hmmmm, this is interesting)

Which leads me to ask was the little old lady who felt her jeweler was light-fingered and had stolen some of her priceless mikimotos (or Royalty's Naturals, I don't remember exactly) while restringing her necklace - was that a real person? I had a feeling she was not real when I read her posts, or that she was a caricature. That thread went on forrrrr-ever and it was a relief when 'Zeide' cut her off (forgive me if you're a real little old lady, ma'am).

So...is this one of the reasons you vett posters carefully before allowing the posts through, aside from spammers?

Why are you telling us now? Is someone sick or dying? It sort of smacks of death bed confession, or d?nouement. Is it because some of you originals are pretty big wheels now, and need to be more serious? This is Fascinating!

 

[Caitlin]

Zeide is a real person. I never met her, but people I know have. Slraep is also a real person I have talked to on the phone and had a lot of emails with too. She interacted with Zeide on many levels, they were like a pitcher and a catcher a lot of the time. She used Zeide's emails to her as the basis of her posts on pearl prof. But then, like a jazz musician, she just began riffing on the themes, so to speak. She even added extra 'instruments' in the form of various different characters who were also posting. It was a regular jazz band of posters riffing on Zeide, but virtually all of them were created by Slraep. Zeide is not the mysterious one here, Slraep is. I think she is a real person in Canada living with a dentist hubby and both are geeks and they spend a lot of time being funny on the internet, because they are closed up by the weather in the winter.I always thought Slraep was bouncing off someone to come up with her characters and I think it possible some of the material was a reflection of an offline exchange. We didn't hear so much from Slraep when Prince Edward Island was open in the summer, they were off living in a natural setting and taking lots of photos. So she/they were ripe for finding Zeide and then she or they got bored and moved on. Slraep is a bit of a tease. I have asked her to come back more than once and emailed with her long after she quit posting. A mighty interesting person, she is. And she really got Zeide going......lol...

 

[lisa c]

Oh, I got it that Slraep is the mysterious one, and Zeide was the imperious one. Now you've got me ​thinking, though. An Enormously gifted writer creates believable characters and plots, plots, plots. That's what they do.

You don't really know that slraep didn't invent Zeide - or did sbloom meet Zeide in person? You swear these people you know who've met Zeide are real humans like GG, or MIKKEY? I mean, you've been in voice conversations, or something face to face with them? This is so fraught with possibilities, and fascinating!

I think we should forevermore call Wendy Pandora. How's this for going 'round the block, Wendy?

 

[lisa c]

Well, at least nobody's sick or dying. We're just amazingly associative/tangential conversationalists, and someone felt the time was right to 'lift the veil'. It's cool. (((Caitlin)))

 

[pearlescence]

Considering that no other sellers actually said anything I think it's thoroughly hijacked, and I can't believe that there is nostalgia for the dishonest preacher-woman. Only with one or two people I think. The rest of us aren't interested and think it is simply old and not relevant

 

[lisa c]

Yes, Ma'am! ( salute)
It's relevant because she pops up periodically as an outspoken figure of intrigue and controversy when new people read back to old posts. Don't people who read so far back constitute an important part of the social PG?

Maybe there can be a Merchants Only Access forum for those who want only merchant input? Sort of a SuperSecretLevel, like Other Stuff X 2 ? (Serious suggestion here)

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Wendy, this was your thread-- I'm sure no disrespect was intended by the hijack, but now why don't we just return to the topic of the thread?

I'm looking forward to seeing more of the new goodies on the various vendor's websites!

 

[pearlescence]

I'm n ot complaining, just bemused -and I was genuinely curious as to how the other pro's are getting on. We're still uploading, making, sorting...it seems unending...There are piles of pearls and bags of pearls everywhere!

 

[jshepherd]

Wow. Interesting twists in this thread.

We are still in the thick of it.

 

[Caitlin]

Sorry to go off on a tangent, but I could not let anyone go on thinking "klonk" is my little personal word. It kind of stung, the way you said it. It is part of forum history. I guess when I am gone people can attribute anything they believe to me; but not when I am still here.

When I see the word "processing", I was a counselor and I thought it was the experience of a hong kong show that was getting processed. My dumb bad. Maybe if there were a few photos of processing, I may not have had that senior moment or whatever it was. But I doubt I drove the other sellers away. However, I think I need to leave this thread. sorry again.

 

[pearlescence]

Two pearl people separated by a common language. And sorry, I thought klonk was your word. I just meant it isn't an official pearl industry standard word, it's a nickname here.
There you go - trays of stuff waiting to be uploaded (and careful scrutiny will allow you to discover which routine earrings we have sold out of and need to make some more.
friends again now?

(and thanks for the explanation of counsellor 'processing' - it explains why she's always processing in 50 Shades [it's my thread I'll really spin it into a different direction!])

 

[dkan 168]

Interesting read re: characters and events of the past, thanks Caitlin et al.

DK

 

[Sarah]

It's cold here and a nice day for reading. I'm enjoying both types of processing in this thread.