Intergem in Chantilly this weekend?

[battah]

Is anyone going? I'm planning to pop in for a bit around noon on Friday...

 

[Purranha]

Have fun! We are envious!

 

[battah]

Thanks! Haha don't be too envious, typically the pearl selection isn't that great there. There are a few vendors with good gemstone beads, though.

 

[CathyKeshi]

We'll be close ... Harpers' Ferry area camping ... but we travel Friday, have a wedding Saturday, and travel Sunday, so I'll miss this time.

 

[battah]

Sorry we won't see each other, Cathy! Have a fab weekend

 

[CathyKeshi]

Thanks Battah! I'm happy ... grandson is asleep up front in the camper; we surprised him with a sleepover before continuing on tomorrow. Hope you find good things at Chantilly ... wish I could go, as Chantilly is bigger than Philadelphia show. Arun Shah from Bollywood Beads has lots of treasures ... he's in the wholesale room

 

[battah]

Enjoy the sleepover, I'm sure the little guy is thrilled! I'll make sure to check out the wholesale room, I need to remember to write down my shop tax ID so they let me in...

 

[battah]

Photos from Intergem! I was surprised to see more pearls this time, with slightly better than usual saltwater pearl options. The freshwater pearls were still so-so, definitely crafting quality. I found a lot of fun clasps, which I was happy about - I found a few things for mom's torsade restring project for pretty cheap, so that'll give me time to find her a nice gold clasp. It hasn't been restrung in 30 years so I want to get it restrung for her with SOMETHING while we look for a nice clasp. And I found a jade bangle! Photos next.

 

[battah]

Plated clasps - these were very pretty and nicely made.

 

[battah]

These are 14k and diamond (and pearl).

 

[battah]

These were just kind of fun.

 

[battah]

Jade bangle! I found a few vendors selling them - I wanted to get something cheap, just to get an idea of sizing so I know what size to get once Dave's are ready to go. I can get this one on without lotion or anything, so I'm thinking I can go 2-3mm smaller with a more involved putting-on process. I like the fit, but I wouldn't mind having it a little more snug, as bangles banging around bug me. I spent some time on youtube looking at methods to check if jade is real, and I think it seems like it is. It isn't super high quality (it was only $60), but it appears to at least be real.

 

[battah]

Finally, the only pearls I bought. I didn't see any Tahitian strands with any vendors that were worth buying, all of them had a lot of yucky pearls on them. But as I was getting ready to leave, I found one dude with trays of undrilled pearls out, also super cheap (understandably so, as they weren't fantastic quality). But picking through them, I found some that I liked. BEFORE I BOUGHT THEM I asked him if he'd be able to drill them and he said yes, but of course once I had paid, he told me he could only half-drill. He swore I would be able to get them drilled somewhere at the show, but of course I couldn't find anyone to do it. I still kept them, because they were pretty and you can't beat $10 each, but now I need to figure out how to get them drilled. I'll post this question elsewhere, too, so it doesn't get missed here. At any rate, they're pretty and I like them.

Another point on the Tahitians, the ones I saw at the fair were less expensive than before, and I saw a lot of really small ones (some looked like 6-7mm drops) at the ends of graduated strands. So I think maybe these are some of the Tahitians we were talking about before, with thinner nacre? My PP Tahitians, where they have marks on the surface, don't show the bead. But most of the pearls at the show that had pits showed the white bead, even when the pit wasn't very deep. I typically don't mind a little bit of pitting on circled Tahitians, I think it adds to their character, but not when the bead is showing! I'm not sure if that's how you spot thin-nacre Tahitians but these seemed like they might be that.

 

[battah]

Finally, a group shot of my haul (I got some new wire cutters and pliers, too). The beads are all glass. The colors don't show too well but they're really pretty and I think will make nice long kumihimo necklaces.

 

[Purranha]

NICE HAUL Battah!!! I especially LUV your clasps!!! And HELLOOOOO baby panther heads!!! So glad you found some!!!

 

[battah]

I was so excited about the panthers! I saw so many different kinds - the one I got opens from both panther mouths, and the ring itself is solid. Not quite as versatile as the rings that open, but I like that they give the option to attach things in either mouth for a different look. So many vendors had fabulous micro-pave findings! I had to control myself and stick to my list lol

 

[battah]

Natural light pics of the pearls. These were the only good ones out of hundreds, but I do like them.

 

[Luvglitz]

Battah, thank you for all your pictures and inspiration for making new necklaces. Our Intergem show won't be till October. I get antsy waiting as I look forward to the show so much. I like to plan out what I need and also what I might like to acquire but that still doesn't mean I don't get carried away. I would like to find some panther closures like yours. Have to admit I never looked for them before. I usually head right into the wholesale area, however at the last show, I found better freshwater pearls in the general shopping area. After lots of bargaining, prices were acceptable. Usually when I get home and look through all my new loot, I think to myself, how will I ever find the time to put all these projects together.

 

[battah]

Luvglitz, I wish I had paid attention to the vendor names to direct you to my favorites! I definitely found better things this time than the last show. Purranha turned me on to the panthers, I loved how they looked on her long necklaces! I saw a lot of gorgeous peacock pieces, too, but not clasps and that's what I need at the moment.

I hear you re: projects! Usually I come home with way too many things and never incorporate them into anything. This year I've been trying really, really hard to use up my stash and put together projects with minimal supply purchasing (aside from thread and clasps, etc). It can be challenging, I saw so many cool things!

 

[amti]

Thanks for explaining how the panther clasps work. I've seen a few of the clasps on ebay and etsy. How nice to be able to see them firsthand and see how well they work! Can't wait to see what you do next with your kumihimo beads!