Wow! Three different bead shows in one week! How lucky can a bead-a-holic girl get? It’s spring break, which means I have a whole week off, AND there are 3 bead shows! There’s just something about seeing the beads in person and feeling the coldness and texture. A real sensual experience! If you live in the Austin, TX area – check ’em out!
The first one is today and tomorrow (March 13-14). It is “The Whole Bead Show”, held at the Palmer Event Center, in Austin (900 Barton Spring Rd.). It’s $5.00 admission, but you can get $1.00 off if you go to their website and print a coupon: www.wholebead.com This is for wholesale and retail buyers. It’s usually a fairly small show, but I have found some interesting beads there before…
The second, is the “Rings & Things Bead Tour”, Sunday, March 14, ONLY, from 1:00-5:00 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Austin (6121 I-35 N.). The admission is free, but it is WHOLESALE ONLY (must have a tax ID#/resale # to enter). This is a fabulous show. Rings & Things is one of my favorite wholesale bead companies, based in Spokane, WA. They have many things on the bead tour that are not in their catalog or in their online store www.rings-things.com, PLUS they offer an extra 15% discount ON TOP of the wholesale price. They also bring along popular findings, cord, wire and tools for sale. I always spend WAAAAY too much money at their annual bead tour!
And last, but certainly not least is the ever popular “International Gem & Jewelry Show” www.intergem.com, March 19-21, again, at the Palmer Event Center (see address above). This one comes twice a year to Austin. It’s not as large a show as when they go to Houston, but I always enjoy going, and ALWAYS come home with a new stash.
I’m hoping that while I’m off this week, I will have time to create some new and interesting jewelry with my finds from this week… More to come…
Sara's Creations Blog 