I hope you enjoy reading this article about our past experiences in Tucson, Arizona. But we can’t wait to see you at the upcoming Tucson 2012 Shows: specifically, the Tucson Electric Park (TEP) Gem & Mineral Show, where the Wire-Sculpture and JewelryTools.com crew will be supporting 15 renowned jewelry instructors at the JewelryTools Classes – teaching over 120 projects! There’s still time for you to sign up, we’d love to see you there – Click here to explore our Tucson Electric Park Classes, Jan. 28 – Feb. 12, 2012!

I’m having an amazing time down here in Tucson, I’ve been hanging out at our show, the JOGS event, as well as wandering around the 40+ shows – I’ve seen some absolutely amazing things!

Oh, and before I forget – to let you get some of the great wholesale deals folks are getting down here, all Wire-Sculpture Beads are 20% off, now through February 9 2011! And Cabs are 30% off (Druzies 20% off) through Saturday night only, so get your cab orders in soon to save! More on the sales in a minute –

Now, a lot of the shows were photography-restricted, but several friendly folks allowed me to take pictures of their gems and wares. I’m happy I’m able to share these photos with you! Ok, so let me start off with one amazing gem: this is a natural blue sapphire. . .

It’s bigger than it looks…

Not only is it gorgeous in person… it’s 53.04 carats! This stone alone is worth about $1.5 million retail!

What a stunning sapphire!

If you thought that stone was big, just wait until you see these gigantic geodes!

Real amethyst in geodes – unbelievable!

Those geodes were part of a large exhibit at Red Gallery, a vendor from Germany located at the Mineral and Fossil Coop show. Just feet away, I found myself next to a large fossil…

And I found some more bony friends at the GeoDecor Fossils & Minerals booth, bigger than me – the woolly mammoth below is about 15 feet tall!

That’s a real Woolly Mammoth!

Dale’s been keeping busy teaching lots of classes – I love seeing new folks picking up pliers for the first time, and walking out with finished pieces and proud smiles! Other teachers here at JOGS, like Albina, Meredith, and Laurie, have also been busy teaching classes and having a great time with their students. I’ve seen and met lots of folks at the Wire-Sculpture booth when I’m not wandering around – It’s been great meeting you and seeing the jewelry you brought to the show!

Dale had a day off from classes, so we went and explored the TEP – Tucson Electric Park, which has over 200 vendors. Our show, JOGS, is indoors in the Tucson Expo Center, but the TEP Show is outside, a sea of white tents – I can’t wait to go back! We found some really cool shops and pieces – I took lots of pictures, here are my favorites:

Dale and a Crystal Lady Sculpture

"God of the Artist" Statue

I could spend hours in this booth! Dale and I got scarves to keep warm,
we weren’t expecting cold weather in Tucson…

It was a chilly day, down to 38 degrees, so Dale couldn’t shop for rocks (you need to splash water on the rocks to shop properly, and that’s just too cold!) I know, I know, 38 degrees isn’t cold compared to the single digits I’ve been seeing across the country – it’s just been a cold week everywhere.

There was even ice in some fountains – what an odd thing to see right next to a cactus!

Icicles and Cacti

I love the free shuttle service, so I can get around all the shows here in Tucson easily. And as wide as the selection of gems and jewelry available here, is the range of food: from Greek to Thai to Bohemian Cafe to old fashioned BBQ, there really is every kind of food here, something my connoisseur husband is really missing out on – and it’s so good, too!

I wish you were here exploring all the Tucson shows with me! I can’t believe how much I’ve seen already, and I still haven’t made it to all the shows. I promised I’d send you a new promotion with this Tucson update, so here it is:

Save 20% on All Beads! That’s right, every bead on Wire-Sculpture, from metal beads to Swarovskis to carved gemstone beads, is 20% off through Wednesday, February 9th 2011. And don’t forget, through February 15th, 2011, you can save 20% on all DVDs, save 60% on Glitter Handle Pliers, and save 60% on Lucky Stone CZs!

Save 20% on All Beads – Click to Explore!

I’ll send you one more fun email once I come home from Tucson and go through all my pictures. And there’ll be one last sale, too! See you next week!

Rose Marion
Wire-Sculpture.com

I hope you enjoy reading this article about our past experiences in Tucson, Arizona. But we can’t wait to see you at the upcoming Tucson 2012 Shows: specifically, the Tucson Electric Park (TEP) Gem & Mineral Show, where the Wire-Sculpture and JewelryTools.com crew will be supporting 15 renowned jewelry instructors at the JewelryTools Classes – teaching over 120 projects! There’s still time for you to sign up, we’d love to see you there – Click here to explore our Tucson Electric Park Classes, Jan. 28 – Feb. 12, 2012!

Yes, it’s that time of year again, when a lot of us are gearing up for our annual trip to Tucson, Arizona. As I sit at my desk in southeast Tennessee and add to my ‘Tucson Lists’ (where it is currently 21º at 1:30 in the afternoon) it is very easy to think about packing bathing suits and tee shirts!
The February gemshows in Tucson are still ‘the place to be’! For two weeks +, vendors and shoppers come from all over the world to sell, swap and shop for everything and anything that one might possibly need in both the jewelry making and lapidary industry. There are about 40 different gem shows during this time (not counting all of the street and tailgate opportunities). For those of you who think you cannot attend because you are not yet a business, I believe that only 9 of these shows are ‘wholesale only’. That leaves more than 30 shows you can visit!

There are a lot of reasons to attend, even if just for a few days:

• Escape from the cold weather where you live. (Obviously a plus for some of us.)
• Find new supply sources and meet vendors personally. Don’t you just love being able to touch, feel and see the real colors of a product before you buy it? Here also, is an opportunity to purchase directly from a company with no middleman!

• Collect new product catalogues and coupons. While there, you can pick-up a variety of free magazines and catalogues from various sources, scattered throughout the shows. (I know I use my Tucson show Guide as a resource for years after!)

Network with others in your particular medium and meet professionals in all fields of jewelry making and lapidary arts.You never know with whom you might be sharing a lunch table, in a crowded courtyard. (I usually come home with a minimum of 50, new contact business cards.)

• Checkout brand new products and equipment; investigate a variety of jewelry and lapidary procedures and watch live demonstrations. The latest in gizmos and gadgets for the industry are always in Tucson in February. Watch as the inventors themselves demonstrate, and get a good deal if you decide you need whatever it is.

Take a class. Tired of shopping and walking? Take a break and take a class! The top in their field of various jewelry making procedures will be demonstrating and teaching in Tucson. Although most classes are ‘scheduled’, at the Jogs show, we teach ‘on demand’. To find out more about our International Teaching Team and the classes we are offering this year: http://www.jogsshow.com/beading_classes.htm or just stop by and say Hello!

• Shop, shop, shop!! Oh my goodness! The variety of items for sale is way too many to list – just imagine anything and everything you have ever seen in a jewelry-making catalog and more, like awesome tie dye and eclectic gift items. (How about an 8-inch tall, unicorn’s horn carved from selenite?)

• Visit Wire-Sculpture! Members of Wire-Sculpture.com will be manning a booth at the Jogs Show this year, talking with YOU, taking orders, and offering wire, tools, DVDs and more. They are also proud sponsors of the 2010 Jogs Jewelry-Making Classes. http://www.jogsshow.com/index.html

>There are a lot of great articles on-line, with ideas about what to and not to do, to get ready for your Tucson experience. Here are my personal suggestions, that may help to make your first Tucson experience a bit easier and more fun.
If you are a home jewelry business:

Pre-register for shows http://www.jewelryshowguide.com/event/results.php
• Make and carry small copies of your resale document and/or business license (vendors appreciate being able to keep a copy for their records and it makes purchase paperwork quicker)

Everyone:

• Make a list of the supplies you need to find

Make a list of the things you would like to have. Carry at least 100 business cards!

• Use the Shuttles! From the airport to every show venue, hotels and back again, there are several shuttles that run constantly throughout the shows. Save having to find and pay for parking, traffic and dealing with the fact that I-10 is still closed from one end of the city to the other.
• Bring a badge lanyard (if you have one). Personally, I just find it easier to have one lanyard to which I attach all of my badges so I don’t have to worry about having the right one on for the right show.

Leave pets and small children at home. You will be doing a lot of walking, chairs are limited, it can get really hot, and a real concern: port-a-johns.

• Bring a backpack (rocks get heavy!)
• Bring a box of zipper style sandwich bags. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t take a few minutes to record my purchases as soon as I can, I’ll never do it! Therefore I individually bag each item along with its’ receipt, every night.

• Bring a maker, pen and a small notebook. To help me stay as close to my budget as possible, while shopping for things I need I often see things I want; so I carry a small notebook and pen with me to be able to write down what I saw and where. Also, sometimes great deals are made with cash and do not have receipts, so I make a note for my records
• Wear comfortable shoes and clothing (maybe bring a hat). Oh yes, like any type of event, you will see many ‘fashion statements’. They are fun to watch, but I prefer not to be one. I am more comfortable in my jeans, boots and t-shirt, and I always have a straw hat, because walking around in the Arizona sun will burn this winter-white skin! Remember that you will be on your feet for hours! Unless attending a special event, I also advise against wearing lots of expensive jewelry, as unscrupulous individuals are always looking for opportunities.
• Carry gum, mints and a granola (or similar) bar, and Band-Aids

• Do bring one dressy-casual outfit. You never know when you’ll be invited of one of the many, special parties and events being held all over town!

• A light jacket is a must as it does get rather chilly in the evening.
• And of course your camera, but be sure to ask permission before taking a picture of a display!

With all of the shopping, dealing, walking, rich foods, etc, I think it’s important to take a few hours for rest and relaxation. A nice drive into the desert is always re-energizing for me (and stopping to look for agates is about a must!)

See you in Tucson ~ stay ‘twisted’!!

Dale/Cougar

I had the opportunity to interview Dale “Cougar” Armstrong this week and I thought it would be a great blog item – so below is the interview!

I’m here (Alexandrea) with Dale “Cougar” Armstrong a die-hard rock hound, lapidary and wire jewelry designer.   As an expert, you have “followers” who want to know more about you so today we’re going to talk about your life’s work, your ambitions, your family life and what the future holds for you.

Alexandrea:  Dale, I have to ask, where does the “Cougar” come from in your “brand name?”

Dale:  I’m really glad you asked that because it has nothing to do with the current, “cougar woman” definition but is a nickname that my husband and friends gave me because my personality traits are  more like a big cat, so I used the cougar as my animal spirit totem and also for identification purposes in the business.

Alexandrea:  You truly are an artist.  So speaking of art, would you tell us how and when you discovered that jewelry was the art form in which you could express yourself best?

Dale:  After many years of training in 2 dimensional art forms I learned that 3D art was my favorite way to work.  Actually in a high school art class I was working on a mixed media piece with  paper mache’  and macromae and realized that my hands were doing all sorts of things that made my piece much better than the sketch I’d created for it.  My wire jewelry career began about 19 years ago and then progressed from a rock hound to a lapidary as a hobby and I was looking for a way to set the stone I was cutting.  So i was looking at silversmithing, casting, soldering and heat and then wire.  To me wire just seemed to have more artistic freedom than casting and smithing and I began to play with it and then included it in my art show as a result, in 1996.

Alexandrea:  You’re an accomplished designer, instructor and author.  How many years have you devoted to this career and at what point did you realize that it was time to package your knowledge for others?

Dale:  Well that’s a pretty involved question – I credit everything that I have ever done from age 10 on and maybe earlier to my current position from all of the private art lessons my mom had me take starting at age 9; to every job I’ve ever done from direct sales, to restaurant management and advertising whatever.  I’ve been in training for this over the last 40 years!  I began teaching the wire jewelry art form by request in 1998 and it was about 9 years ago that my students began asking me to write a book which was a work in progress over the last 7 years.

Alexandrea:  Let’s talk a little about your home life.  What do you do for fun during your down time?

Dale:  Downtime is a real treasure to me because I don’t have much of it these days.  But, I do love to read, I like science fiction, fantasy and historical fiction that is based on ancient civilizations, which kind of gives me ideas for my jewelry.  For brain breaks I like to play electronic games with my daughter.  We play the Final Fantasy series and Magic, the  Gathering and I love to work in the garden and of course looking and playing with rocks.

Alexandrea:  Have any of your kids followed your path, being an artist, will they follow in your footsteps?

Dale:  Probably not.  I have one daughter Sky – she does like to work with chain mail and she knows her rocks; graduating from pebble pup to rock hound at about age 12; her thing being fossils.  But the social aspect of this business is not her thing.  I do have a couple of step daughters who gave me grandchildren, may be interested when they get older.  They are kind of young right now.

Alexandrea:  I remember reading that your daughter has several disabilities, can you tell me how caring for her has affected your jewelry making career?”

Dale:  Well, Sky does see the world in a very different light.  While living on the road with my husband’s career, I home schooled her for many years.  I learned by teaching her that people learn in different ways and so I did learn how to teach in five different ways at once.  She has also taught me what’s important in life and probably most of all, patience.

Alexandrea:  Where do you go for inspiration for jewelry designs?  Is there anything that especially moves you; an activity, or a place, or a way or do you just find it in everything?

Dale:  Inspiration – that seems to be the most common question I get.  It can be a piece of music, a book or a movie, a view from a plane or an audio / visual piece – or just a memory and comes from everywhere and everything to me.

Alexandrea:  Finally, I wanted to ask you about your newly released book – can you talk a little bit about it?

Dale:  I would love to.  It was a quite an accomplishment; and it took about 7 years.  I called some of my students and asked them what they wanted. They said they wanted something more.  I wanted to give folks not just a group of specified projects but also the formulas and the techniques so they could practice what I had written and take those ideas and techniques and run with them.  “Wire Works” was the result and I really wrote it for my students.

Well, thank you so much Dale for sharing your time with us…I’m going to catch up with you again in October or November and delve into some other new things you’re into!

Alexandrea