Hi Wire Sculptors,

I know you’ve been curious about the Wired Retreat coming up in September. Well, I’ve got all the details–and let me tell you, I can’t wait!

Last year, we held our Wired Retreat in Buffalo, New York. People who came had a great experience–but this year, we’re taking the Wired Retreat to the next level. From September 24-26, you’ll stay as our guest at the elegant Ritz-Carlton – Amelia Island, on the beautiful eastern coast of Florida!

Enjoy breathtaking sunrises from the Atlantic Ocean in your room overlooking the beach. Feel the warm ocean breeze on your skin. Feel free to bring your spouse or a friend to share your room at the Ritz–there are golf courses, museums, and boutiques nearby, tennis courts and a fitness center at the hotel, and of course, the beach to enjoy!

The Wired Retreat package covers all your expenses: your stay at the Ritz-Carlton; all the jewelry making supplies and materials we’ll be using; meals with Dale and other wire jewelry artists; and as always, you’ll get to keep everything you make! The only cost you’re responsible for is getting to Florida! There are also group rates available if you’d like to stay at the Ritz longer than the class - make it a real vacation!

Inside the Ritz, the Wired Retreat spans three days–Friday, Saturday, and Sunday–and it covers several projects. This experience is much more than a Wired Workshop–we mean it when we call it a retreat! Relax in sunny Amelia Island and sample gourmet food and beverages while meeting and chatting with other wire jewelry artists.

We want to make sure everyone who deserves to attend the Retreat, can: that’s why we’re offering single payment, 3-month payments, and 6-month payment plans! And, if you order in the next 2 weeks, we’ll give you a $500 discount on the Wired Retreat Package!

This Retreat isn’t about learning a pattern–it’s about learning techniques that will strengthen your wire jewelry making skills and open up your creativity! You can take these techniques and themes to any jewelry piece you’re making and apply them. Dale “Cougar” Armstrong will give you individual attention and make sure you’re working as efficiently and safely as possible, so you can save wire and supplies!

Before the class, you’ll get to enjoy a 30 minute private consultation with Dale “Cougar” Armstrong where you’ll choose the materials to make your jewelry with–from the gems to the wire. In class, Dale will guide you through planning your piece, techniques, tips, and more advanced methods of wire wrapping, as well as marketing designer jewelry. Dale will work with you one-on-one to increase your skills and draw out your creativity–that’s why this retreat is so exclusive!

Let me tell you what Dale said about the Wired Retreat: “I do not often offer a course such as this, where I actually give many of my personal secrets to my students. The techniques a student can learn at this special event will only enhance their skills!” What jewelry you choose to make in this Retreat, Dale says, “could retail for $1500!” Now that sounds like a great investment–and that’s not counting the techniques and marketing skills you can apply to all your future work!

Now, before you start dreaming of sandy beaches, warm ocean breezes, and laughter over gourmet food with new wire artist friends, I have to tell you--this Wired Retreat is not for everyone. Due to the limited space available, we must narrow our guest list to only qualified wire jewelry artists.

We want to make sure that our participants get the most out of this wonderful educational and relaxing weekend, and we want to ensure that we’re reaching the most deserving wire artists who can benefit the most from this experience.

Only those wire artists who can prove they have the skills, experience, and desire to spend a weekend with Dale in a less structured environment, will be able to come!

Only order the Wired Retreat package if you’re confident you meet at least one of the following requirements (there will be an application form):

•    You’ve attended Wired Workshop classes through the Advanced level (if you haven’t yet, but you will have taken these classes by September, that’s o.k.!)
•    You’ve purchased and worked through Dale’s Beginner DVDs
•    You have pictures of jewelry you’ve made on Etsy, Flickr, Facebook, or on your own store’s site, that we can see (we love looking at pictures of our customers’ art!)
•    You can write us a note about why you want to come to this special Wired Retreat with Dale in Florida

So what now? Click here to sign up for our Annual Wired Retreat! Seats will go quickly!

I hope to see you at the beach!

Brandon Hutchins
Wire-Sculpture.com

P.S. Look for tomorrow’s exciting announcement about our new release: the Intermediate DVD Series!

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

Breaking News: Dale “Cougar” Armstrong is one of our Tucson 2012 Instructors! Discover Dale’s wire wrapping classes here: Dale Armstrong Course Listings

Dale "Cougar" Armstrong is the Education Consultant for Wire-Sculpture.com. A die-hard rockhound, lapidary, and wire jewelry designer, instructor and author, Dale credits her mom for spurring the main interest that led to Dale’s chosen career. Her mother was an avid rockhound and many, weekend family adventures involved traipsing through the White Mountains of New Hampshire in search of abandoned pegmatite mines. This is where Dale’s fascination with, and education of rocks and minerals began, some 40 years ago.

Dale/Cougar, has a diverse art background, training in two-dimensional art with Carl Haskins of Vermont, and William Keyworth of New Hampshire. She also spent several years receiving personalized instruction with Karl Drerupe, renowned cloisonné and repossé artist. Dale attended the University of South Florida where she studied fine arts and geology. She worked as a technical, advertising artist for several years, ‘before the age of computers’.

Under her studio name of Cougar’s Creations, Dale displays her works at juried art shows, where she has taken many awards. As a featured artist, Dale has been interviewed on live television and has works for sale in museums and galleries. Dale “Cougar” Armstrong is a regular contributor to Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry magazine and has been published in The Wire Artist Jeweler, Bead Unique and Art Jewelry magazines. She is a frequent instructor at Lapidary Journals’ BeadFest events, and has made a series of instructional DVDs, produced by Jewelry Television. As an instructor, she conducts workshops in her personal studio and by request, travels to teach classes at beadshops and other events nationwide.

Dale’s newest success is her recently published book entitled: Wirework: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping.