We’ve moved to the Granville for ease of access. Easy parking on side streets and just 6-minutes walk from Kilburn Park Underground Station – and right opposite Pentland Road Bus 6 or 316 stop.
The following Saturday, we’re at The Big Bead Show, Sandown Park. After the show, we’re of to China to buy you the latest new beads. Therefore, online orders will be delayed between 8th to 23rd April. Scroll down to bottom to see our new position at Big Bead.
For details of our shows booked so far this new year click 2019 Bead Fairs.
For our bead shop click MrBead.co.uk or
Follow Nigel on his personal site at NigelHayMckay.com
Content:
Early Bead Fair Report
Holidays Increase Production
How To Sell Your Jewellery to Florist Shops
Diamond April’s Stone
Cubic Ziconia
Quartz Crustal – April’s Alternative Stone
The Big Bead Show
Spring Bead Fairs
14-Years of MrBead Newsletters
Free Shipping
No minimum order, but can only for used at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com.
More than made up for the tough time we had on setup day there. First the van got a puncture on the A1 motorway, and after fitting the spare, that was flat too! Then the breakdown included with insurance, didn’t cover this, it took 1 1/2 hours to get help.
Arriving at the Showground late, I drove strait over the grass to get near a loading door, only to get stuck in mud. A JCB toed us out, so we could unload and setup literally half-a-tonne of beads. after over 200-miles drive with 6am start, I was totally knackered. And my mates think selling beads is for sissies.
Kempton Park Gem n Bead
The second show at Kempton Park felt really slow, but overall takings wasn’t so bad. Better than last year when the snow kept visitors away.
A lot of exhibitors, as always – and a nice Chinese meal together Saturday evening. We’ll be back early June and late July.
Norwich Bead Fair
Norwich is always busy, and this one didn’t disappoint. However, many of our regulars who didn’t show, were replaced with new visitors. One couple even came from North Wales, though on a friend visiting trip too.
The show was so good, we took more than we did in two days same date last year at Exeter Gem n Bead Fair. Glad we missed that one this year!
See us again in Norwich on 12th May.
Brighton Gem n Bead
Brighton is always fun. On the Downs high above the town, overlooking the sea. Last year it was snowing. This year we were quite busy – well, a little slow, but steady. We took more on the Sunday, which is unusual for a Gem n Bead.
It’s nice for us to have a larger display so we can show more of our beads. Our spot right at the back of the hall, farthest from the door is cold and dark before we setup – but works out well for us.
Some new rock and jewellery exhibitors this time. See us back in Brighton on 16th-17th November.
Cheltenham Gem n Bead
Cheltenham is hard work loading and taking down, as there is a long slope to pull up and very cramped halls.
When I tell people I sell beads for a living, they think it’s a job for pansies, like selling trinkets at a craft fair. The truth is it’s dam hard work lugging literally half-a-tonne of stone around. We have dozens of boxes of strings, all over 20 kgms.
We arrived an hour late for setup up after sorting out MiMi’s China visa in the City of London at 9am. This was just the start of our problems, resulting in over 6-hours to lay everything out.
Footfall was lax with mostly small sales, especially on the Sunday which was disastrous. Overall a lot of work – not really worth three-days and 4-hours drive each way. Think we’ll give this one a miss next year.
It can be a complicated psychological conundrum – but I think travel makes the mind more resourceful. The subconscious is exposed to new problems and experiences. This stimulates the mind to think out of the box.
I’ve also found the short time before and after a trip is also super-productive. Often to such an extent, it more than compensates for the lost time working. I’m forced to catch up on left talks that I previously didn’t want to do.
Then there’s the opportunity while away from distractions, to clearly see solutions that the mundane hides. Even relaxation brings new ideas: an empty space fills itself.
n fact, MiMi and I can’t afford not to go away as often as we can! How else can we do so many bead fairs without getting fed up?
Our last trip was to Lanzarote, to boost the vitamin D. Just 3-nights between Kempton Park and Norwich bead fairs.
Mail a personal business-like letter to your local florists, with a sample of your craft and suggestions of cross promotions. Mention you’ll call in person to discuss the idea or collect the sample if they’re not interested. Follow up by phone to arrange an appointment later.
Some ideas for cross promotion are:
Diamonds are the rich cousins of graphite, both crystalline forms of pure carbon. The difference in their properties is because of how the carbon atoms are bonded together.
In graphite, carbon atoms are arranged in sheets that easily slide past each other, ideal as lubricants. Diamond crystals, are a tight-fisted network of carbon atoms securely held in four directions, making it the hardest naturally-occurring substance.
Man-made Diamonds
Up until a few years ago De Beers controlled all the worlds diamonds. By stockpiling tons at a time, they greatly increased the value of a relatively-common crystallized rock.
However, it’s now possible to artificially grow diamonds, the same way they are formed over millions of years. Using high pressure and temperature in crystal growth chambers, the size of a washing machine.
Within each chamber, a tiny sliver of natural diamond is bathed in a molten solution of graphite and a metal-based catalyst at approximately 1,500 C. Slowly, carbon precipitates onto the diamond seed. A gem-quality, 2.8-carat rough yellow diamond grows in just under three-and-a-half days. This can then be cut and polished to give a gem larger than 1.5 carats.
Chemically these cultured stones are identical to mined diamonds – but they do have different growth patterns and a lack of inclusions that would draw suspicions to a jeweller. However, those bits of minerals that are enclosed in a natural diamond as its forms are regarded as flaws; a lack of inclusions is actually a good thing. De Beers has designed a machine for just £10,000.
When melted at high-temperature and an incredibly-high electrical current sent through it, the compound crystallizes, forming chunks similar to rough diamonds, which are then be cut and polished to exact specifications.
Using the naked eye, even a trained jeweller can’t detect the difference between good cubic zirconia, genuine or cultured diamonds. Even diamond experts have been fooled between cubic zirconia and a five-million-dollar diamond. All are fully faceted, cut and polished the same.
To see our cubic zirconia rings click MrBead.com or MrBead.co.uk
The Mayans, Druid priests, and Tibetan monks all knew the spiritual power of crystal. The ancients used it to strengthen the sun’s rays to bring heat, and the Chinese science of feng-shui teaches that arranging crystals around the home retains positive energy.
Crystals became important to these people because of the belief in their capacity to store and amplify any power source fed into them – physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.
Today’s crystal therapists say that the stones’ ability to work as a conductor allows energy to be focused via a person’s thoughts to stimulate healing.
Many people use crystal to focus attention on what they want. With a little imagination, you too can use crystal’s energy to access a higher level of consciousness and turn a desire into reality.
All types of crystal have this magical power, but individual colour crystal is believed to have other uses too. Rose quartz, the stone of unconditional love, is great for emotional healing. Red, yellow, and orange stones are said to produce energy; clear and aquamarine stones are healers; and lavender and blue-violet are calming stones.
Pure rock crystal is clear, but usually quart comes in a variety of opacity.
Milky quartz is cloudy because of microscopic inclusions of fluid embodied in the crystal at the start of its life – creating an attractive effect of a crystal within a crystal, giving the interior a ghostly appearance. Smoky Quartz is caused by natural radiation from nearby granite rocks which have a small amount of radioactivity.
See our crystal beads at
MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
Our quartz beads at MrBead.co.uk
Our new position in the hall – just walk strait from the entrance, keeping to the left - we are on the left, stand 6. See layout on the online newsletter.
In Sandown Park Racecourse, West London – easy parking and near train station.
To see all the bead shows we have booked so far click Bead Fairs 2019 – many more yet to add!
See our beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
Key code FREEPOST anytime on UK orders over £30 for free shipping at MrBead.co.uk.
See our beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
April 2019 is the 14th full year of the MrBead newsletters, and I thank you all for such enthusiastic comments and appreciation. To see the past newsletters click here.
To see all the original old newsletters click here.
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See all our newley listed beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com.
To see all What's New in our US store click MrBead.com or UK MrBead.co.uk
To go to the US MrBead store click MrBead.com.
Or our UK shop at MrBead.co.uk
To see all old newsletters click here
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