Even if one is too busy minding one's own table selling beads to go buy other beads, there's still plenty of ways to come back poorer than you left. (My goal, these past several years, is have the expenses roughly equal the Bead Bazaar sales. If I do really well, I include the cost of the conference, not just travel and hotel.)

I've discussed the various stuff I got, in probably quite yawn-worthy ways; well, here's a picture:

From left to right starting with the top row:

• button mold (for posy; arrow springs)
• flat leaf masher (can't remember)
• diamond/square bead press (for page; zoozis)
• 7000/8000 thompson enamels (thompson enamels)

“middle row” and bottom row:

• effetre stock (arrow springs)
• dichro strips (arrow springs)
• odd lot colors & vetrofond clear (frantz)
• czech rod (the long ones—check glass)
• german cane and frits (somebody or other)
• pi 96coe sampler (pi glass)
• bullseye clear (for testing TE)
• bullseye odd lot & new luster rods (bullseye)

A couple of notes: I really should remember the name of the firm with the leaf masher, ’cuz they had a really nice quite concentrator I may buy (having finally sold the old one). Page asked me to get her some things to inspire to make beads, so the leaf masher and the bead press were the result. The Thompson enamels I didn't strictly pay for: I told the guy my sad story and he gave me these new ones to test: and I'm real hopeful.

Jan Burrows is sponsoring a czech glass bead contest for Gathering next year, since it will be in his home town, so in addition to picking up the medium cobalt (sapphire) blue that isn't available in Effetre, I got samples of the new colors. He says he has a new scale, so maybe that half-pound minimum of each color requirement that has been the main reason I only buy this glass at shows is going away, now...

The people who sold me the german frit and cane assured me it would do fine on 90 bullseye. Naturally they do all their work on leftover 96 cullet they get from nearby uroboros. Mercifully I've forgotten their name too, and it's just as well, cuz a even during brief conversation with somebody at Olympic Color rod rendered a very dubious look at this assertion, and my own tests of Stevi Belle's glassblowing frits has turned up indications that this is, at best, a complicated situation.

I employed my favorite method of writing the stock nos. on the German rods with a sharpie. I think this is a great way to keep track of stuff—it's much easier to remove than tape or labels, since you just wipe with alcohol. The downside is that it only works on relatively light colored rods.

Going along we see a sample pack, chromatically arranged, of a brand new glass by a company called pi, which I believe said they were based in Ohio (!) which is 96. I have a 96 pack of uroboros from last year (not shown) still unopened—I figured I'd try them both at the same and compare. The pi people took the sharpie idea one step further, and marked their sample packs with a metallic gold pen, which shows up nicely on dark rods too.

Bullseye has been making all sorts of fun things lately, such as their reduction rods (Pam Dugger has posted some fish using these) and weird odd lot stuff, I got some of that to go along with the (cough, cough) more-than-I-care-to-admit-I-spent bullseye I got from Arrow Springs during their sale earlier this year. If that 7000/8000 series stuff pans out, I will be set to be doing some really cool stuff with bullseye—they have put out a lot of luscious new yummy colors in rod—and why shouldn't they? The big German glassblowing manufacturers are starting to put out their product in 7–8mm rod (as opposed to the 1-1/4” or so diameters they make for glassblowers) and they have a lot of very delectable colors under their belts.

Playing with all this stuff should be a blast!

file created 8aug05

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Sylvus Tarn