We have closed the show on 8 days of fun and meeting so many new people, putting faces to our online customers. So here’s my wrap on the show. The preparations start immediately after the Christmas rush and trays of beads must be prepared, filled and labeled correctly (we hope). We operate on a bar…
Fractions – Hieroglyphics It is said that the Egyptians were using fractions in 1800 B.C. writing in hieroglyphics, using them in their payments and taxes. Inches, Yards The inch was originally the width of a man’s thumb. In the 14th century King Edward II of England ruled that 1 inch equaled 3 grains of barley…
We measure our beads in millimeters because that’s how our bead makers work. Millimeters are also how pearls are measured. So most women are slightly familiar with the concept, just ask one if she prefers a 10mm pearl or an 8mm pearl. A handy thing to remember is that 1 inch = ~25mm You need…
Since I believe that our elected officials should hear what concerns us, I wrote both Mike Honda and Dianne Feinstein. (As normal I get a nothing response….but eventually they do respond.) So that you can all see exactly her response I have copied it EXACTLY here. It is not a surprise. Basically Honda and Feinstein both…
Well a few years ago we quit doing shows. The travel, shipping 800-1200 pounds of beads to far away places and night flights had lost their appeal. But this weekend, we did our first show. It was very close, only 2 miles from our shop. If we had a lot of time to think about it,…
This August marks 23 years that we have been working in Murano and Venice with our wonderful bead makers. It started as a hobby, well not even that, friends wanted the beautiful necklaces that I had bought in Murano. Little did I know that loading my bags with goodies for friends would lead 1)a change…
What goes into making a millefiori bead? What are they always different? What makes them smooth? and other questions you’ve always wanted to know about millefiori! First the canes must be made. And since there are many different opaque millefiori slices of canes used in this particular millefiori bead, well there are about 120 opaque canes that…
This is one of my new favorite products, the safety chain for our PerlaVita Bracelets. Most of us have a little trouble putting on a bracelet and taking it off. There are “bracelet buddy” tools, someone in your household who helps you or your co-worker who comes to your aid but this little Safety Chain…
What do you think about a seller in HongKong (China in general) shipping a 1 pound package to New York City for $3.66 while a seller in New York City pays slightly under $6.00 to ship the same weight package? It gets worse for the 2 ounce package: A Chinese shipper can ship for .98…
If you prefer the bright shine ,925 Sterling Silver, not Silver with an Anti-Tarnish coating, which tones down the bright shine we all love, you need easy ways to clean it. This cleaning method works, it’s easy, you have the items in your kitchen so give it a try. (Read the cautions below before you…